Alison Baxter looks back on her ten years working with the community

Ten years ago I delivered my first speech to OCVA’s Annual General Meeting. I found a copy when I was clearing out my filing last week and was intrigued to see what had changed – and what hadn’t.

OCVA then stood for Oxfordshire Council for Voluntary Action. Now it’s Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action. You may think that’s a small change — just one word — but it’s important in two ways: we are not part of local government and we are there to support communities.

In 2003 people recognised OCVA as the name on the van that drove round collecting unwanted furniture to donate to those in need. They possibly also knew our Ring-a Ride buses. What they didn’t notice was our core function of supporting voluntary and community groups across Oxfordshire. It’s a ‘behind the scenes’ role but nonetheless essential.

We took the view that many organisations could deliver services to the general public but only we could be the umbrella body for the local charitable sector because only we had the mandate from our members. So we gradually handed over our services, including the furniture store and the buses, to others and set about building our capacity to support Oxfordshire voluntary and community groups.

In 2003 I talked about developing a strong volunteer brokerage service and we have done that. Our volunteer centre answers enquiries from several thousand people each year and I am particularly proud of the work we do with those who are unemployed and facing barriers in their lives, whether it be ill health, addiction or even a criminal record. When we see someone whose life has been turned round by volunteering it is a source of enormous satisfaction.

I said I wanted to improve our ability to reach out to groups county-wide and we have done that. We secured funding from our local authorities and crucially the Big Lottery Fund to employ a development team who have helped hundreds of groups from across Oxfordshire to access funding and deliver their chosen work more effectively. We have done this through individual support but also a comprehensive programme of training workshops and networking forums. I am so proud of what the team has achieved.

However, I write this at a time of depressing news. Further cuts to council budgets mean that OCVA member organisations are seeing increased levels of demand for their services at the same time as reduced levels of funding. They are being asked to find ways of earning income in order to be sustainable. OCVA itself has reached the end of a substantial Lottery grant and will have to start charging for services that previously were fully subsidised. But what happens to those who can’t afford to pay for the care and support that they need?

Some people suggest the solution is to have fewer charities but personally I don’t believe that’s the answer. The strength of the voluntary sector lies in the ability of committed individuals to harness the energy and enthusiasm of other people to do something about a problem that matters to them. And that often happens best at a small, local level. So in the end it’s going to be down to us all to volunteer our time and give what we can afford. I am moving on to a new way of life where I aim to combine paid and voluntary work, study and travel. But the OCVA team will still be here working in support of our vision for Oxfordshire as a ‘county where all communities are valued and everyone has a chance to contribute’.

Alison Baxter was the chief executive of OCVA from 2003 to December 2013