Supporting Voluntary Organisations

There are around 700 voluntary and community sector organisations in Westminster, that focus on the needs of Westminster, its communities and its residents (this does not include the many charities that have their main offices in Westminster). There are many more faith groups and amenity societies and residents & tenants associations.

The City Council is committed to working with and supporting a vibrant, innovative and effective voluntary sector. It recognises and values the independence of the voluntary sector and the unique role of voluntary and community groups in enabling local people to articulate their needs and to develop services to meet those needs.

From surveys of local voluntary sector organisations we know that in Westminster:

·         Over 50% of organisations have an income of less than £10,000

·         The total income for the sector is approx. £205 million

·         In 2009/10 there were an estimated 678,000 client contacts with services provided by the voluntary and community sector

·         The sector employs around 2,250 full time staff and 1,400 part time staff, but over 50% rely on volunteers completely

·         The sector engages around 8,500 volunteers each year

The sector also delivers Council contracts to the value of approx. £22 million. The biggest service areas where the voluntary sector delivers contracts are homelessness and learning disabilities. This is followed by older people, substance misuse and children & young people.