Annual Report2012 / 13

Glasgow Councilfor the

Voluntary Sector

GCVS BOARDAnne Jarvie ChairpersonHelen Cunningham TreasurerJackie HothersallPeter KellyGordon KennedyMargaret McIntyreAlexander MeikleSandy FarquharsonEtta DunnDuncan McTavishShona StephenAndrew Lyon

PartnersGlasgow Volunteer CentreCEiSThe Scottish GovernmentGlasgow LifeBig LotteryVoluntary Action ScotlandGlasgow City CouncilGlasgow Community PlanningPartnershipGSENNHS Greater Glasgow & ClydeSCVO

FundersThe Scottish GovernmentGlasgow City CouncilGlasgow Community PlanningPartnershipNHS Greater Glasgow & ClydeEducation Scotland

Chief Executive’s report: our operating contextAnnualReport 2012/ 13

2012/13: The Operating ContextSector overviewWe have had an extremely busyand challenging year, as have allour member organisations!

The operating environment for theThird Sector (TS) in Glasgowcontinued to be a pressuredone in 2012/13, with the ThirdSector facing an overall climate offinancial uncertainty and increasingoperational difficulties.

A high level of re-organisation andservice cuts also took place withinpublic agencies during the period,along with an unprecedented level ofexit through voluntary redundanciesof many of the most experiencedpublic sector staff and managerswithin Glasgow agencies.

In funding and activity terms,UK-wide DWP employabilityprogrammes, to which the TS usedto make a major contribution, nowhave little or no TS engagementwithin Glasgow.

Meanwhile, reducing budgetallocations for most public agenciesin Scotland led during 2012/13 to theimposition of a range of cost-cutting

measures which began to bite atlocal community level, and thusimpacted directly and indirectlyon TS activity.

Feedback from our members told usthat levels of client need and clientnumbers being supported by TSorganisations in Glasgow generallyincreased over the period, even asmost funding streams to TS organi-sations either remained at standstill,or were cut.

The majority of staffed voluntary andcommunity organisations with whomGCVS worked reported that sustainingtheir operations was proving acontinuing challenge. Many wereplanning further cut backs in theirservices, and were continuing toimplement short-term working andpay freezes. Conditions within theTS care sector were particularlydifficult, and for the first time werecorded the implementation ofzero-hours contracts.

On a positive note, some organisationsreported that they had nowsucceeded in stabilising theiroperations, and had foundalternative - often short-term funds -

to continue their work. The rate oforganisational mergers increasedsignificantly, as TS organisations‘pooled’ resources to continuedelivery of their services at thenecessary scale.

Procurement and commissioningprocesses - particularly aroundhealth and social care - continued toimpact adversely on small tomedium sized organisations in thecity, and so became a key priority forGCVS staff to address, both atcapacity building and policy level.

More information emerged duringthe course of 2012/13 about theimpact which the impending UKGovernment’s Welfare Reformprogramme would have on levels ofwelfare benefit and access tobenefits from 2013 onwards forthousands of Glasgow citizens,children and families.

Many TS organisations raised withGCVS their fears and concernsabout even greater levels of clientneed, and new services that wouldbe required within the city to helpclients cope. As a result, GCVSbegan to plan for the introduction

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Chief Executive’s report: our operating contextAnnualReport 2012/ 13

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of additional practical supportmeasures to the TS, to enable there-shaping and development ofthese new services.

Policy InputWithin our External Affairs Teams,a key priority during 2012/13 was tocontinue to provide accurate andtimeous information to the sector,particularly seeking to keep themabreast of the substantial changestaking place over the year withinpublic sector structures programmes,and informing them of changes topersonnel, policies and processeshappening at local, city-wide andnational level.

In recognition of the growing needsof our members, we furtherexpanded our Policy content.We provided monthly PolicyBriefings, and weekly bite-sizednews snippets, and undertook awide range of consultations with ourmembers and key networks, survey-ing them to sound out their views.We improved the member ‘offer’ onour services, to encourage greateruptake, and we saw our member-ship grow steadily as a result.

In terms of consultation and‘connectivity’, 2012/13 was a veryactive year, with GCVS and itsmembers and networks involvedin a range of Scottish Governmentconsultations, and participating inround-table discussions and short-life working groups, seeking toshape the content and focus of as awide range of Bills which were beingdeveloped and enacted, and of guid-ance that was being produced.

Along with our members, GCVScontributed to the CommunityEmpowerment Bill, and theChildren and Young People(Scotland) Bill, to the developmentof legislation on procurement andto early discussions on TS contri-bution to the future integration ofHealth and Social Care.

Our contribution to Reshaping Carefor Older People began to grow,both within the strategic partnership,and operationally, with the successfulroll-out of our ‘community capacitybuilding’ Transformation Fundinvesting £1.5 million to market-testa whole new generation of preventativeservices in the city.

Capacity Building and SectorSupportDuring 2012/13 we continued towork closely with our Third SectorInterface colleagues and otherdevelopment agencies in the city– and with key public agencies suchas Community Planning - tomaximise the range and quality ofsupport services accessible to thirdsector organisations, and to con-tinue our capacity building, ‘changemanagement’, ‘mainstreamingequalities’ and organisational devel-opment (OD) support programmes.

As our Report this year demon-strates, overall, throughout the year2012/13, GCVS provided in-depthspecialist technical support to wellover 1,000 separate organisationsin Glasgow and environs.

Our work helped many thousandsof volunteers, staff members,managers and Board members ofGlasgow’s Third Sector to accesscontinuous professional develop-ment opportunities, to up-skill andseek to ensure that they couldcontinue to meet need, offer highquality provision and cope with anever-changing and ever morechallenging environment.

Albany Centre DevelopmentsWe continued to operate from twolocations - Queens Crescent, whereall our back-office services arelocated, and the adjacent AlbanyLearning and Conference Centre,where our ‘front of house’, customer-facing services and membershipactivities are located. Footfall within

our Albany Centre continued togrow, and we were delighted to beable to programme in communityevents in the evenings andweekends, to begin to make theAlbany a local community resourcewithin Woodlands.

Internal GCVS GovernanceprocessesAs a leading Third Sector organisa-tion in the city we work hard tohave strong, effective internalgovernance, leadership and man-agement within our processes, sothat we manage risk effectively andthat we are capable of reacting andadapting to the changing externalenvironment.

We had a very positive IiP assess-ment in February 2013, whichpraised our inspirational leadershipand the quality of our management,and which acknowledged thestrength of our investment inlearning and focus on developingand up-skilling our staff through aplanned learning programme.

Overall, despite a difficult fundingenvironment for TS infrastructurelocally and nationally, we had noredundancies during the year, andwe were successful in retaining ourmix of self-generated and grantfunding and keeping our broadfunding base, enabling us tospread financial risk.

Future DevelopmentIn terms of future development work,we were delighted to secure newfunding from the Scottish Governmentthrough to March 2015, to supportcapacity building and engagementwork with organisations servicingChildren, Young People andFamilies in the city, to support andstrengthen TS input to the Gettingit Right for Every Child (GIRFEC)agenda. All in all, a busy butpositive year!

Helen MacneilChief Executive

In the autumn of 2012, we were awarded funding from the Scottish Government to deliver a project designed to improveunderstanding and collaborative working between the Third and Public sectors around equalities legislation.

Our Connecting Equalities work enabled us to consult widely with key public sector and Third Sector stakeholders duringearly 2013 to identify issues and barriers to partnership working and to lay the groundwork for an implementation plan inthe year ahead.

Delivering our Connect AgendaConnect reflects the work we do to support strong, collective input bythe sector to partnership activity, coordinating and linking organisationstogether and providing opportunities for networking and joint working.

It encompasses our policy, communications and research activity,and reflects the key representational and facilitation role we play,undertaking consultation and stimulating discussion and debate,seeking to engage the sector effectively with public agencies andimpact on public service delivery in the city.

In 2012-13 we had even more direct dialogue with public sectorpartners around key Scottish Government priorities such asReshaping Care for Older People and Welfare Reform.

We continued to engage in positive dialogue with the CommunityPlanning Partnership around improvements to the Integrated GrantsFund, lobbying for longer term funding on behalf of our members,and we actively supported the priorities which our members helpedto shape through the content of the Third Sector Manifesto, via ourrepresentation on the Third Sector Interface Executive Committee.

Communications and policy work:supporting our members

Mainstreaming Equalities

Within our Policy and External Affairs teams, a key priority during2012/13 was to continue providing accurate and timeous informationto our members and the wider Third Sector in Glasgow.

We particularly sought to keep them abreast of the substantialchanges taking place over the year within public sector structures,programmes, and inform them of changes to personnel, policies andprocesses happening at local, city-wide and national level.

In recognition of the growing needs of our members and networkswe sent out a weekly Members Bulletin and improved the member‘offer’ on our services, to encourage greater uptake.

During 2012/13 Member’s News went weekly to over 700 organisations,containing news items, info on events as well as links to websiteresources, consultations and publications. We specifically focusedon briefing GCVS members on policy and operational issues whichwould directly affect them. We also built the content of ourcommunications with the wider Third Sector in Glasgow throughour ‘Special Events’ programme, and our e-newsletter Interchange,which went to over 2,000 subscribers.

Specialist Equality UpdatesGCVS continued to support goodequalities practice in the City and ofa strong equalities voluntary sector byproviding a quality, targeted, and timelycurrent awareness equalitiesinformation service.

We provided three weekly specialiste-bulletins – on equalities, funding andjobs - on behalf of Glasgow’s EqualityForum, making use of a range ofonline communications tools to deliver avalued equalities resource, relevant anduseful to a wide range of subscribers,browsers and researchers. Thesereached over 3,000 readers.

See www.enf.org.uk/blog

ConnectingEqualities

ConnectAnnualReport 2012/ 13

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Connecting Equalities event

Reshaping Care for Older People ResearchWe continued to update and capturenew data on the broad range of ThirdSector organisations in the city, throughour mainstream Infobase / Engage datasets which contain information on over1500 organisations and groups.

Our Annual Audit during 2012 providedupdates on 650 of these organisations,providing additional information on coreactivities.

Together, these data sets providecrucial, easily accessible, extensive,accurate and up to date informationabout the Third Sector in Glasgow andthe contribution the Third Sector makesto the city.

This material is made freely availableby GCVS, through reports andaggregated figures, to voluntary andcommunity sector staff, volunteers,statutory agencies and the widerGlasgow community.

In support of our co-ordination andadvocacy role, we continued to providebriefings and impact analyses to MSPs,Councillors, policy staff, researchers,consultants and academics, to reflectthe sector’s positive contribution.

GCVS Social MediaWe have increasingly embraced theuse of Social Media, via GCVS Twitterand Facebook accounts.

During 2012-13, these tools continuedto extend our communications reachand enabled us to engage with otherThird Sector organisations as well asindividuals.

Our audience continued to growsteadily over the period and wereached over 1000 Twitter followersand over 200 Facebook contacts.

All articles on www.gcvs.org.uk areshared via social media channels andwe display GCVS Twitter feeds on ournews and events pages.

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ConnectAnnualReport 2012/ 13

2012-13 saw us build significantly on the groundwork laid duringthe first year of the Change Plan for Older People. This key ScottishGovernment initiative gives the Third Sector a place as an equalpartner and decision-maker - with health, social work and theindependent sector - in determining priorities for Change Planinvestment in older people’s services.

The Change Plan saw an additional £12 million awarded toGlasgow to enable partners to implement local plans to shift thebalance of care from acute services to early intervention andcommunity-based, preventative approaches.

Third Sector Interfaces in all local authority areas are tasked withsigning off Change Plans on behalf of the Third Sector, and GCVSundertook this role in Glasgow. During 2012/13, the focus beganto shift from the Change Plan to the new Joint CommissioningStrategy and Plan for the city, which takes account of the totalityof spend invested in older people’s services in Glasgow.

Through consultation with the sector, we contributed to and signedoff a draft plan in February, with a series of conditions, includingcommitments to grow a new generation of community basedservices co-produced by older people as well as to reviewcommissioning processes to ensure alternative fundingmechanisms which support and sustain local services.

Our Third Sector Transformation Fund supported investment intwenty projects supporting older people, bringing circa £1.5 millionadditional investment to the sector during 2012-13. In addition,learning from the first round, we secured an additional £100K tosupport smaller organisations who had been unsuccessful to bidin the next round.

In November 2012, we published our research report on theMapping of Older People’s Services in Glasgow. This reporthighlighted the scale and scope of Third Sector activity in the city,much of which was unrecognized and unknown, with an estimated1000+ organisations and groups working to support this agendaacross Glasgow. The research helped to shape and inform thepriorities in the Transformation Fund and the report is being usedto inform the development of the Joint Commissioning Strategy aswe move forward.

Reshaping Care for Older People

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ConnectAnnualReport 2012/ 13

Policy and influenceIn 2012-13 we continued to target our Connectresources to help strengthen the sector’s voice andmake the views, concerns and ideas of our membersheard by politicians and policy makers on a widerange of important subjects.

We monitored policy developments at local, city andnational level, highlighting areas of interest andimpact to members through our briefings, newslettersand members meetings.

In August 2012, we held a consultation event onthe Community Empowerment and Renewal Bill.Discussions from this event combined with our onlinesurvey helped shape our members response to theScottish Government.

In November, we held a packed event on WelfareReform, which informed our members about theimpact the policy would have on the city. From this,we went on to establish a Third Sector WelfareReform Group early in 2013, with key Third Sectororganisations from across the city, which aims toshare information, research the ongoing impact andcampaign against Welfare Reform and its devastatingeffect on many of Glasgow’s poorest citizens. Wealso joined the GAIN network.

And in January 2013, we ran another busy event inpartnership with Samaritans Scotland, on Men andSuicide, which brought our members and networkstogether to consider the findings of research bySamaritans, highlighting the key factors in determiningmen’s risk of suicide and of particular interest to frontline workers in the Third Sector working with menwho could be at risk.

In addition to the CER Bill, we produced briefings forthe sector on key areas of proposed legislationincluding the Rights of Children and Young people,the Integration of Adult Health and Social Care, theScottish Government’s reform Programme and theEarly Years and Reducing Offending Change Funds.

We also continued to support the work of the ThirdSector Forum by informing our members on develop-ments in community planning, including the new areasand structures and the development of the SOA.

And we have continued to campaign on behalf ofmembers on Concessionary Rents through our workwith the Third Sector Forum.

Our websitewww.gcvs.org.uk continues to be an importantand reliable source of information for our membersand the wider sector.

During 2012-13, our content was updated daily toreflect news about Glasgow’s Third Sector, GCVSservices, events, consultations, policy publicationsand resources.

With 1700 registered users of the site, our webtraffic continued to grow steadily throughout theyear and the website received over 54,000 visits,40% of which were return visits.

During 2012/13, traffic to the website increased by30% as compared with the previous year, with over4500 monthly visitors to the website. This increasewas largely attributable to our growing use ofSocial Media and an 28% increase in volume ofreferral traffic.

Glasgow Third Sector InterfaceactivityThe establishment and further development of astrong, effective, inclusive Glasgow Third SectorInterface (TSI) was a major organizationalobjective supported through both our Thrive andConnect activity, pursued by all our staff and ourBoard throughout 2012-13.

During 2012/13 we fully implemented our TSIAgreement and delivered a two year BusinessPlan jointly with the Volunteer Glasgow, (VG) andCommunity Enterprise in Scotland, (CEiS).

Altogether we successfully carried out the threesupport functions of an Interface – voluntary andcommunity sector support, social enterprisesupport and volunteering development.

During 2012/13, GCVS supported the furtherdevelopment of the fourth TSI function - positiveengagement of the Third Sector with CommunityPlanning – by contributing to the Third SectorForum (TSF) through which consultation tookplace with the wider Third Sector in Glasgow– i.e. all Third Sector organisations.

GCVS helped to recruit and appoint a full timeCoordinator for the TSF and its Executive Committee(TSEC) and we hosted this post on behalf of theThird Sector Interface.

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Delivering Our Thrive AgendaThrive reflects the services we deliver to support strong thrivingThird Sector organisations in Glasgow.

We do this through a range of organisational and workforcedevelopment services many of which we deliver in partnershipwith other third sector organisations or other support agencies.We also offer a number of technical and back office services.

We deliver training, learning, employer’s advice and capacitybuilding services as well as those which provide more technicalsupport, such as our payroll service. We try, as much as possible,to build on the strengths of the third sector, as well as developprogrammes that help meet the ever changing needs of organisationsas they seek to navigate the challenges of the dynamicenvironments they work in.

Our services seek also to support our Connect agenda so weseek to run learning events which encourage understanding ofpolicy and planning in the city and which support consultation andengagement in decision making.

Our Albany Learning and Conference Centre has gone fromstrength to strength and significantly moved towards our vision forit as a hub for third sector learning and development. Last yearwe achieved an ambition to open up the Albany in the eveningsand weekends to the community in the Woodlands area where it issituated and as a result we succeeded in attracting 2600 visitors ina six-month period.

ThriveAnnualReport 2012/ 13

“I cannot believe theamount of work anddirection you arewilling to put into thissmall charitable cause.Imagine one day - withyour help - we may bea charity in the fulllegal sense. And thenwe can really help!

GCVS Capacity Building Service user

Albany Centre audiences

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Employers Advice ServiceThe Employers’ Advice Service has had a busy yearassisting employers and managers with the HRchallenges and day to day issues that they face.First, the figures. We:

Consultancy work has included restructures,redundancy procedures, employment contractvariations, dismissals, absence management, reviewsof policy manuals, staff handbooks and employmentcontracts, Health and Safety audits, risk assessmentsand dealing with conflict.

Pension WorkshopsWe ran a series of Workplace Pensions Reformworkshops devised to raise awareness of the majorchanges in pensions provision that will eventuallyaffect all sizes of employer, and help the sector toget prepared well in advance.

We were also commissioned by Glasgow City Council torun three sessions for grant recipients, all of which gotgood feedback on their usefulness. In addition, we ranHR guidance sessions for GCVS members and for oursister organisations in Fife and East Renfrewshire.

At the start of the year we said goodbye and goodluck to Jacqui Tough, who moved on to be a trainerfor St Andrews Ambulance. Her expertise in HR andHealth and Safety, as well as her general good cheerhave been greatly missed.

Linden, our Employers Advice Service Manager joineda working group of the Third Sector Forum which aimsto assess the impact that membership of StrathclydePension Fund is having on the sector, and exploreways of addressing this. The work continues.

Employer’s Question TimeOur fifth annual Employers’ Question Time inFebruary proved as popular as ever. Our audiencefired a full range of challenging HR and employmentlaw questions at our willing and able panel members- Tony McGrade of McGrade and Co and KarenHarvie of ACH Shoosmiths.

The GCVS SVQ CentreIn 2012/2013 we were forced to restructure ourSVQ Centre due to continuing pressure to makeends-meet financially.

The remodelling saw the loss of two internal SVQAssessors and a move to an Associate ConsultantAssessor Model. We are currently working with19 external Assessor/Verifiers.

While there have been challenges in ensuring qualitystandards and continuing to meet the needs of ourmembers, the new model is now well established andworking for us and our customers.

We continue to grow in the range of awards we areoffering. New developments this year has beengaining approval to offer PDA Promoting Excellencein Dementia, which was as a result of the ScottishGovernment drive to ensure workers were skilled inproviding care to service users with a diagnosis ofDementia. The SVQ Centre also gained approval tooffer Youth Work Level 2 and 3. The SVQ Centre hasgained in the diversity of its assessors who comefrom many different backgrounds, from Investigatorsat the Prosecutor Fiscals office to College lecturerswith many years’ experience in Social Care.

Other successes this year include:

We also delivered:

Key developments next year will be delivering ModernApprenticeships in Youthwork and commencingdelivery of the PDA Dementia Skilled Practice.

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30 MA places for the 20 years and over category inCustomer Service, Business Administration, Healthand Social Care.

86 fee paying candidates completed an SVQ in arange of subjects. SVQ Health and Social Care level 2, 3 & 4. SVQ Health and Social Care level 3 & 4. SVQ Advice and Guidance level 3 & 4. SVQ Administration Level 2, 3 & 4. SVQ Customer Care Level 3S. SVQ Learning and Development Level 3 & 4. SVQ Management Level 3 & 4. Assessor/Verifier awards

dealt with around 700 requests for help or advicedelivered 24 days of scheduled and bespoketraining, on topics including Employment Lawupdates, Supporting and Supervising Staff andEmployer Responsibilitieswelcomed 18 new subscribers to the serviceran 9 workshops on Workplace Pensions Reformprovided hands-on consultancy to 45 organisations

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we secured sole provider status to GHA to deliver30 Assessor awardswe provided consultancy Internal Verification toGHA in relation to the CIH awardwe secured a tender with an NHS recovery projectto deliver 9 SVQ’s to individuals in recovery.

ThriveAnnualReport 2012/ 13

Glasgow’s LearningGCVS participates in Glasgow Strategic Learning partnership and two of its sub group Adult Learning andCommunity capacity Building. Specifically, we support Adult Literacy work in the City and have a significant rolein supporting Community Learning and Development (CLD) through networking practitioners and CLD training.

The Adult Literacy & Numeracy (ALN) Support Service Team experienced changes in 2012, welcoming Sallie Condyas the new coordinator. We currently support 25 specialist literacies projects in the Third and College Sectors.

ThriveAnnualReport 2012/ 13

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Learners and staff discussing history kitsArts, Culture & Literacies thematic group

The service conducted 56 individual support visits and acted as an information portal for ALN providers.

We developed our on-line presence via our own webpage, our GCVS ALN Facebook page and contributionsto Glasgow’s Learning website.

Six of our popular Providers’ Network meetings and Tutors’ Swap Shops were held, giving literacies staff theopportunity to share good practice and keep informed of local, national and international literacies matters.56 literacies staff participated.

We have held 3 specific staff development events, i.e. Equality Act 2010, Understanding Glasgow and Howto Take Advantage of the Untapped Pool of Volunteer Tutors.

In response to requests, we also held two successful joint learner events - one to complete applications forvolunteering at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and one in preparation for the annualAyeWrite event. For the latter,29 learners and tutors attended, along with staff fromGlasgowMuseum Service who brought along reminiscence kits.

GCVS ALN Support Staff respond to the needs of providers and seek to work collaboratively, as themesemerge. Specifically:

Literacies work within reducing offending and the criminal justice system was a key focus. We led, jointly withGlasgow Life, on a Scottish Government funded project (£43,000 from the Reducing Reoffending Change Fund)to provide mentoring support to those learners previously involved with the criminal justice system.

We also have a fledgling Arts, Culture and Literacies grouping of providers who seek to both incorporate artsmethods into their literacies classrooms and to engage their learners in arts & culture in the city. We havefacilitated discussions and hosted a number of pilots, e.g. a taster session at the Citizens Theatre and asinging and literacies event in Castlemilk, attended by 50 people.

Glasgow CLD Network2012 saw the inception of the Glasgow CLDNetwork which is managed by GCVS. This hasbeen made possible by funding from CLDUpskilling monies from Education Scotland.Throughout this year the Network has grown instrength and size and now there are over 100people on the Network mailing list covering allsectors of the CLD field.

As well as hosting a series of networking events,members of the Network have contributed toseveral consultations including one on theimplementation of CLD Strategic Guidance forCommunity Planning Partnerships and theCommunity Empowerment and Renewal Billconsultation from the Scottish Government.

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Capacity Building supportBuilding the capacity of new and small organisations continuesto be a priority for GCVS. We have been grateful for fundingsupport from Glasgow City Council which has helped us provide arange of free services.

GCVS Payroll serviceAt the end of March 2013 GCVSmaintained a Payroll service for257 separate projects. We lost 22projects over the year, 16 of thesebecause they lost their funding,but this loss was almost matchedby 19 new clients coming on board- several of whom we were happyto welcome thanks to recommenda-tions by existing clients. We alsoreceived ten unsolicited and first-ratetestimonials from projects who wouldrecommend us those thinking aboutusing a payroll service.

As systems become more and morecomplex, our friendly, straightforwardand supportive service is becomingmore and more appreciated by ourhard pressed clients.

As the financial year ended, we hada busy time preparing ourselves andour clients for the introduction ofRTI by the Inland Revenue - whichthankfully has gone smoothly!

Early Start up supportWe worked with over 220 new and small organisations on thefollowing issues:

• Becoming a charity (SCIO)• Funding support• Governance support• Board recruitment support• Charity law and charity accounting and reporting to OSCR• Reviewing and renewing constitutions

Bespoke supportThrough GCC referrals we have provided a range of CapacityBuilding Bespoke Support services such as:

• Governance• Diversifying Funding• Employers Advice• Strategic and operational planning

Learning daysThroughout this year several capacity building events have beenmade available for organisations to access free of charge.Over 130 people attended sessions on the following topics:

• Pension reform briefing• Funding• Governance• Board recruitment and induction• Monitoring and evaluation

Feedback was very positive, with many attendees finding the tools,expertise and knowledge highly useful and informative.

First Funding Stop Glasgow funding portalGCVS continues to manage the First Funding Portal which is partfunded through Glasgow City Council. The site continued toreceive a very high usage over the year. The site has around 1000registered users to date, and the administrators, IDOX, report thatGlasgow has one of the highest traffic volumes in Scotland, withonly two English sites having a higher volume of traffic.

There were average of 50 new registrations per month, and 2432funding searches were carried out, with over 1600 of those beingattributable to charities and over 400 from community groups.

First Tuesday funding workshopsLast year we introduced First Tuesday funding workshops onceper month. These continue to be y popular, with an average of13 groups attending per month.

Over this summer, we were delighted to have Mhairi Owens fromBig Lottery attending the sessions, where she has hosted afunding surgery on Lottery programmes as part of the session.

ThriveAnnualReport 2012/ 13

“You are a good contactto have, and I feel safein the knowledge thateverything we need willbe taken care of.

GCVS service user

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The AlbanyLearning and Conference Centre

The Albany Learning and Conference Centre entered its fourth yearof operation in good health, and we have gone from strength tostrength as a flagship hub for Glasgow’s Third Sector and also as acomfortable, low-cost and friendly events and conference venue.

In June 2012, thanks to funding secured through the ScottishGovernment Enterprise Growth Fund, we closed the Albany Centrefor six weeks in order to undertake a significant refurbishment.We were able to create a full cooking kitchen, upgrade the Albanylift and redecorate and refurnish the training and meeting rooms.

Despite the six-week closure, the Albany Centre continued toprosper and grow, and external room hires beat targets for thethird year running.

GCVS day courses at the Albany CentreOne of the Albany's key functions is as a centre for our training andlearning events, and our short course training programme grewsignificantly through the year.

During 2012/13, we hosted 154 one-day training courses, up from125 the previous year. Of these, one important new initiative wasour suite of six New Media courses, which have proven immenselypopular with our membership and beyond.

We also established a significant partnership with Indicia training,leaders in the field of IT training. They now provide around a dozendifferent IT courses for us, at significantly reduced cost to comparableproviders, and they have also contracted to provide a one-yearphone troubleshooting service for all attendees at our IT courses.

Learning Events at the Albany CentreSince the Albany Centre opened in 2008, we have hosted an impressive series of learning events, eachintended to skill-up or simply inform our Third Sector audience on topics as diverse as equalities issues towelfare reform or employment pension legislation. In 2012/13 we hosted thirty-two such events, up by ten onthe previous year. Highlights included;

ThriveAnnualReport 2012/ 13

A consultation event on the Community Empowerment Renewal BillTwo Health & the City events - two separate consultation events on future health provision in Glasgow.Two separate runs of Social Media for Social Good, our innovative day of expert talks and workshopsA ground-breaking event, Men and Suicide, co-hosted with Samaritans, and an event on reducingreoffending, co-hosted with Glasgow Criminal Justice Authority.

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“I have used theAlbany on quite afew occasions. It isa fabulous venue!

Hirer of the Albany Centre

Rehearsing a presentation

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Community Outreach at the Albany Centre

Thanks to the funding we secured from the Scottish GovernmentEnterprise Growth Fund, we were able to fulfil a long-term ambitionand open up the Albany Centre for the local community at eveningsand weekends for community use.

We began the programme in June 2012, informed by extensiveresearch and consultation with local groups and we delivered avariety of services and activities catering to the needs of thecommunity, including:

These relationships have been positive for all involved – with ThirdSector organisations being provided with a venue to host theiractivities for specific audience groups.

In total, from June 2012 to March 2013 we ran 231 outreachevents, with over 2600 people taking part.

ThriveAnnualReport 2012/ 13

a community cookery club for familiesa range of Trade School Glasgow classes focusing oncommunity-building and social care.workshops from Universal Comedy for people with mental andphysical health problems.a Citizens Advice outreach clinica pilot programme of activities for young people aged 15 – 24.

We also developed strong relationships with local communityorganisations and our core GCVS membership through ourcommunity programme. Those delivering their outreach activities atthe Albany Centre included:

Maryhill Citizens Advice BureauSocial Care Ideas FactoryWise WomenUniversal ComedyWoodlands Community GardenCOPEBritish Red Cross

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“An excellentand much neededresource for thelocal area

GCVS Outreach participant

“This is a very goodinitiative for buildingcommunity cohesionand links, as well asteaching new skills.

GCVS Outreach participantA GCVS learning event

IT training at the Albany Centre

Human Resources, IiP, FinancesAnnualReport 2012/ 13

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Human ResourcesOur overall staff numbers have remained relativelystable over the past three years, ranging from46 to 56, including work placements.

In our drive to keep costs down and relievepressure and reduce workloads, we areemploying more part-time workers, and usingmore work and training placements andvolunteers, as like many other third sectororganisations we try to do the same level – oran even greater - level of work, with less, andless permanent, staffing resources.

Investors in PeopleWe went through an IiP review in 2012 and gota very positive and favourable report, citing realstrengths in key areas.

We received IiP recognition at the end of April2012 for another 3 years, expiring in 2015.

The GCVS Accounts for the year ended 31st March2013 have been audited, have received an unqualifiedaudit opinion and are available in full from GCVS onrequest.

GCVS Income and ExpenditureAccounts 2012/13

IncomeGRANT £1,682,732GENERATED £879,570OTHER £29,923

TOTAL INCOME £2,592,225

Generated income 34% Other income 1%

ExpenditureSTAFF COSTS £1,200,473PROPERTY COSTS £140,329OTHER COSTS £1,289,704

TOTAL COSTS £ 2,630,506

Staff costs 46%Property Costs 5%

Other Costs 49%

Grant income 65%

clarity of vision, purpose and strategyequality and diversity firmly embeddedwithin organisation and its processes

strong, inspirational leadership by theSenior Management Team, demonstratingan open, honest and trusting managementstyle

staff members with strong loyalty to theorganisation and to the membership, verycommercially aware, and very committedto GCVS’ future success

multi-skilled staff members, with a culture ofcontinuous learning and developmentteamwork and co-operation demonstratedat all levels in the organisationeffective one-to-one supervision processesin place, where feedback is given to mem-bers of staff on a regular basis

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Helping employers to begood employers

Talk to us today to find out how we can help you

Employers’AdviceService

Very few small-to-medium sizedorganisations can afford to employ apersonnel specialist, and that’s whatthis service offers you.

Help when you need itD and before!

Linden StablesEmployers’ Advice Service Manager

Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector11 Queens Crescent, Glasgow G4 9AS

linden.stables@gcvs.org.ukTel: 0141 354 6515

Learning and Conference Centre

ThealbanyBespoke training from the experts

We’re here to help!GCVS delivers over 200 day courses at the Albany Learning and Conference Centreevery year. But did you know that we can also tailor training content so that it fitsprecisely with your own needs?

We work with a wide range of trainers and consultants, all of them proven experts intheir fields, and we are always happy to discuss how best we can deliver bespoketraining that suits you. We can provide training rooms at the Albany Centre or, if itsuits you better, we can deliver training at your own premises.

We will be delighted to tailor our training to your own needs.

If you are interested in bespoke training, or would just like further adviceon the subject, please contact our training team on

0141 332 2444 Or email us at : training@gcvs.org.ukAsk us about our Training Needs Analysis service when you contact us.

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Event and conference spaces for up to eighty peopleExtremely competitive pricing on room hires and cateringQuiet rooms, with no city-centre traffic noiseOn-site catering served in the award-winning Albany cafeNaturally-lit and welcoming rooms, with flexible set-upAn IT suite for your bespoke trainingJust minutes from Glasgow’s Charing Cross and the M8 motorway

To find out moreCall: 0141 332 2444 Email: albanyinfo@gcvs.org.uk Visit: www.gcvs.org.uk/albany

Glasgow’s welcoming,comfortable and fully

accessible venue

Situated in the leafy and quiet Woodlands area of Glasgow,just five minutes from the city centre, the Albany Learning andConference Centre is a fully equipped venue for events, training andconferences.

Whatever your event, and regardless of whether it is for eight peo-ple or eighty, the Albany Centre has light, airy and welcomingspaces to suit your needs

Our rooms can be arranged to meet your needs, and our profes-sional, welcoming staff will be available both before your event andon the day to make sure that everything goes perfectly!

The Albany Centre is available for your own conferences and events

Ask us about currentpromotions, or discounts

for block-bookingsand new customers.

Andy HeedeAngela RaeburnBridgid CorrCharlene TannockDavid CowanDominic McGonigleDonna LairdErica TaylorFarah PortelaFiona MowatGillian McCamleyHelen MacneilHelen ScammellIona MacaulayIsabel McarthurIsobel Winning

James RodgerJamie FarquharsonJoe RoseJohn RobertsonJoseph GallagherJoy AndrewJune MacLeodKaren ArmstrongKate HendersonLauren DouglasLinden StablesLiz MccallLiz McEnteeLorien EwingMagloire SanouMarie Murray

Matthew DawsonMaureen McMillanMelissa DuffyNatalie GrayNina HoneymanPatricia ScottPhilip HorsfieldPietro SabatiniRoberta DownesRuth FarquharsonSallie CondySamira AdrisStephen DowneyToni Watson

Our staff 2012 /13

Annual Report2012 / 13

Glasgow Councilfor the

Voluntary Sector