Volunteering Today Volunteering in Exeter in the current economic climate

Andy Curtis, Institute for Volunteering Research

Evolve, 16 June 2014

Volunteering in the current economic climateLessons from a three-year research project

Outline

• Background to the research

• Volunteering in the current economic climate

• Findings from the research

• Impact on volunteering

• Reaction to challenges

• The role of welfare policy

• Conclusions, recommendations and discussion

Background to the research • Research conducted for a Big Lottery Fund (BLF) project Volunteering for

Stronger Communities (VSC)

• A partnership between NCVO and 15 Volunteer Centres. They were awarded a £1.9m grant to help communities affected by the recession to stimulate volunteering

• IVR was funded to conduct research in the areas where the 15 Volunteer Centres operate

• The research aims to provide a snapshot of volunteering now – including challenges facing those involved in volunteering in the current economic climate and strategies adopted to take on these challenges. The project seeks to inform national policy debates

What the research entailed• Predominately qualitative research project runs for three

years, ending in October 2014• 140 interviews in 15 areas over two years with local

infrastructure organisations (volunteer centres and CVSs), local authorities, volunteer-involving organisations and volunteers

• Two case-study areas, Liverpool and Devon• Visited eight volunteer-involving organisations • Long dissemination period

Volunteering in the current climate

Rates of formal volunteering

(Citizenship Survey (2001 – 2010-11) and Community Life Survey (2012-13). Respondents for each period range from 6,915 - 9,664)

Highest rate 44%

Only varies by

5%

Motivations for volunteering (Helping Out, 2007)Motivations for volunteering % citing

I wanted to improve things, help people 53

Cause was important to me 41I had time to spare 41I wanted to meet people, make friends 30Connected with needs, interests of family or friends

29

There was a need in the community 29To use existing skills 27Part of my philosophy of life 23Friends, family did it 21To learn new skills 19Part of my religious belief 17No one else to do it 13To help get on in my career 7

Volunteering in the current climate• Big Society discourse and Localism Act advocated greater

social action

• Volunteer related initiatives include:• the Social Action Fund • the National Citizen Service • Community Organisers programme • Volunteer Centre Fund

In addition, major BLF relevant initiatives include • the Transforming Local Infrastructure fund • Big Local Trust

Volunteering in the current climate• Coalition government’s policies in practice have had

various implications for volunteering• Austerity measures have had perhaps the greatest impact

• £1.3 billion in government funding to the voluntary sector was cut between 2010/11 and 2011/12 – the year the comprehensive spending review came into effect (NCVO Alamanac 2014)

• Charities’ expenditure fell by £450m from 2010/11 to 2011/12• Some of the drivers for individuals to volunteer through the

employability and welfare reform agendas challenge the notion of volunteering

Volunteering in the current climate

What constitutes success?

• Is it all about money and expansion?

• Is it about survival at all costs?

• The concept of organisational resilience has some relevance. Stewart and O’Donnell (2007) define organisational resilience in the following way:‘Resilience is the term used to describe an organisation’s capacity to respond positively, or at least, adaptively to disruptive change. Resilience implies, not just the ability to

withstand external shocks, but also suggests a capacity for adaptation and learning.’

Research findings: vol-involving organisations• Funding cuts from multiple sources of funding (central

government, local government, less buying power of customers in charity shops, groups have less funds to hire community centre spaces)

• The funding that is available can come with challenges: • Generally more competitive• Commissioning opposed to grant-making• In some cases payment-by-results • Sometimes can only bid as part of a partnership/consortium • More short-term contracts• Core-funding harder to obtain, funding more focused on

particular groups/projects

Research findings: vol-involving organisations• Implications for involving volunteers was mixed:

• In some cases, there was volunteer involvement to meet increased demand and/or replace capacity lost through departure of some paid positions

• Other cases where organisations cannot take on as many volunteers due to loss of capacity – for example, loss of volunteer manager/co-ordinator

Research findings: local infrastructure

• Experiencing cuts, like most of the voluntary sector• It seems in some cases infrastructure organisations

particularly struggle to attract funding• End of major national programmes, including Capacity

Builders and Basis. Newer funding is a lot smaller and emphasises change and innovation

• In the Annual Return of Volunteer Centres 2013 (2011/12 financial year) • Nearly two-thirds of VCs had a reduction in funding from the year

before• More than one-in-five overall had a reduction of 50% or greater

• Difficult to make money by charging for services previously offered for free

Research findings: volunteers

• In some cases issues around management of volunteering opportunities

• Lack of clarity around implications of volunteering for those on out of work benefits

• Mix of reasons for volunteering, many not linked to the current climate

Welfare policy• Welfare policy has interacted with volunteering in

unforeseen ways• Examples of some people being asked to volunteer in

order to comply with job seekers or Work Programme agreements

• Conversely others had stopped volunteering through fear that it would mean a loss of ESA / incapacity benefits

• Latest initiatives causing concern are community work placements – will these challenge the notion of volunteering?

Cuts case-studies • Local authority

• Volunteer Centre (merger)

• Community Centre (VIO with drastic funding cuts)

• Community Café (Volunteer-led group, asset transfer)

Cuts case-study - Devon • Two-tier local authority structure• Devon County Council are making £28 million cuts in

2014/15• Annual budget of £600 million a year in 2009 estimated to

fall to £400 million a year in 2017• The most recent proposals for cuts to council services

include a consultation to close 26 of the county’s 35 elderly day care centres

• Furthermore, Exeter City Council’s budget was also reduced from just over £18.5 million in 2009/2010 to just £13.5 million in 2014/2015

• North Devon District Council’s budget was also reduced from just over £15 million in 2010/2011 to just £11.7 million in 2014/2015.

What’s happening in Devon?

‘Because of the severe reduction in funding, our finances are stretched and we will need the people of the county to work with us to deliver some or all of the activities we are no longer able to do ourselves.’

Devon County Council Leader John Hart

Case-study – Volunteer Centre merger • When study engaged with the Volunteer Centre it was

independent• The local authority stopped funding volunteering activities • The VC ceased to be viable without the core grant, despite

having a number of smaller projects• Merged with CVS

‘[We have gained] small, short term pots of funding for part of a member of staff and it’s quite specific funding rather than general. The main problem that we’ve got after losing the initial grant funding is that there’s nothing there to support just general people, we’ve got some funding to support young people, disabled people, BME people, people with mental health issues, with homelessness problems but everyone that doesn't fit those criteria, there’s nothing there to support that.’

Case-study VIO - community hub

• Certain locations are hotbeds of volunteering activity. • The Pathways through Participation project (Brodie et al,

2011) identified a number of such sites:• Schools, colleges and universities• Religious institutions (such as churches and mosques) • Recreational spaces (music venues, sports clubs and parks, and

community events)• Other sites (including Job centres, GPs, advice services, VCs)

Community centre in Devon

• Founded in the 2000s, the centre started off as a healthy living initiative and has had various funding regimes since

• It has a few paid staff and over 50 volunteers, many with additional support needs

• The centre manager is currently a trustee who has taken the role on an interim basis voluntarily

Who will fund community hubs in future?

• If national local authorities or national initiatives won’t fund community hubs, how will they sustain themselves?

• Bookings down from public sector bodies and voluntary groups due to the cuts

• Café function more challenging because of economic downturn • Alternative approaches? One proposal at an dissemination event

for this project was to get the private sector to let voluntary groups have space for free as part of their CSR

Micro-organisations

According to the NCVO Almanac 2013:

•there are over 162,000 voluntary organisations in the UK.

•Just over half of these are what are termed ‘micro’ organisations, that is to say their income is less than £10,000 per annum.

•The largest share of their income is from individuals, such as donations, gifts and membership fees.

•Only 4% of funding comes from statutory sources

Community Café

•Formed nearly two years ago, this café is run from a local authority owned building entirely by volunteers. This includes family focused events and activities.

•Based in a public park, the café opens during the more warmer/drier months of the year. With money raised reinvested into the café and surroundings, the facilities have already been enhanced.

Creativity and resourcefulness of volunteer-led groups

‘…people hear about it and they say “oh we’ll do this for you”. So they’re not actually here but they’re doing something away and bringing it to us kind of thing, so that’s good. And you know it’s like if we have a problem with the toilets or something, we’ve got a plumber that might come in and do something for us [and] an electrician’ Ilfracombe, Community Café, Ilfracombe

‘…it’s just like you call in favours from people you know and you’ve just got to be a bit creative…. This organisation, this service, could not function without community volunteers, it is wholly reliant on community volunteers … I’m sure if push came to shove and I had the time and a phone line, I could probably rustle up half a dozen people to come in …’ Volunteer, Community Support Organisation, Ilfracombe

Research findings: examples of resilience

• Trustee intervention: importance of trustees in period of crisis (stepping in during a transitional period, for example helping with funding bids)

• Diversification of income streams: VIOs finding new funding streams, in some cases totally different to what came before. For example, one group had successfully secured grant funding to offset the loss of revenue from a charity shop because of the economic downturn

• Asset transfer: opportunities included asset transfer. Example of a group of volunteers in Devon taking over a local authority building to provide a community café. The seasonal nature of trade did not matter (because it was non-profit) and it was able to reinvest all profits back into the café and surrounding area

• Greater importance of volunteer-led groups?: activities run by volunteer-led groups take greater importance as services are cut – for example, older persons social group in Exeter

Conclusions Changing context in which volunteering is operating

Cuts to the funding More challenging contracts Other agendas such as welfare causing complications

Reactions to challenges Different funding opportunities but these are finite, but what about mission? Differing ways of using volunteers Opportunities too, including for volunteer-led groups

Impact on volunteers Recession and unemployment can motivate some Welfare policy having an unforeseen impact Other changes, such as micro volunteering, but formal volunteering remained

much the same for a decade

Recommendations

Volunteer-involving organisationsVIOs need sufficient support, specifically with any aspect of their work that is changing, for example commissioning;Community spaces, places where groups and volunteers can congregate, need to be supported (this includes non-traditional spaces, such as rooms in private organisations given for free as part of their CSR). Volunteering infrastructureNational infrastructure bodies should support LIOs to articulate and communicate their value and strength, at the same time as highlighting where change and adaptation is required;The offer LIOs can make in terms of health and employment outcomes appears to be fruitful and, where appropriate, highlighted as a model that can be used by other LIOs; LIOs should be supported in demonstrating their strength as experts and leaders of volunteering, and explore how this role could be further expanded to capture newer forms of volunteering. VolunteersThe underpinning principles of volunteering, especially that it is given of one’s freewill, should be respected and protected; Where applicable, clear guidance about how volunteering may affect benefits should be provided.

Next steps in the research…

As part of the dissemination of this project there will be bespoke papers produced aimed at different audiences, for example local authorities, about good practice and innovative funding streams.

If you wish to join the mailing list for the project please email: andy.curtis@ivr.org.uk

Discussion points

What are the implications of the findings for:Funders/commissionersLocal authoritiesVolunteer-involving organisations (various sizes)Volunteers and volunteer-led groupsVolunteering infrastructure organisations

Andy.curtis@ivr.org.ukinfo@ivr.org.uk0207 520 2448www.ivr.org.uk

Thank you