Earlier this year we asked you, our members and the wider VCSE sector to help us identify what support York’s VCSE sector needs and the challenges we face around funding and finance.
After what has been an incredibly tough few years for the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector, we asked you to share how your organisation is doing, so that we can advocate for the sector, and adapt our services to best support you. The key findings from the report highlighted:
- 1 in 3 organisations said they would be in deficit for this financial year (2024-25).
- 1 in 6 organisations said they envisage cutting services.
- Almost half of organisations who responded have used their financial reserves over the last 12 months.
- Over half anticipated that they would have to use their reserves over the next 12 months.
- 73% of organisations asked said they had less than 6 months of financial reserves
As well as the key findings, the report explores what the biggest sustainability challenges are for the sector in relation to contracts and commissioning, funding and grants, fundraising and service users. The comments and feedback which were provided give more context and are indicative of the experiences of the sector and with what we are hearing on a day-to-day basis.
In response to the findings we have collated a list of recommendations specifically to commissioners about how the commissioning process can better support the sector. We have outlined how we will continue to support you, our members and the wider VCSE sector in York, and linked to resources and direct support.