International Charity Day: celebrating the work of charities, social enterprises and community organisations

Humber, Coast and Vale Health and Care Partnership, West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership (WY&H HCP), West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Yorkshire Sport Foundation, and Community First Yorkshire have published a joint report to celebrate the work of charities, social enterprises, and community organisations ahead of International Charity Day on Sunday 5 September.

The research led by Professor Tony Chapman, Durham University, on the structure, dynamics, and impact of the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector across the area, highlights the big contribution made to the economy and the health and well-being of people who live here.

The VCSE sector in Humber, Coast and Vale includes around 13,500 registered and unregistered groups supporting local people in many areas of their lives from youth groups, ageing well support, sports, and wellbeing clubs to name a few. The sector employs around 23,200 full time equivalent posts, which makes up 4.1% of employment across the area.

On top of this there are an estimated 128,000 regular volunteers giving their time and energy to good causes helping young and old people to live their best life possible, around the clock, 365 days per year.

Gary Sainty, VCSE Programme Director at the Humber, Coast and Vale Health and Care Partnership, said: “The sector is larger than the finance and insurance industries, and larger than the arts, entertainment and recreation sector. The significant contribution made by the VCSE sector to people’s health and community wellbeing is evidenced throughout the research.

“This not only contributes to financial savings for the NHS and other public services but produces immediate benefits for thousands and thousands of people accessing their help and support.”

The report acknowledges it is hard to measure the total social, community and existence impact. Based on available data, this equates to approximately £1.1 billion per year. If taken alongside the economic value of the sector, this means the total added value of the sector is between £3.5 billion and £4.2 billion per year in Humber, Coast and Vale alone.

The use of conventional metrics on productivity only partially captures the value of the sector because the benefit to communities and difference made to people’s lives is unmeasurable.

You can read the report by clicking here.