## Voluntary Support North Surrey ANNUAL REPORT 2020/2021 Voluntary Support North Surrey (VSNS) is an independent charity that supports approximately 1,500 voluntary and community organisations within the North Surrey Boroughs of Spelthorne, Runnymede and Surrey Heath. The Charity has three offices located in Camberley, Chertsey and Staines. Indirectly we serve the needs of circa 300,000 Surrey residents. ## Key Acheivements Covid Response Building Communities Volunteering Representation Co design This annual report describes the work of the Charity including achievements in the reporting period: to ensure financial transparency the report also includes a statement of financial activities and an independently produced examiners report. ## www.voluntarysupport.org.uk ## VSNS ## KEY ACHIEVEMENTS Building-on the existing strong partnership with Boroughs, County and health the Charity was responsible for providing and scheduling volunteers for 6 vaccination sites through the use of an app and online scheduling platform. During the reporting period life saving vaccines were delivered by circa 350 volunteers covering 6578 shifts equating to 185,000 volunteering hours and a saving to the NHS of approximately £2,210,000. **----- Start of picture text -----**
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Covid response: VSNS quickly adapted and supported local charities and mutual aid groups so that they were able to meet urgent requests for food, prescriptions and medical equipment. The Charity also directly supported the delivery to residents’ homes of PPE and oximeters, and led/chaired the group of Covid Champions delivering support within the area. VSNS helps with all aspects of volunteering including writing and promoting the volunteer job roles and running training for volunteers and volunteer managers. VSNS Volunteering figures for the year were enhanced by the public’s response to our appeals for help during the coronavirus pandemic but within the sector research showed that at least a third of charities suffered from loss of volunteers due to covid. The number of volunteers willing to support the NHS well exceeded the need and VSNS has been looking at initiatives to interest and engage volunteers that offered their time but were not utilised by the vaccination centres. Flu response: prior to Covid VSNS supported residents with the flu vaccination initiative by recruiting volunteers and managing them using an app. The success of the flu vaccination programme was timely as it acted as a pilot and proof-ofconcept for the Covid vaccination volunteer initiatives locally. During the year VSNS developed a targeted approach in the form of proactive work with selected organisations. We were especially keen to support the charities that were struggling to continue to offer services throughout the pandemic. A number of charities that were reliant on older volunteers suffered considerably to adapt services. · We have been able to measure our impact through improved monitoring and reporting. Volunteer recruitment initiatives have been successful and our use of social media is helping us to widen our reach We are an active member of a task group for strengthening charity leadership focusing on training needs of trustees, good governance and sharing good practice. Since our inception VSNS have placed emphasis on working with businesses and through lockdown we have successfully enabled circa 50 organisations to engage with local charities. In this reporting period we supported less physical volunteering opportunities , instead there was a shift to monetary donations and virtual volunteering and in some cases micro volunteering. Capacity-building for Third Sector groups: this represents the core business of VSNS and is achieved through a number of initiatives and mechanisms ## 1.Funding support VSNS offers excellent funding advice and training to new and existing organisations which has been successfully adapted to be delivered virtually as required. One-to-one funding surgeries have also taken place on-line during lock down. We have had a number of successes in helping groups with their fundraising strategy and application including Stanwell Foodbank, Just a Helping Hand and many more. We are delighted that some groups have successfully received considerable funds from a number of national trusts and grant givers. VSNS moved its funding support services to Funding Central, in part to save costs, but also to improve functionality. We administered £16,000 for charities in Spelthorne that supported residents throughout the pandemic. This money was a lifeline and well received by almost 20 groups ## 2.Governance VSNS provided training on charity law and governance as well as forums and networking events which are proven to be effective at encouraging and enabling voluntary sector organisations to support one another and build sustainable capacity at a local level. Over the year the Charity supported trustees and boards from more than 1,000 organisations. One-to-one tailored charity training has been delivered and individuals/groups are supported in making applications to the charity commission. Helping trustees to manage charities diligently is essential to the grorth and sustainability of the sector and area where we will be focusing future efforts. We will put emphasis on recruiting young trustees to increase diversity and inclusion. ## 3.Training VSNS’s free training program was developed and adapted to include more topics and for delivery using digital technologies. The training available includes: grant and trust application writing, digital fundraising, legacy fundraising, volunteer management, volunteer and the law and charity law. We use feedback forms to regularly develop and improve the training and have documented the training so that the knowledge base is available to all employees and can be delivered by a number of individuals should the need arise. There is also demand for social media training and we are in the process of developing this for delivery next year **----- Start of picture text -----**
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## 4.Social Media and website support VSNS believe that a digital presence is an essential part of fundraising and engaging supporters and volunteers. We have supported a dozen organisations with website and social media evaluation and advice, and organisations have benefited from a VSNS volunteer designing and creating a WordPress website free of charge on their behalf in this financial year. We are very grateful to our volunteers for this support. VSNS also uses social media itself to target volunteer recruitment on behalf of the local organisations using platforms including twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Linked-In. In addition, the Charity has identified the unmet need for smaller groups to better engage with social media and has begun an initiative that will result in training and workshops in this area next year. - ## 5.Resource-building- VSNS has enabled some local charities to have affordable premises and access to much needed resources thus supporting the delivery of their services locally. For example, the Charity directly hosts Cruse and Camberley Care. The Charity also remains actively engaged in place projects to ensure visibility of Third Sector organisations on the highstreet. ## 6.Third Sector Representation: VSNS is a voice for local voluntary groups in shaping local services with our statutory services. We sit on local boards and committees to ensure that the voluntary groups are represented within the community. Boards that we sit on include Borough partnership groups, ICS steering committees, 'place based' alliances, and community task groups in the areas of deprivation. These relationships and partnerships have proven to be one of the reasons why the local response to the pandemic was so well and quickly executed in Surrey. ## Grant making: Following a decision in 2010 to use VSNS reserves to establish community funds to be invested with the Community Foundation for Surrey, the Charity has been able to grant £233,000 to 103 projects. In the current financial year we have granted £18,000 to 8 projects ## VSNS governance VSNS applied to the Charity Commission in 2019 and changed status becoming a CIO on December 11th of that year. The Board oversees the Charity, sets its strategic direction, and works with the CEO and the team to deliver key outcomes. All Trustees sign, and are held accountable, to a code of conduct. VSNS finances are managed in compliance with SORP 2005. ## Time to Talk Voluntary support's befriending scheme has grown from strength to strength with circa 40 volunteers supporting those feeling alone or isolated with befriending services in their own homes. The scheme morphed to accommodate our residents during the pandemic and we began to offer telephone befriending. There is a small waiting list of people looking for volunteers. This is an area where we work closely with other befriending schemes including Surrey Heath Age Concern. VSNS sees this as a growth area as there are many individuals that would benefit from befriending. ## VSNS challenges The next year will be a challenging year across the third sector and at VSNS our efforts will be concentrating on a few areas for successful impact including; - Enabling voluntary organisations to grow and develop in challenging times by providing more training and one to one support. - Responding to the continued uncertainty around statutory funding driven by economic circumstances by keeping our business plan under regular review. - Maintaining a reserve level of £100,000 to cover cost of redundancy and lease terminations. - Improving board diversity and training. - Time to Change, the need to engage young volunteers is an area where we can add value and share best practice - Time to Talk and befriending in general, we aim to grow and improve the befriending services within Surrey and ensure that there is a supply of well trained and supported volunteers VOLVNTARY SUPPORT NORTH SURREY Slal•m•nt ¢1 Fin*nclal Activiths End4ng 31*1 ￿rth 2021 Y¢41 Fw rA411 2Jl.•l• 1W.174 7.NZ T￿1 T7J B•l•nc• Sh••1 31*t Il•rth W1 Iw 4J?I 8.911 19Q.C)5.410 .•o.•DJ .x.•iJ T•MI JM.)•> >5 714 37•,MT NOTes TO TrIE FINANCIAL STATEPIEMTS FOR TME YEAR EN0114G 31•1 M•r¢h ￿?1 JIJ 43• a AWYWLV *seAAusEJVfllDIg T• cwly AhiE KIMI*J y.#1 311.1$1 a47• ¥¥$ *2 17• TQT 4JO i• 4M 4a.1 15D T*AI JJ5 aupj? VOLUNTARY SUPPORT NORTH SURREY Independent Examiners Report Independent Examiner's Report to the trustees of VOLUNTARY SUPPORT NORTH SURREY I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Voluntary Support North Surrey for the year ended 31 March 2021 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet and the related notes. Asthecharity'strusteesyouareresponsibleforthepreparationoftheaccountsinaccordancewiththe requirementsoftheCharitiesAct2011('theAct').Thetrusteesconsiderthatanauditisnotrequiredforthis yearundertheCharitiesAct2011,s.144(2)(the2011Act)andthatanindependentexaminationisneeded. Independentexaminer'statement IhavecompletedmyexaminationIc.anconfirmthatnomateriamlattershavecometomyattentionin connectionwiththeexaminationgivingmecausetobelievethatin,anymateriarlespect: Responsibilitiesandbasisofreport Ireportinrespectofmyexaminationofthecharity'saccountscarriedoutundersection145ofthe2011Act andincarryingoutmyexaminationIhavefollowedalltheapplicableDirectionsgivenbytheCharity Commissionundersection145(5)(b)oftheAct. •theaccountingrecordswerenotkeptinrespectofthecharityasrequiredbysection130oftheAct;or •theaccountsdonotaccordwiththoserecords;or • theaccountsdidnotcomplywiththeapplicablerequirementsconcerningtheformandcontentof accountsetoutintheCharities(AccountsandReports)Regulations2008otherthananyrequirement thatheaccountsgivea'trueandfairv'iewwhichisnotamatterconsideredaspartofanindependent examination. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Mrs M H Matthews FCCA MHM Accounting Solutions 13 Mapledrakes Close Ewhurst GU6 7QR 23rd December 2021 Page 0 ## Thank You We could not help as many people without the support of funders including, Spelthorne Borough Council , Runnymede Borough Council, Surrey Heath Borough Council, Surrey County Council, Surrey Hearthlands CCG, Surrey Heath CCG, and The Community Foundation of Surrey. The Heath and Wellbeing Fund has given us 3 year funding for social prescribing and the CAB in Surrey Heath and we are in the third year of delivering this initiative. We had generous grants/donations and funds from Enterprise Rent a car Johnson and Johnson The Trustees Arthur Birkby MBE (Chair) Heather Schroder CBE Dr Brian Perry BEM Sue Loveday David Bell Karen Ancell Philip Peberdy