Looking Forward

I’m delighted to be leading the CVS Ebulletin again this month after a period of absence from work due to personal illness.  I’d like to thank all of the Cumbria CVS team, the senior managers, Carolyn as deputy and our fantastic trustees for your extra help and input over the last few months. You amaze and inspire me and I am truly grateful to work with such fantastic professionals.


Cumbria CVS AGM

Soon after my return, Cumbria CVS hosted its AGM at Rheged – Thursday 8 November – and we were delighted to be supported on the day by HM The Lord Lieutenant of Cumbria, Mrs Claire Hensman whose continued support of Cumbria CVS and infrastructure support to local charities is invaluable. We were also joined by Jane Ide, CEO of NAVCA, who gave a very interesting and insightful national overview of the issues facing the voluntary sector including the challenge that Brexit brings, which may mean that our social agendas are off the agenda until we reach a position of more stability in our political leadership. Jane then led a workshop on Board Diversity in the afternoon, highlighting areas for organisations to consider to strike a good balance.

Mike Wild, CEO of Macc (Manchester’s local voluntary and community sector organisation)  then focused on regional challenges, highlighting that whilst places like Manchester may be seen to be more affluent, the struggles we face as a sector are  collective.  While the ‘north’ itself is not easily defined, Mike gave an overview of trends in our region. In the afternoon, Mike delivered a workshop on financial stability, highlighting key factors that charities should consider to help achieve their potential.

Carolyn Otley, Engagement Team Manager, Cumbria CVS spoke about the value of connecting our sector and its work with the statutory sector and beyond. She gave examples of partnership working, which has witnessed a change in the way that the two sectors work together, and the added value that this new approach brings.  There is still much more work to be done but there has been a great start to changing perceptions and relationships.

A very warm thank you to all our speakers on the day, exhibitors and all those who joined us and helped to make the day and the discussions rich and interesting.

It’s important to remember to celebrate our achievements as a sector and in light of the challenges we face, even more so in this period of national uncertainty. We use our AGM as an opportunity to share our success and are pleased to engage with any way of sharing good news and raising support and awareness.

Supporting Local Action
Friday 14 December is Local Charities Day. This year, the government wants to use this day to highlight the importance of giving and to encourage people to pledge time to a local charity. It will also champion the transformative work of local charities on communities and individuals’ lives, whilst shining a spotlight on local charity champions.

The new Minister for Sport and Civil Society, Mims Davies, in a recent blog (click here) suggested ways to get involved in this campaign from adding the campaign Twibbon to your social media accounts (#LocalCharitiesDay), to nominating local charity champions, and with just over two weeks to go, there is still plenty of time to plan some activity.

At Cumbria CVS we will be looking at how we can get involved and encourage you to do the same.  If you are championing through social media please tag us in too so we can share your great news and celebrate with you.

 

Festive Period
And finally, as it is now December and the season of festive celebrations, I would like to send you seasons greetings and wish you all the best for 2019. Special thanks go to all those charities and volunteers who will be working though the festive season (and the challenges that can bring) to support our communities and individuals who might be struggling through that time.

Please note Cumbria CVS will close Monday 24 December 2018 and will re-open on Wednesday 2 January 2019.

I look forward to working with you all in 2019.

Kind regards

Laura Cadman
Chief Executive Officer
Cumbria CVS