NAVCA chief stands up for grants as a vital part of the funding mix

Kevin Curley, the chief executive of Navca, has responded to claims by the new CEO of the Charity Commission that voluntary sector organisations need to move away from a "grant mentality."

In a speech to the Charity Finance Live event in London, Sam Younger of the Charity Commission said:
“The sector must move from a grants mentality – the expectation that they will be supported because their heart is in the right place – to a contract mentality. To an understanding that you are going to need to bid for support for certain projects, services, or activities in return for demonstrable public benefit. That’s what is going to win charities support: the ability to demonstrate impact – and, of course, cost effectiveness. A squeezed public sector will be watching every penny they spend even more carefully than in the past, they won’t want to gamble on an unproven good idea.”

Kevin Curley has written a letter to Younger expressing his disappointment, and said:
"This is technocratic nonsense. Younger's reference to 'grant mentality' is out of step with mainstream thinking. All major political parties recognise the value of grant funding and support it as a cost-effective means of getting money to where it's most needed locally.

"This is deeply disappointing at a time local authority grant funding budgets are under threat. Grants are crucial to the Government's plans to build the Big Society. They are particularly vital for small, local charities, which are rooted in their communities and play a key role in delivering early intervention and preventative support.

"Grants are a vital part of the funding mix our sector needs. Our sector will become imbalanced if grant funding is allowed to wither and it is the most disadvantaged communities who will suffer most."

A key part of the Listen Value Invest campaign is showing decision-makers that grants are a vital form of investment - not a handout. Please share with us your stories of grants supporting vital work and bringing long-term social and economic benefits to communities...