Voluntary and community sector

Wakefield District's voluntary and community sector

There are many voluntary and community organisations doing vital work in the Wakefield District community. Voluntary Action Wakefield District (VAWD) is helping to build the capacity of the sector by providing services, support and building a VCS directory and collating additional statistical information.

The National Survey of Third Sector Organisations reports that in Wakefield District we have only just over half the number of registered third sector organisations compared to the national average, and that the capacity of the sector is low. There is also evidence of little or no engagement with local VCS organisations in particular work areas. You can read the full survey and find out more about Wakefield District's VCS here: www.nscsesurvey.com
 

Voluntary and community groups are a diverse range of organisations working to make a positive impact in our community.

The voluntary and community sector (VCS) includes a diverse range of organisations, such as community groups, voluntary organisations, faith and equalities groups, charities, social enterprises co-operatives, mutuals and housing associations. VCS organisations:

• are independent of national, regional and local government
• pursue primarily social, economic or environmental objectives
• reinvest surplus profit in the pursuit of their objectives to benefit the community.

Their key activities include:

• advocacy, information and advice
• delivering services for individuals and the community, often but not always on behalf of public bodies such as a local authority
• campaigning and lobbying
• representing specific interest groups
• building capacity and community development
• providing infrastructure services to support the operation of voluntary and community organisations.

The VCS contributes to the local economy and wellbeing in a variety of ways, including that it:

• generates jobs - between 3 and 4 per cent of the regional workforce
• prepares people for paid work - through hundreds of thousands of volunteering opportunities, learning and raising self esteem
• gives advice to reduce social and financial exclusion
• levers in substantial additional funding (a multiplier 8:1 is typically used) over and above statutory sources: total turnover is of the order of 4 per cent of regional pound, including both direct and indirect contributions
• creates and maintains green spaces and local pride
• encourages mental and social wellbeing through activity and friendships
• promotes democratic life and civic engagement
• develops the region's skill base through training and mentoring
• identifies and meets new needs
• innovates and creates new responses to local conditions
• acts as a voice for those with no champion and builds their capacity to speak for themselves all within a general mission or goal of social inclusion.

The wider sector also includes communities of place, both urban and rural, communities of interest or identity, cultural, ethnic and faith groups.