Northamptonshire Community Foundation – Lifetime Achievement

I had the good fortune to attend the Northamptonshire Community Foundation Annual Awards Ceremony on the 8^{th of} December 2022. Voluntary Impact Northamptonshire won a Lifetime Achievement Award, which I was honoured to accept on behalf of my staff team and the volunteers who support the organisation, including our capable Trustee Board. VIN has been around for 30 years, which is hardly a lifetime, but in terms of Infrastructure Support in Northamptonshire it shows a certain longevity against a backcloth of austerity and sporadic funding from our Local Authority Partners. I have said this on many occasions previously, but I will say it again: There is a direct link between Infrastructure and resilient VCSE organisations and communities. It is no surprise that where Infrastructure is well funded, VCSE organisations derive the benefit: Where these organisations derive the benefit, so do communities.

The Ceremony itself was fantastic. It was amazing to see the depth and breadth of our sector, and the work that people do. It seems to continue despite COVID and a Cost-of-Living Crisis, and if anything, projects are becoming more insightful and inventive: But, and there is a but, people cannot do this forever without support or capacity, and the grant programmes that the Foundation give are in many cases a lifeline. VIN has worked with the Foundation for many years, and I thank them for their past and future support: It has helped us to deliver projects and support communities.

Its nearly Christmas, and despite what’s going on in the external landscape, last night opened my eyes once again to the quality that exists within our sector. That motivates us at VIN to continue to advocate and represent where we can. The sector will be needed more than ever over the next few years, and my pledge to that sector is to continue to work, challenge and support for the best deal possible.