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CSV admits aligning priorities with OTS

Finance | Celina Ribeiro | 15 Sep 2009

Community Service Volunteers has aligned several of its organisational priorities with those of the Office of the Third Sector, it admitted in its summary of progress made with its strategic OTS grant to March 2009.

And the OTS stated that CSV’s work with public sector bodies, demonstrating how volunteer involvement can add value to the delivery of public services, is a “key strength” of its strategic partner status.

CSV is the OTS’ third most highly-funded strategic partner, receiving £1,050,600 for the 2008/09 year.  According to OTS volunteering policy officer John Knights, CSV provides valuable support on the operational issues of volunteering (CRB checks, benefits rules) but also on the strategic issues.

In the OTS’ latest assessment of CSV’s progress as a strategic partner, Knights said the main achievement for CSV for the year was its successful lobbying for the European year of volunteering.

“The delivery of Make a Difference Day with a reduced budget in 2008 was also a major achievement,” Knights added.  Some 62,000 people volunteered on 25 October last year, with 8.3 per cent from black and minority ethnic groups and 9.7 per cent with a disability.

In its own summary, CSV said it had “actively pursued several organisational priorities congruent with OTS priorities, notably provision of training for third sector volunteer involving agencies, involvement of volunteers less likely to be involved, and promotion of volunteering in the public sector”.

CSV had also been “extremely active in policy development with OTS and other government departments”, had disseminated policies to various groups and reported on the impact of those policies on those groups.

CSV is due to receive a further £1,076,900 from the OTS in 2009/10 and £1,103,800 in 2010/11.

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Who's Who: Celina Ribeiro