Written question WQ97906
- Asked by
- Siân GwenllianPlaid
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 12 days
Question
What action is the Welsh Government taking to ensure that it adequately supports volunteering, and that sufficient funding is available for voluntary organisations and community groups to develop and maintain their volunteering programmes?
Answer
Answered by Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip
Welsh Government provides funding for voluntary organisations and community groups to promote and improve volunteering in Wales through three Volunteering Wales Grants administered by WCVA. These are:
• The Volunteering Wales Main Grant aims to increase volunteer engagement by removing barriers to volunteering and promote changes in beneficiary organisations to embed volunteering into their working practices. Funding is available for projects up to two years for up to £30k per year.
• The Volunteering Wales Strategic Grant scheme funds a small number of strategic investments to unlock the strategic potential of volunteering over the long term
• Youth Led Grants funds projects that give young people a platform to become decision makers. This fund id distributed to the 19 County Voluntary Councils (CVCs) across wales and is decided by a grant panel of young people.
Third Sector Support Wales (TSSW) – a partnership between the Wales Council for Voluntary Action and the nineteen county voluntary councils across Wales – provides help and advice to the many thousands of third sector organisations in Wales. TSSW provides support under the four pillars of sustainable funding, volunteering, good governance and engagement and influencing. This includes support for organisations to put in place appropriate safeguarding measures to keep children and vulnerable adults safe; the Volunteering Wales grant programmes; Volunteering Wales, Funding Wales and Knowledge Hub digital platforms. This funding also supports the Newid programme to develop digital skills and capacity in the sector, and the national time-credits programme. The budget also makes a small contribution to the core costs of Community Foundation Wales.
Welsh Government also provides core Funding to Tempo to provide a pan Wales Time Credits programme allowing community groups and Voluntary organisations to recognise and reward their volunteers, something that is of increasing importance as they struggle with volunteer recruitment and retention.