Joining Voscur
Voscur is a Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) for Bristol. Voscur is an umbrella body for voluntary, community and social enterprise (vcse) organisations. We offer a range of services listed below.
Voscur is a member-led organisation. Our work is aimed at making sure our members can be involved as equal partners in the regeneration of Bristol.
We can provide expenses, accessible information, help with transport and childcare costs to enable you to access our services.
Voscur Membership Fees
FULL MEMBERS
No/low income, £0-£20,000 annual income - £10**
£20,001-£75,000 annual income - £25
£75,001-£100,000 annual income - £50
£100,000 plus annual income - £75
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS - £50
INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS - £25
** Contact the Voscur office for criteria for membership bursaries.
Email: info@voscur.org or tel: 0117 909 9949
>> Full, Associate or Individual membership? Click here for eligibility criteria
The Benefits of Joining Voscur
Newsletter - Bi-monthly newsletter packed full of all kinds of information on funding, training, events, best practice, and lots more.
Networks - Voscur networks provide a space for collective action, meeting other members, and finding out the latest information on a range of developments. They provide space for dialogue with the City Council and other partners.
Information and resources - We have a wide range of Information Sheets available on our website, and as hard copies, that are regularly updated and added to. Our website also contains information on consultations, VCSE news, community diary & noticeboard, jobs page, meetings minutes, strategy documents and much more! Our four Directories are also available on the website and as hard copies (on request) – ICT Directory, Training Directory, Consultants Directory and Voluntary, Community & Social Enterprise Directory. Members can also use the Voscur library and members computer.
Weekly Ebulletin - We produce a weekly ebulletin full of news, events, training, jobs, funding and resources – up-to-date information specifically for the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector.
Email forums - These are based around themes or areas of work and provide the opportunity for you to communicate your views with Voscur representatives before they attend strategic partnership meetings. They also allow you to be among the first to hear about any decisions or other interesting information coming from that partnership.
Capacity Building - A capacity building service is available as part of the C3 partnership. We provide information and support to enable groups to improve their performance and become more sustainable in the longer term.
Training - We deliver a programme of training around all aspects of running a group, developing policies and developing skills in fundraising and communications. We also run training courses that are designed to help activists engage confidently and knowledgeably in regeneration and renewal and other relevant activities. We also can provide in-house training tailored to your organisation’s needs.
Funding Advice - We provide Funderfinder sessions (phone the office for details) and also regularly bring a range of different funders together to talk to members.
Signposting - If we can't help, or don’t provide the service you need, we will do our best to suggest someone who can.
Conferences and briefings - We organise one-off briefings and consultation events on a whole range of local, regional and national issues related to regeneration and renewal and more generally.
Have your say in decision-making - Voscur members are represented at a local, regional and national level across a range of organisations, including the Bristol Partnership and its delivery groups, the South West Forum, meetings with City Council Councillors and senior officers, and a range of other partnerships and working groups.
Discounted access to services - Voscur strives to provide its services free or at low cost in order to be as accessible as possible. In targeting our services at VCSE organisations, we charge discounted rates to members for training, placing job adverts and for advertising in our newsletter. We also, where possible, provide bursaries for training if organisations have no unrestricted funds and can reimburse some out-of-pocket expenses.
Voscur's Core Values
Equality
Effective regeneration involves everyone on an equal basis - dealing with the inequalities that people in Bristol face. Organisations seeking membership of Voscur must fully support Voscur’s policy statement in relation to vulnerable adults and child protection, and will protect vulnerable adults and children in their own organisation by complying with Child Protection Policies and Procedures and the ‘No Secrets in Bristol’ Policy.
Sustainability
Quick fixes are no good. We work to support sustainable solutions to local issues - meeting local needs now without compromising those of the future.
Democratic Accountability
Voscur supports, and is accountable to, the VCSE sector in Bristol.
Community Development and Self Organisation
Voscur believes that the regeneration of communities requires direction and action at grass roots level.
Co-operative Partnership
We are committed to partnership working within our sector and with other sectors, including businesses and public authorities.