Maldon and District CVS, a cornerstone of community support and voluntary sector advocacy since its establishment in 2001, is at risk of closure due to the loss of long-standing funding from Essex County Council.
For over two decades, Maldon and District CVS has been instrumental in providing crucial services to hundreds of charities. In the past twelve months over 380 hours of free consultancy support was provided to the local sector and support given to over 200 residents living throughout the district of Maldon via the charity’s projects.
Essex County Council is now withdrawing vital funding for local charities, including £53,000 for Maldon and District CVS, as it moves instead to a countywide model for providing charity support services.
Expressing concern over this significant decision, the cessation of funding, and the impact on delivery of crucial services for Maldon, Sarah Troop, Director for Maldon and District CVS said: “The termination of funding for our charity and the core services we provide necessitates a fundamental redesign of how we serve the community and voluntary sector in Maldon District.
“Currently Maldon and District CVS deliver a range of local projects and services that will be affected as a consequence of Essex County Council ending local funding, including crisis response and support, digital inclusion drop-ins, youth gaming, suicide prevention work, green prescribing and falls prevention.
“In addition, Maldon and District CVS also provides information, advice and guidance to voluntary groups across Maldon, from local food banks to heritage projects, older peoples services and social inclusion, helping them to get started, seek and apply for funding and coordinating volunteers critical to maintaining these much-loved local services. However, from 1 April these services will no longer be available free of charge from Maldon and District CVS, and local groups will be signposted to a central support offer.
“Simply put, the loss of local funding from Essex County Council will reverberate throughout our organisation and the Maldon charities and voluntary groups that we support, and closure may become unavoidable.”
Undeterred by this setback, Maldon and District CVS has initiated a transformation plan to maintain delivery of these key services to support community development and partnership working. Unfortunately, Maldon and District CVS has already been forced to make cuts to staff hours and has reached out to Maldon District Council for support in navigating this challenging period.
Sarah Troop explained: “Maldon and District CVS is particularly vulnerable as unlike other Essex-based CVS organisations, we do not receive any grant support from our District Council. Nonetheless, we have a strong partnership with Maldon District Council assisting it to deliver across many of the priorities that are outlined in its community strategy. We know that Maldon District Council recognises the value of our community work and hope that it can provide essential short-term support to facilitate the necessary adjustments to our service delivery.”
For more details of the charity’s work or to give a donation visit www.maldoncvs.org.uk
The charity is also looking for local people who could offer advisory support either short term or as a charity trustee particularly in relation to marketing and sales. To discuss this further please contact Sarah Troop on 01621 732251 or sarah@maldoncvs.org.uk