How we support you

Community Associations are registered charities whose function is to provide recreation, education and leisure time activity which will improve the conditions of life for the local residents. They usually operate from and run community centres, but this is not essential and these organisations focus on activities rather than the running of a building.

Help and Advice

Providing active help… the main aim of the Community Support Team is to help vital community organisations to develop their services to the community. The team can advise on a wide variety of subjects including charity law, trustee responsibilities, organisational planning and management, in some cases they may even undertake temporary management of community associations to assist them through problems. The expertise within the team allows them to provide help and guidance in most areas of community development.

Improving Communications and Supporting Volunteers Developing communities

There are networking opportunities facilitated by the Community Support Team. Employed community centre managers are offered an opportunity to come together five times a year through the County Manager Network where they can access up to date information and briefings and take the time to share skills and knowledge with other managers.

There are also Borough networks open to all staff and trustees from community associations.These are an invaluable opportunity to share skills, knowledge and even resources along with access locally focused, current information. Some networks have also developed and received grants for joint projects.

Each year the team also facilitates a series of projects and taster sessions that community associations can access. This will be in the form of support from officers, and the provision of a toolkit, plus the loan of equipment for taster sessions to assess the popularity with local communities before committing to purchase themselves.

Training And Development: Developing people

The promotion of training and development comes high on the team's list. Again partnership is the key to success and the team seeks to work closely with Council's of Voluntary Service and District authorities to provide and promote development programmes for those volunteers and staff working in the community.

In particular it aims to assist community associations and village hall management committees to attend and/or arrange suitable training and development opportunities to gain and update the necessary skills for successful management of community facilities and activities.

The team offers a programme of training opportunities as well as offering bespoke training to organisations on a wide variety of subjects including trustee training and facilitation of away-day events for trustees and staff.

Providing Finance

The Department of Culture, Communities and Rural Affairs provides financial assistance to support community associations and village halls in maintaining their buildings and developing their communities. Both capital and partnership grants are available together with development and financial advice where appropriate. The team will also advise on other sources of funding where known.

The Community Support Service is part of Hampshire County Council's Culture, Communities and Business Services department.