Important call for urgent and decisive action, Michael - particularly powerful on this of all days. And strong echoes of what we heard in our previous round of Leading in Uncertainty sessions:
I’ve just emerged from a great conversation held by Institute For Voluntary Action Research with civil society leaders. The crisis we are facing in my area is clearly felt everywhere. Stories of it never having been this bad – councils cutting services to the bone in the face of bankruptcy, demands on civil society going through the roof, civil society groups closing, funding systems breaking through too much demand, massive delays, some even closing. We urgently need a national plan for civil society renewal from the new government. We need the key bodies NCVO NAVCA Association of Charitable Foundations and others making an immediate case to tackle the severity of this crisis through significant investment. We neither need nor can we wait for any commissions or inquiries. We understand and see the issues on a daily basis. We need independent trusts & foundations to spend their endowments & recognise that their work to achieve change needs to start with the reality in local communities – what they need, what are their priorities & frames. Transformation will start through grassroots action connected at scale to achieve big shifts. Urgent investment in local place with monies held by local communities.
