You are here

Back to top

In Hastings, the Voluntary and Community Sector make a massive contribution to the life of the Town and the delivery of services to local residents. There are approximately 400 community groups charities and voluntary organisations in the Borough but a recent research study conducted by Hastings Voluntary Action found that the majority were very small in terms of both size and annual turnover. Because of this groups do not have specialist roles such as personnel or finance or the money to “buy in” professional advice, and so many groups have come to rely on support from Infrastructure Organisations for advice and practical help. In Hastings this infrastructure support is delivered by Hastings Voluntary Action. As well as providing detailed support and training to local groups HVA also acts at a strategic level developing new services where there is an identified need or gap in existing provision and, crucially, levering in inward investment to the Town. The following examples, drawn from HVA’s case-files, provide an illustration of the breadth of work undertaken and its impact.