Support and resilience
We provide funding information and encourage consideration of different funding streams including social investment. We also work to increase understanding of the sector's needs amongst funders.
We facilitate programmes of support, training and events for the sector and provide recruitment support and job advertising services through VONNE Jobs.
We provide networking and peer learning opportunities for Chief Executives through our Membership+ supporter scheme.
We're providing support to the sector around safeguarding issues, working in partnership with local infrastructure organisations.
Thanks to funding from The Connect Fund, we've facilitated VCSEs and stakeholders in the North East to develop a strategy for social investment, which has seen new approaches to engagement and more enterprising models of operation.
VONNE also facilitates the LARCH partnership (Local Access Redcar & Cleveland and Hartlepool), through which charities and social enterprises in the area benefit from a share of a £33 million investment programme to grow the social economy and tackle community issues.
Through the North East & Cumbria Funders Network we enable funders to be better networked and informed and work together more effectively to improve and maximise their support to North East communities.
We provide funding information to organisations through our Funding Information North East and online Funding Directory.
Working with leaders in their field, we're delivering a programme of innovation support to the North East voluntary, community and social enterprise sector.
Through collaboration with specialists we aid delivery of governance support to the sector.
VONNE supports digital adoption by VCSEs, bringing digital specialists together with the sector to understand the possibilities digital presents and develop workforce skills.
We work with partners inside and outside the sector to understand barriers to digital adoption for both organisations and individuals.
As part of this, we're among 15 national Code Champions for The Charity Digital Code of Practice, which provides charities with practical advice on how to use digital to increase impact, sustainability and skills.
We carried out research to assess the immediate and anticipated impacts of Covid-19 on VCSE organisations in the first few months of the pandemic, as well as subsequent research into the ongoing impact, published in early 2021. We use insight like this to influence and lobby funders, commissioners and other stakeholders, and shape a collective response to supporting the sector for the short, medium and longer term. We were also a partner in the Covid-19 Health Inequalities Impact Assessment work carried out for the North East Qualitative Workstream.
VONNE represents the VCSE sector on the North East & North Cumbria Health Co-ordination Group and the North East and Cleveland & Darlington Covid Recovery Coordination Groups (RCG). We are members of the North East RCG workstreams on health, economic recovery and community resilience.
VONNE is also the regional Liaison Lead for the VCS Emergencies Partnership project to identify and escalate unmet needs identified by the VCSE sector to the north tactical cell, and influence national policy decisions.