HELP PREVENT THREATS TO BIG LOTTERY FUNDING FOR THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR
– Please take the time to respond to this!
Any voluntary or community group reading our bulletin will know how important Big Lottery Funding has been in supporting the work in the sector. Even groups who have not been successful with large bids will know of another organisation that have been or you may have benefited from Awards for All or Reaching Communities funding (which is also part of the Lottery pot).
Big Lottery funding has been a major source of support and they have surpassed their commitment to give 60-70% of the funding to support projects in the voluntary and community sector each year.
Now they are consulting about how they should spend Lottery funds in future and this consultation runs till the end of February 2009.
Question 4 in the ‘UK Questions’ section of this consultation reads as follows:
“ After 2012 when our 60 – 70% undertaking ends, should we continue to guarantee a percentage of our funding goes to the voluntary and community sector “?
The questionnaire only allows you to select one of the following three answers:
1) Funding should go to the organisation in the best position to deliver the project outcomes, whichever sector they are from
2) BIG should extend its undertaking to the voluntary and community sector beyond 2012
3) No opinion
There is a view which suggests that BIG are hoping most people will select answer number 1.
This will then give them a mandate to drop the 60-70% undertaking to voluntary and charitable groups and to increase the percentage which goes to statutory public sector services and even possibly businesses. For many people who have little knowledge of understanding of our sector and how it struggles for funding, answer number 1 looks logical and in tune with the current emphasis on ‘outcomes’. We know that this could have a drastic effect on so many groups and we would see a lot of important work cease or perhaps not get started at all.
Worthing CVS believes that it is vital that we all act to protect funding for the voluntary and community sector. Even if you have been unsuccessful in the past or have not applied, please make your voice heard on this.
PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS AND GET YOUR MEMBERS AND YOUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS TO RESPOND TOO.
VOTE FOR ANSWER NUMBER 2.
The consultation questionnaire is at: www.big-thinking.org.uk
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