Our services
Through our activities, we aim to make a real difference to our communities. Our range of services has been designed to empower, support and develop social and voluntary action in East Sussex.
Our expert team provides a free advice service to groups in Eastbourne, Lewes and Wealden. Whether you are just starting out or your organisation has been established for years, the team can guide you in the right direction. We can work with you on a range of areas, including setting up a new group, choosing the right structure, identifying funding opportunities and applying for them, developing policies, managing projects and much more. We can help you recruit and retain volunteers, too.
We can plug you into local networks, meet other, like-minded (or not!) groups or organisations, link you into partnerships for more effective working and get your message across to public authorities such as the Clinical Commissioning Groups or district councils.
We also provide free practical and flexible one-to-one support sessions tailored to individual group needs and offer workshops and training on topics around running an organisation. Let us know what your training needs are and we will do our best to meet them.
Charity accounts and bookkeeping
Our friendly and experienced finance team has over 30 years’ experience dealing with charity accounts and small business. We can help with:
- Bookkeeping
- Accounts and reporting of restricted funds
- Budget preparation and support
- Work with your trustees to help safeguard assets
- Management accounts
- Statutory accounts
The hourly rate for bookkeeping and accounts services is £22.00. We can also sign off charity accounts as part of an independent examination audit from £200 and can prepare accounts from £300. Special rates can be negotiated.
For more information or a tailor-made quote to suit your needs and budget, please contact us at finance@3va.org.uk or on 01323 639 373 ext: 206. We will be happy to have a chat about your specific needs and will give you a quote based on your particular circumstances.
Funding advice
Our experienced community development officers can help you:
- Identify sources of funding
- Develop funding proposals
- Review funding applications
- Cost projects and assist with full cost recovery
- Diversify your income
- Plan your finances
- Budget
- Develop a fundraising strategy
Group support
Our group support advice service includes:
- Setting up a new group
- Legal structures
- Advising those in difficulty, or closing down if necessary
- Mergers
- Improving your governance, including trustee support, committees and constitutions
- Policies and procedures
- Quality standards such as PQASSO
- Business planning
- Performance management and planning
- Monitoring and evaluation
- Community buildings
- Project planning
- Personalisation
Influencing policy
As a membership organisation, we are uniquely placed to represent and amplify the voice of voluntary & community groups and organisations in Eastbourne, Lewes District and Wealden. We empower, encourage and champion local voluntary action to be inclusive, diverse and resilient by ensuring the voluntary & community sector has a voice and can influence policies, plans and practices.
Information sharing
We produce a weekly e-Newsletter packed with the latest voluntary & community sector news, events, consultations, funding opportunities, training, jobs and volunteering opportunities in Eastbourne, Lewes District and Wealden. It’s distributed every Monday afternoon (except bank holidays when it is sent on Tuesdays).
If you’d like us to include your item in the e-Newsletter, please use the contact form to send us:
- a logo for your organisation or an image of a poster, leaflet or other graphic
- up to 100 words of copy
- a web link to further information on your website
The copy deadline is 12:00 noon each Friday for inclusion in the following week’s publication.
Membership
As a membership organisation, we are committed to engaging and connecting with voluntary & community sector organisations across Eastbourne, Lewes District and Wealden. We especially want to target our support at places and populations of greatest need and excluded groups and to use asset-based approaches that release and support the skills and energy of the groups and communities we exist to support.
Networking
As the Voluntary Action for Eastbourne, Lewes District and Wealden, we run a number of different community networks and forums where people working in their communities can get together and share information.
There’s plenty on offer at our events, including meeting others working in the sector, having conversations with each other and decision-makers about issues affecting local communities and exploring important topics in-depth.
Training
We offer high quality training for the voluntary & community sector in Eastbourne, Lewes District and Wealden.
At 3VA, we are passionate about training. We pride ourselves on providing high quality courses at an excellent value to help you work more efficiently and improve your skills and knowledge – all with the aim of supporting you and your organisation to deliver even better services to your local community.
Venues for hire listing
We are pleased to help promote Eastbourne, Lewes District and Wealden’s community spaces for hire on our website.
Voluntary & Community Sector Jobs
We help promote local community jobs in our e-Newsletter and on our website.
As the only charity jobs listing exclusively covering Eastbourne, Lewes District and Wealden, we promote over 80 voluntary & community sector vacancies each year.