Call for grassroots funding

The next Government should help fund local community groups to grow from the bottom up, rather than impose top down initiatives, according to a new publication by the Community Sector Coalition.

The new report, called Unleashing the Potential, says there a new funding settlement between the next government and the sector should recognise the scale of grass-roots organisations.

It says focusing on public service delivery is irrelevant to most voluntary organisations, whose needs are largely ignored.

"At national and local level, significant decisions are made, supposedly for all, that do not involve or connect with any organisations below a certain size or profile," the report says.

"Most community groups are left out of this decision-making process due to a lack of voice and representation. There is a huge policy gap regarding the community sector."

The report recognises several positive initiatives, such as the Communitybuilders programme. But it says this approach is not always sustained. The report calls for more small grants programmes and community chests as a cost-effective way of stimulating grass-roots activity.