Making a difference

CAH Five Year Impact Review 2006-2011

During the last five years CAH has reshaped itself, in order to focus clearly on its support services to the not-for-profit sector.

We transferred our direct care and transport services to other organisations, enabling us to purchase Beaconsfield House. This asset gives us security during the economic crisis, with the consequent loss of much state funding.

CAH has built a strong reputation for its social enterprise support - initially through the recruitment of Cris Jezard,a recognised specialist, and, subsequently, through the establishment of the Hampshire School for Social Entrepreneurs. Despite Cris’s sad and untimely death, in early 2011, a strong legacy of support to social enterprise and social entrepreneurs remains.

The School developed from our Centre of Excellence for Learning and Development which, during the three years of the project, achieved an excellent reputation for the delivery of accredited training to the sector.

CAH’s portfolio of services remains a mix of the established and the new. We continue to provide support to rural communities and for the provision of affordable rural housing. Successive governments have encouraged the sector to undertake a greater role in the provision of state services. Now more than ever, our policy and information service needs to keep the sector informed.

Our team is smaller than it was five years ago, but a good support organisation cannot be measured by the size of its staff team or turnover. We remain committed to providing the highest quality support to the wider not-for-profit sector, representing its voice and needs to the best of our ability.

We have received generous support from many funders, but principally Hampshire County Council; Action with Communities in Rural England; European Social Fund; BIG Lottery Fund; the HARAH partnership; Skills Funding Agency; and Capacitybuilders. Thank you!

Community Action Hampshire supports, connects, develops, influences and:

• Distributed grants of over £2.7 million to 693 organisations
• Produced 323 editions of our regular publications
• Enabled the creation of rural affordable homes for 545 local people
• Took community bus passengers over 221,000 miles during 82,000 journeys
• Held 66 events with over 2,000 delegates
• Gave direct support to more than 240 social enterprises
• Trained 25 learning and skills advisers
• Created and delivered four new social enterprise training modules
• Analysed the training needs of 794 organisations and individuals
• Created 15 research reports and 4 toolkits
• Supplied ongoing advice and support to 194 village hall committees
• Established and floated the Children & Young People’s Alliance
• Provided direct infrastructure support to 3,900 people in Hampshire
• Provided publications to 2,000 people each month
• Gave information and advice about training to 2,767 organisations
• Enabled voluntary sector representation on over 70 panels and boards
• Created an equality and diversity network used by 366 organisations
• Won major BIG Lottery funding to provide equality and diversity support
• Transferred Hazelgrove residential care home to YOU Trust
• Set up the Hampshire School for Social Entrepreneurs (HSSE)
• Handed over our community transport scheme to Winchester Area Community Action
• Founded the Hampshire Rural Forum with partners
• Launched our fortnightly Policybite publication
• Established the Hampshire Village Hall Trustee Network
• CAH Chief Executive shortlisted for Wessex Charity Awards CEO of the Year
• Created our Partner Finder programme
• Set up the Health & Social Care Network
• Established the Hampshire Independent Equality Forum
• Set up the Hampshire Chief Executives’ Network

Community Action Hampshire Five Year Impact Review April 2006 - March 2011

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