Tendring Community Voluntary Services

Tendring Community Voluntary Services (CVST), founded in 1973 and incorporated in 2005, serves as the longstanding umbrella charity for the voluntary and community sector in Essex's Tendring district. Its core mission is to lead, support, and develop voluntary action, empowering local people to foster vibrant, sustainable, and inclusive communities. Guided by values of neutrality, collaboration, sector promotion, and reducing inequality, CVST acts as a strategic partner to local authorities, funders, and health providers, blending advocacy, capacity building, and direct service delivery with deep hyper-local knowledge and a coproduction ethos that uniquely positions it as funder, intermediary, infrastructure body, and sector voice.

CVST funds a broad range of grassroots initiatives advancing education, health promotion, poverty relief, and community infrastructure, with emphasis on health inequalities, social inclusion, digital access, fuel poverty, youth activities, and resilience-building. Key programmes include Winter Warmth hubs, Silver Surfers digital inclusion, bereavement cafes, holiday clubs, food projects, and walking/swimming groups. Beneficiaries encompass children, youth, elderly, disabled people, carers, ethnic minorities, and economically disadvantaged residents in Tendring towns like Clacton, Harwich, and Jaywick Sands. Supported activities cover project and core costs, capacity building, training, volunteer brokerage, events, and capital grants, prioritising small charities addressing community-identified needs.

Eligible applicants are UK-registered charities, community groups, and social enterprises based and operating exclusively in Tendring or North East Essex, with preference for those under £250,000 annual income (some funds cap at £100,000). Typical grants range £2,500–£20,000 (mostly £5,000–£10,000), including multi-year options. Applications via online forms or portals vary by fund—some require initial Expressions of Interest—with bi-monthly rounds (e.g., next major close 31 August 2024; capital grants 8 January 2025) or rolling basis; panels decide every two months. No unusual exclusions apply beyond charitable purposes; CVST stands out for its responsive crisis support, £3M+ distributed since 2021, and facilitation of funder confidence through due diligence.