VOLUNTARY organisations in Droitwich are being urged to make sure they don’t miss out on county council funding as part of a support scheme.

Worcestershire County Council’s Changing Futures Fund has already helped out 176 organisations across the county, with support for marketing, personnel and HR advice, as well as showing them how to be financially sustainable and how to bid for contracts.

The fund also offers targeted support packages for organisations on everything from how to set up groups, and fund-raising, to ensuring the results of an organisation can be measured, and ways of embracing new ways of working.

The fund aims to support community and voluntary organisations with a fund of £750,000.

Councillor Lucy Hodgson, cabinet member for localism and communities, said: "The council has now approved its future operating model which sets out that we will become a commissioning authority rather than providing services directly ourselves. As such, we really want to be able to commission services from voluntary organisations and these support packages will enable them to be in a strong position to do so.

"We have already supported more than 170 groups and they have all found the packages useful so I would encourage anyone who has not done so to get in now before it is too late,"

For more information about the Changing Futures Fund visit worcestershire.gov.uk/voluntary and click on 'Changing Futures Fund', or call Suzy James, VCS co-ordinator on 01905 728650 or write to cff@worcestershire.gov.uk.