Ukraine Fund: helping our members to support communities

Last year, we worked with the British Red Cross to distribute £400,000 of funding to our members, to support them in their response to the Ukraine crisis and the arrival of refugees. Keep reading to find out more.

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Following the huge public response to a fundraising campaign to support Ukraine, the British Red Cross worked with NAVCA to distribute £400,000 of funding. This funding is designed to support local infrastructure organisations in developing the capacity to prepare, coordinate and develop a strategic approach to supporting Ukrainian refugees. In developing the fund, British Red Cross recognised the importance of investing in relationships. As the response and support for Ukraine is expected to be prolonged, the fund looks to support a response that builds for the longer term as well as meeting immediate needs.

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The Ukraine Infrastructure Fund has two main aims: to support organisations which are preparing for the arrival of people from Ukraine and subsequent support for them; and to support better coordination of activity at place level (within the voluntary and community sector, and with local authorities), building capacity where it is needed.

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The work funded by this grant will achieve the following outcomes:

• investment in local activity supporting those displaced by the war in Ukraine, building capacity and capability in communities, particularly to fill “cold spots”;

• enhanced community cohesion and integration;

• improved relationships and stronger cross-sector collaborations, for example between local VCS, specialist VCS organisations and statutory support.

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After receiving some incredible proposals from our members, we are delighted to announce that we have awarded funding to the following recipients, all NAVCA members:

Crawley Community Action

Cambridge CVS and Hunts Forum (Partnership)

Third Sector Leaders Kirklees

Basingstoke Voluntary Action

Voluntary Action Camden

Voluntary Action Sheffield

Voluntary Action Islington

Voluntary Support North Surrey and Central Surrey Voluntary Action (Partnership)

High Peak CVS

Gosport Voluntary Action

Teignbridge CVS, South Hams CVS and Torridge Voluntary Services (Partnership)

VAST and Support Staffordshire (Partnership)

Voluntary Action Rotherham

Voluntary Action Arun and Chichester

Community Action Network

Volunteer Centre Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde

Links CVS

Community Action: MK

Ealing and Hounslow CVS

Community Action Suffolk

Voluntary Action Epping Forest

Manchester Alliance for Community Care, Salford CVS, Bolton CVS and Bury VCFA (Partnership)

Voluntary Norfolk and Community Action Norfolk (Partnership)

Voluntary Action North Somerset

CVS Tendring

Adur Voluntary Action

Communities 1st

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Over the next year, we hope to share stories from the funding recipients about their work to support Ukrainian refugees locally.