WeHelp aims to strengthen Wiltshire's voluntary and community sector by supporting organizations in volunteer recruitment, fundraising, and skill development. The initiative has successfully connected individuals with volunteering opportunities, enhanced community engagement, and improved organizational practices to address local needs. Their ongoing commitment focuses on fostering diversity, tackling inequality, and providing essential resources to maximize the impact of community groups.

1. weHELP...
Our impact on
Wiltshire’s communities

2. Our Mission:Our Vision:
Provide support to build
a strong, diverse and
vibrant voluntary and
community sector.
To build the capacity of
voluntary organisations
and community groups
to enable them to
effectively meet local
community needs.

3. groups to recruit and retain volunteers
groups to learn from each other
groups to raise funds
volunteers and staff to be more skilled and
knowledgeable
organisations to challenge inequality and discrimination
groups to be better run
weHELP...
developecs.org.uk

4. 1236
“I feel more confident in making decisions and asking questions.”
“I am really enjoying my volunteering… and I think it has helped my confidence a lot.”
“Thank you ... for putting me on the right track. I will definitely carry on with the
voluntary work.”
“…really helped [us] focus on how to engage with young people and to understand what
they need from a voluntary role. We are looking nationally at how we can offer young people
interesting and challenging roles”
“The opportunity you provide to direct people into volunteering has had a big impact on the
services we are able to provide to vulnerable people in the community”
volunteering
opportunities
advertised
186
82
volunteers
placed through
Volunteer Centre
attendees at
Volunteer Manager
Network Meetings

5. T
hrough Volunteer Centre Wiltshire,
DEVELOP works across all sectors
(public, private and not-for-profit) to
develop and promote volunteering in the
county. We match individuals looking for a
suitable volunteering opportunity to the best
placement available, and help organisations
find volunteers and good practice
information.
weHELP...
groups to recruit
and retain volunteers
Returning to Work through Volunteering
S
ian had recently completed an Open
University degree in Psychology and
was looking for something new to do in
her spare time. She started volunteering with
local homeless support charity Doorway,
providing support to guests across all aspects
of the drop in service. Doorway provide
extensive training to staff and volunteers and
Sian received training in drug and alcohol
awareness, domestic abuse, housing and
benefits.
Before volunteering at Doorway, Sian
had volunteered as a school governor and
this had improved her confidence speaking
to parents, teachers and chairing meetings.
Volunteering and at Doorway she feels has
now enabled her to speak with confidence
to all members of society.
Sian is now working for the charity in an
administrative role after 17 years out of paid
employment. Knowledge of volunteering
within the drop-in session is also invaluable
to her current work and enables her to work
effectively to support colleagues, volunteers
and guests.
These wonderful volunteers [referred by your
service] have greatly impacted the lives of the
most vulnerable children and families in the community.
“Without a doubt volunteering… enabled me to develop the skills and experience to return to
the workplace confidently. I cannot recommend it highly enough.” Sian Cooper, Doorway
Facts: Volunteering...
○○ is a way that people can give back
to their communities and make a
difference
○○ provides opportunities to meet new
people
○○ has been shown to have a positive
impact on health and wellbeing
○○ helps people to develop new skills
or build on existing experience and
knowledge
○○ can be a route to employment

6. weHELP...
groups to learn from each other
W
e maintain a public directory
of some 500 voluntary and
community sector groups. Our
events programme has a strong emphasis
on connecting local groups; We organise a
volunteer managers’ network, information
and networking events, the Wiltshire
Voluntary Sector Forum and the annual
Wiltshire Voluntary Sector Assembly.
“[The Voluntary Sector Forum] …
has opened new opportunities for working
with others.”
“I have joined the Wiltshire Children and
Families Voluntary Sector Forum as a result
of attending your networking event and
have potentially got some partnerships in
the pipeline with other organisations
I met that day.”
“The networking is invaluable.”
“Excellent way to make partnership links to
develop new services. Great networking,
especially for those new to the area.”
Connecting local charities and businesses
D
EVELOP’s Corporate Community
Engagement initiative, connected
local business CPW with Wiltshire
Scrapstore enabling their staff to donate
time to the charity. The Wiltshire Scrapstore
and Resource Centre is a thriving, highly
successful children’s and community charity.
Their main aim is to promote learning
through creativity by making various low cost
resources available to the community.
82 attendees at Volunteer
Manager Network Meetings
71
attendees at the Wiltshire
Voluntary Sector Forum
attendees at Information
and Networking events
68
“It’s great that business can leave their
normal place of work and come into the
community and really help to support a
charity, especially a charity like Wiltshire
Scrapstore that supports many groups of
people within the community. Corporate
Community Engagement is a great benefit
to both parties involved. DEVELOP provide
the ‘building of the bridges’ and the links
between groups and interested volunteers.
DEVELOP are approachable, provide very
good information on good practice and we
are able to signpost to other local groups
who may be interested in our work through
their network and information sessions.”
Glynis Gosgrave, Director, Wilts. Scrapstore

7. weHELP...
groups to raise funds
O
ur funding support helps local groups
increase their fundraising capacity
and develop the skills they need
to maximise their fundraising success. Our
work enables organisations to win resources
to achieve their charitable purposes. Our
funding advisers are fully qualified in advising
community groups on funding issues and our
development workers have many years of
experience working with local voluntary and
community groups.
Friends of Colerne
T
he Friends of Colerne are a charity that
raises money to help maintain the fabric
of the church and churchyard of St John
the Baptist, Colerne, so that they can be
enjoyed by all who live in the village or come
to visit. Parish churches get no financial
support for repairs from either the Church of
England or the Government. Money raised
by the Friends helps to sustain a building
that generations of Colerne people have
created and cared for over more than 800
years. Our Funding Adviser provided details
of trust funds previously unknown to the
group to which they could apply and gave
guidance and advice regarding their case
for support.
“Very efficient and professional…DEVELOP
has been a wonderful resource to be able to
access… suggestions have been incredibly
helpful… advice has been on the button.”
Kate Hodges, Friends of Colerne
“OUTSTANDING: being able to get outside
professional feedback on a bid that had
been unsuccessful and look at ways to
improve and strengthen its structure and
content was a huge help, and made a
big difference.”
funding training sessions
with 7 groups attending
recipients of 7 funding
factsheets and 6 funding
bulletins, with an average
of 27.3% opens, and
8.1% click-throughs
2
1300+
“At a time when we are fighting for
the survival of our project, it is most
comforting to benefit from your
expert guidance and we are
extremely grateful.”
5 funding surgeries with
10 groups supported
organisations provided
with 1:1 support50

8. weHELP...
volunteers and staff
to be more skilled and
knowledgeable
“Thank you for empowering
me to give [social media]
a thorough examination and
greater understanding.”
W
e offer a range of general training
courses on key topics from
Governance to Food Safety,
Emergency First Aid to Marketing and
Social Media. We offer bespoke courses for
individual voluntary and community groups
tailored their particular needs. We have also
developed a range of toolkits and factsheets
for groups to use and provide information
on a range of topics through our information
and networking events.
“I would definitely recommend going to DEVELOP for support and training as they have good
tutors, a lot of resources to pull from and because they are a small training provider they are
able to make the courses bespoke and to suit your needs.”
“I found the course helpful and inspiring and have locked myself away today to
formulate a marketing plan (just finished!). Thanks again.”
“Opened my eyes to the variety of options open to us … Very interesting to hear about
other people’s ideas and experiences.”
“[Attending
an equalities
training session has]
made me realise there
are lots of different aspects to
diversity and I will become aware
of different people’s needs.”
151 participants on 20 training
courses (Apr 2013 – Mar 2014)
participants on 23 training
courses (Apr 2014 – Mar 2015)190

9. weHELP...
organisations to tackle
inequality and discrimination
D
EVELOP’s equalities support service
includes intensive group support,
training and networking events,
signposting, resources, and up to date
Information and news about equalities. We
support groups to understand how equalities
legislation applies to them and affects their
services. We also help groups develop or
update equal opportunities policies and
understand best practice.
We provide training & briefing
sessions including DEVELOP Your Skills in
Equalities, Equalities Healthcheck, Equalities
Champions, and Equalities for Health
Professionals.
Enabling Communities to Speak
T
he South West Alliance of Nomads
(SWAN), was supported by DEVELOP
to bridge the gap between the
local authorities and gypsy and traveller
communities, so the community could have
a voice in local decision making.
SWAN helps make links and create
better relationships and understanding
among the settled and travelling
communities throughout the South West. The
group’s Chairperson attended one of our
equalities group meetings and was pleased
to find in DEVELOP a local organisation that
has contact with the local council and
other local groups, unlike the larger national
groups from whom he is also able to receive
support in his role.
DEVELOP helped to enable Roger to
put the views of the gypsy and traveller
community across to local authorities. The
organisation now feels it is in a position
to assist and give information to local
authorities regarding the needs of the gypsy
and traveller community and assist in the
assessments of building new sites.
104
different groups
supported around
equalities issues
(2013-14)
equality specific groups
supported in the first half
of this financial year
(Apr-Sep 2014)14
“It would be very sad if there wasn’t an
organisation such as DEVELOP to make that
initial contact between the stakeholder, in
our case the gypsy and travellers, and the
council. It would be a great disadvantage if
there wasn’t a bridge between the council
and the local people on the ground.”
Roger Redding, Chair,
South West Alliance of Nomads

10. weHELP...
groups to be
better run
W
e take the lead in identifying gaps
in service provision and work
with groups to develop new and
innovative services. We help brand new
groups get started, ensuring clarity about the
aims and purpose of the group and that it is
offering a service that is needed.
We provide a wide range of
downloadable information on subjects that
help in groups’ on-going development.
This includes information on collaboration;
data protection; finance and accounting;
marketing; procurement and tendering;
trustees and governance; recession support
legal structures for voluntary organisations
and more.
We support organisations to conduct
organisational health checks to improve their
efficiency and make it is easier to attract
and retain funding, volunteers, and staff.
We help organisations chose and undertake
quality assurance, look at how they
demonstrate the outcomes and outputs of
their work and the impact they are making.
Biss Meadows Country Park
T
he Friends of Biss Meadows group came
to DEVELOP for support with attracting
new committee members and guidance
on ensuring the organisation was run in
a professional manner. Biss Meadows
Country Park is situated in South East
Trowbridge, and The Friends aim to protect
and conserve, promote and enhance the
natural environment of the Country Park so
that the value of the Country Park and its
wildlife is preserved and protected for future
generations.
DEVELOP helped the group create
volunteer opportunities and advertise
these online through our volunteer centre.
We helped them to review and plan their
marketing, on our advice The Friends have
set up a Local Giving account which has
started to receive donations, and they have
a wider presence on both Facebook and
Twitter. DEVELOP also supported the group
to work through Wiltshire Council’s Quality
Standard Toolkit, and assisted with risk
assessment procedures and contacts with
whom The Friends of Biss Meadows could
develop partnerships.
22 new community groups
supported to set up
groups newly registered with
Volunteer Centre Wiltshire
70
56 factsheets on the
DEVELOP website
The help DEVELOP has given us has added
enthusiasm to the group. They have helped
us find new members which has allowed
us to look at other areas to promote Biss
Meadows, such as Schools, who can tour the
park and gain the love of and learn about
nature. With the new committee members
we are now able to carry out a complete
survey of the park... This will help us plan
future work’.
Ernie Newcombe, Chair,
The Friends of Biss Meadows

11. “I would definitely recommend going to DEVELOP
for support and training as they have good tutors, a
lot of resources to pull from and because they are
a small training provider they are able to make the
courses bespoke and to suit your needs.”
W
e are proud of our recent achievements, but DEVELOP is committed to continuing to
make a difference in Wiltshire’s communities by supporting the county’s voluntary and
community organisations.
We asked people to rate the impact of the support they received from us:
W
e are committed to helping more groups and more volunteers, to continuing to
challenge inequality and discrimination and supporting others who do the same. We
are also committed to improving our understanding of our impact (the difference we
make through our work) as a means of further improving our
services to the organisations we support. We look forward
to working with you to build a strong, diverse and vibrant
voluntary and community sector in Wiltshire.
Overall....
Legal information and legal advice sessions
New and emerging groups support
Funding advice received
Support to network with other groups
Promotion, marketing, other comms support
Funding advice sessions
Signposting groups to the appropriate support
Partnership and collaborate support
Human Resource support
Support at a DEVELOP meeting or event
Governance/trustee/committee support
Support with policies and procedures
% of high-impact ratings % of medium-impact ratings % of low-impact ratings

12. Registered Charity 1096008. Registered Office: 3-4 New Road, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN15 1EJ.DEVELOP
Enhancing Community Support Limited is a Company Limited By Guarantee registered in England and Wales
01986363. DEVELOP is a member of the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA).
0845 034 5250
developecs.org.uk
Visit the DEVELOP website to find out more about our impact:
developecs.org.uk/our-impact
Our services:
developecs.org.uk/current-services
Funding resources:
developecs.org.uk/funding-support
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