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CSV embarks on strategic review

Governance | Tania Mason | 21 Jul 2011

Volunteering charity CSV is undertaking a wholesale strategic review which involves asking key stakeholders how they think the charity should respond to the “challenging context” it operates in.

The review has been instigated by new chief executive Lucy de Groot and chair Sir Jon Shortridge in order to set the direction for the next chapter in CSV’s history.

The charity is on the threshold of a new era, having recently said farewell to its high-profile and long-standing executive director Dame Elisabeth Hoodless and chair John Pulford.

Hoodless retired in November 2010 after 48 years at the organisation, including 25 in the top job, and Pulford stepped down from the chairmanship in February 2010 following 34 years on the board.  He is now honorary vice president of the charity.

In March CSV also found itself expelled from the list of Office for Civil Society strategic partners, bringing to an end its 40-year strategic funding relationship with central government. The financial loss amounted to £1.1m - less than 4 per cent of group revenue, but was disproportionately valuable as core funding.

de Groot joined CSV last November and soon after appointed research agency BritainThinks to “look into the attitudes of key stakeholders towards CSV and its challenges for the future”. 

In a letter to potential survey participants, de Groot wrote: “The political and financial environment has changed in recent times and we’d like to hear your views on how CSV should respond to the challenging context that it operates in.”

CSV began planning to adjust for the potential loss of the OCS strategic grant as soon as the sector was told the funding stream was under review. Currently 75 per cent of CSV’s group revenue comes from the public sector with 55 per cent coming from various central government sources; private sector income accounts for 17 per cent and grants and donations for 8 per cent. Its public sector funding is also highly diverse: it receives funding from over 20 different local authorities; two devolved governments; various government departments; prisons; training bodies and more.

In June CSV won a £561,000 grant from the Department of Health’s Volunteering Fund to recruit and train citizens to spread “important information about embarrassing or taboo health issues amongst marginalised people over 50 years old”. The three-year Strip It Bare project will be used to train ‘health champions’ and community volunteers in 12 areas throughout England.
 
Last year CSV’s Volunteers in Child Protection programme won the Overall Award at the Charity Awards and a few weeks ago, project lead Sue Gwaspari told an Awards masterclass that the project had gone from strength to strength since.

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