Contents

Contents
Introduction
Words from our Chair
Our strategic objectives 2015-18
The future of MVSC
Connecting
Building the capacity and developing the sector
Volunteering in Merton and what the future holds
Healthwatch Merton
Our accounts
Our team
© MVSC 2015
Merton Voluntary Service Council
Vestry Hall, London Road, Mitcham, CR4 3UD
020 8685 1771
info@mvsc.co.uk
www.mvsc.co.uk
Twitter: @MertonConnected
Facebook: Merton Voluntary Service Council
Company Limited by Guarantee No. 4164949, registered in England and Wales. Registered Charity No: 1085867

It gives me great pleasure to present Merton
Voluntary Service Council’s Annual Review
2015. MVSC has experienced significant
organisational changes over the last twelve to
eighteen months. The sad passing of Chris
Frost in November 2013, our founding Chief
Executive, the merger with Volunteer Centre
Merton led by Ian Beever, Interim Chief
Executive, and the appointment of our new
Chief Executive, Khadiru Mahdi.
Chris’s passing was a shock to us all and left a
huge void. We express our sincere gratitude to
our members, partners and the community for
their support. Part of her legacy was MVSC’s
Transforming Local Infrastructure (TLI) project,
funded by the Cabinet Office and managed by
Big Lottery. This was a project that epitomised
her leadership.
TLI not only built on MVSC’s years of successes
but also championed organisational transformation,
including establishing Merton Means Business, in
partnership with Merton Chamber of Commerce,
and the merger with Volunteer Centre Merton.
Both of these added to Chris’s huge legacy in
strengthening Merton's Voluntary and Community
Sector for the benefit of local residents.
During this period of change, MVSC remained
stable and continued to deliver a range of services
to the local voluntary and community sector, thanks
to the dedication of our staff and volunteers.
My thanks to fellow trustees for their support and
guidance which has kept MVSC on an even keel.
We would like to give a special thanks to Phillip
Barrow, Anthony Gubbins and Ian Petherbridge
from Volunteer Centre Merton Board who served
as observers on the MVSC Board after the merger
and contributed their expertise, guidance and
wisdom.
Our governance and strategic reviews in late
2014-15 reaffirmed and refreshed our governance
arrangements and provides us with clear objectives
and priorities for 2015-18.
We would also like to thank our strategic partners
and funders, including the London Borough of
Merton, Public Health and Circle Housing Merton
Priory for their support. We look forward to ongoing
productive working relationships in the years
ahead.
Lola Barrett
Chair
“MVSC brings to our
attention information
and services that are
important for local
Voluntary and
Community Sector
organisations. The
service MVSC
provides enables us
to focus our energy
on providing quality
services to the
community.”
Carers Support Merton

This annual review is a snapshot of the range of
services and activities provided by Merton Voluntary
Service Council. On the 30 th anniversary of MVSC,
we realise that this is a snapshot in time and a
reflection of three decades of service delivery to the
voluntary and community sector and the people of
Merton.
As a new Chief Executive who joined the
organisation in January 2015, I am proud to
celebrate our achievements in 2014-15 and
acknowledge the staff, volunteers and associates
who made it possible. I also dedicate MVSC’s
current standing in Merton to the many men and
women who have served the organisation in various
capacities over the last 30 years.
MVSC’s successes have not been achieved solely
on its own. The stature of an infrastructure
organisation in any borough is largely dependent on
the collective strength and support of its members,
the wider voluntary and community sector, partners
and funders. As a sector, we have been on this
journey together. The London Borough of Merton
deserves a special mention for its longstanding
support and guidance and for being a true champion
of the local voluntary and community sector.
MVSC has played a pivotal role in multi-sector
partnership in Merton exemplified by the Merton
Compact which has stood the test of time and has
been recognised nationally by the numerous
Compact Awards for partnership, leadership,
excellence, impact and more.
For the first time, MVSC’s Annual Review outlines
the successes of volunteering services, having
merged with Volunteer Centre Merton in July 2014.
We hope our service beneficiaries and stakeholders
readily recognise the justification for the merger in
the synergies between our various services:
development, volunteering, Healthwatch Merton,
fund management, community action and strategic
representation and influence. Our offer is now a
coordinated one stop service.
The theme of this Annual Review is celebrating
Voluntary and Community Sector resilience and
sustainability. By any measure, 30 years of
existence is cause for celebration on both
counts. From small beginnings with one staff
and volunteers, through the year on year
struggle to raise funds to deliver services, to an
established and reputable organisation, MVSC
has demonstrated resilience and sustainability.
As I raise my glass to this anniversary, the
responsibility of my role in safeguarding 30
years of legacy is drawn into sharp focus as are
the challenges of securing the organisation’s
future. We have already started the journey of
leading MVSC’s transition into the next 30 years
and beyond with governance and strategic
reviews which have given us the refreshed
vision and objectives set out in this Annual
Review.
MVSC is keenly aware of the effects of
economic austerity on front line voluntary,
community, faith and social enterprise
organisations and the people they serve. We
will seek to work with the sector, strategic
partners and funders to develop shared agenda,
priorities and joint solutions for local residents.
Khadiru Mahdi
Chief Executive

Strategic Objectives 2015-18
Support to voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisations
Support capacity and capability building.
Deliver a comprehensive training programme.
Provide financial management and systems.
Offer good governance and trustee support.
Help organisations with fundraising plans and applications.
Continue to link local businesses with local activity through Merton Means Business.
Encourage, support and develop volunteering and voluntary and community action
Enhance the recruitment, promotion and management of volunteers in Merton.
Raise awareness of volunteering, gain recognition for the contribution of volunteers and
highlight issues affecting volunteers.
Deliver good practice support for organisations involving volunteers in their work.
Provide information and advice about volunteering.
Offer training for organisations and volunteers.
Identify changing and emerging need and respond with development
Identify changing and emerging social and community needs and work with communities,
the sector and public and private agencies to address them.
Promote, support and develop liaison, advocacy, joint working and strategic partnership
Continue leading, facilitating and developing the voluntary sector’s roles in strategic
partnerships and strengthening the sector’s voice, representation and influence with the
public sector and funders, in Merton and externally.
Play a key role in bringing together VCS organisations to strengthen collaborative working
and partnerships; supporting joint working between sectors and accessing new funding.
Seek to enhance co-production with the public sector and apply the Social Value Act in
public sector commissioning.
Promote quality through standard setting
Set and raise standards in the voluntary and community sector by promoting organisational
quality assurance systems and volunteer management quality standards.
Sustainability
Undertake sound planning in order to continue MVSC’s work supporting Merton’s VCS
Support the sector’s sustainability through diversification of its income streams.
Our Vision
A thriving Merton
community where
people’s lives are
enriched by voluntary
and community action
Our Mission
To inspire and develop
an excellent voluntary
and community
sector in Merton

VCS Strategic
Representation
and Influence
MVSC plays a
key roles in
representing the
sector. We also
support elected
sector
representatives on a range of strategic
partnership boards. These currently include the
Merton Partnership, Health and Wellbeing Board,
Economic Wellbeing Group, the Children’s Trust,
Sustainable Communities and Transport
Thematic Partnership, Safer and Stronger
Communities Thematic Partnership and the
Compact Board. This strong level of engagement
and representation has led to Merton achieving
many awards in recent years for its positive
approach to partnership working.
MVSC was historically funded to run the
Community Empowerment Network as a route to
securing VCF representatives on a range of
partnership structures in the borough. Funding for
this expired in March 2013 and since this time,
MVSC have found it hard to meet the demands
for this service without dedicated resource. The
demand for representatives is increasing with new
structures such as the Adult Safeguarding Board
and the Violence Against Women and Girls
Partnership. We are now allocating some
resources to improving VSC representation.
Key aims for 2015-16
Develop and implement MVSC’s Strategic Plan:
Reshape our development, volunteering, training
and membership services.
Focus on MVSC’s and the sector’s sustainability
by considering diverse income generation
activities and asset management
Support improved VCS and cross-sector
collaborative working and partnerships
Launch VCS Annual Conference.
Fund management:
We will continue to administer funding programmes
on behalf of funders such as the Local Authority and
Circle Housing Merton Priory. These include the
Merton Partnership VCS Fund, Public Health’s East
Merton Fund and the Merton Community Fund.
Refresh and revitalise INVOLVE for VCS strategic
representation:
We will organise and facilitate the INVOLVE Network
to enable sector engagement and sharing of
information and expertise, in addition to engaging
and consulting with public bodies. We will also review
the INVOLVE Network, run elections and support
representatives, ensuring the quality of
representation and influence is maintained to a high
standard in Merton.

Connecting
One of our core functions is to ensure
voluntary and community sector
organisations are well informed about
local and national news, policies and
developments, funding opportunities
and relevant training and events.
_____________________
In 2014-15 we
organised 3
involve meetings
attended by over
90 individuals
_____________________
Our weekly eBulletin, Merton
Connected, contains news and
information of interest to voluntary,
community and faith organisations in
Merton, including information about
funding, up coming meetings, job
vacancies within the sector and good
governance. It offers all groups in the
borough the opportunity to publicise
their activities.
In addition we ensure the sector is
kept up to date with news and
information on social media, our
website, through direct mailings,
forums, workshops and events.
187,970
page views on
our website
3,267
people received our eBulletin
every week
34,995
people visited our website
48
weekly eBulletins
contained news and
information of interest to
the sector

Building the capacity and developing the sector
MVSC provides Merton’s voluntary, community
and faith organisations with the support and
platform they need to make a difference to
local issues and the lives of Merton’s residents.
This includes helping them with the running of
their organisations and ensuring their needs
and views are represented; helping to
strengthen their work and amplify their voice.
This area of work remains at the heart of our
strategic objectives.
engaged with over 200
local organisations
95%
rated our
training as
good or
excellent
_____________________________________
Through the management
and administration of a number
of local Grant Funds we
successfully distributed nearly
£250,000 to 58 organisations.
£50,000 worth of support from 50
local businesses was given to the
sectors through Merton Means
Business. Including donations,
sponsorship, volunteering and pro
bono work.
_____________________________________
We are particularly proud, that we have, over
the last 2 years, assisted 27 local organisations
to lever in nearly £1.5 million worth of lottery
funding (grants from Awards for All and
Reaching Communities). Money that has been
used in borough to deliver front line services for
the benefit of local people.
Last year we were able to provide 5 emerging
local organisations with access to free
resources and office space in our seedbed
office, located in Vestry Hall in Mitcham.
51
organisations received
direct support with completing
funding applications
220
staff, trustees and volunteers
attended at least one of our 47
training forums/workshops

Our work
Phipps Bridge: supported services and activities in the
Phipps Bridge area and co-organised the 1 st Phipps Bridge
International Fair in 2014 that bought together over 500 local
people.
Federation of Community Associations: supported 6 local
community centres to work collaboratively, share information,
develop community activities, and become vibrant ‘Hubs’ at the
heart of their communities. We helped them develop a joint
website - www.merton-fca.org.uk
Health Champions: supported organisations to host health
champion volunteers and staff working with local communities
to motivate, empower and encourage people to make healthy
lifestyle choices. Merton Community Health Champions made
over 180 referrals into Health Related Activities and 50 into
LiveWell’s Health Improvement Service.
Community Accountancy: provided practical help for
organisations to manage their finances effectively, through
training and one to one support.
Funding advice and training: ran a series of training
courses for local voluntary and community organisations on
fundraising, including how to complete funding applications.
“We have been delighted with the
support that we have received from
MVSC in our fundraising efforts. We
have really valued the clarity and
honesty which MVSC have brought to
our thinking”
The Wimbledon Guild
85
Merton based organisations have
benefited from 1:1 support, totalling
over 500 hours of staff time
5
Good Practice: led on this project on behalf of a
partnership of Volunteer Centres in South London to develop
and promote Good Practice in volunteering management.
The Virtual Development Worker: developed a new feature
on our website - The Virtual Development Worker - which
provides a 24/7 information facility on our website where
visitors got help and support with matters relating to
organisational development and sustainability.
Youth Partnerships: provided development support for the
partnership of youth organisations.
Provided support, advice
and information services to
280
organisations recruiting
and managing volunteers
new start ups benefited
from free weekly use of our
seedbed room

Volunteering Merton
MVSC is committed to supporting and
developing volunteering in Merton. We work
with organisations to develop and match the
skills and interests of new volunteers to
volunteering opportunities.
Working closely with voluntary, community
organisations, public sector and local groups we
led on campaigns to raise awareness of
volunteering, to gain recognition for the
contribution of volunteers and to highlight issues
that affect volunteers. We held the successful
Merton Partnership Volunteer Awards to
recognise those individuals who gave their time
and the organisations that supported them. We
also organised a Trustee Networking Evening for
those interested in becoming a trustee the chance
to meet and talk to local voluntary organisations.
We have developed and launched several new
initiatives that aim to improve and enhance the
experience of volunteers in Merton, whilst at the
same time highlighting volunteer initiatives to help
improve the lives of Merton residents.
We continued to lead on the Merton Partnership
Volunteering and Community Action strategy and
supported a number of discrete projects and
ongoing programmes of work with partners,
including Manage Your Money, Dignity and Care
and Dig Merton.
We embraced the power of befriending and with
the launch of both the pilot Merton Befriending
Project and the Youth Action
970
Connect service, we were able
to recruit and train volunteers
to befriend both young and
older people across the
new volunteering borough.
opportunities
2,462 new volunteers
Recruited 142 volunteers
with mental health
difficulties and 5 supported
volunteers are now in paid
employment
222
Merton Libraries and
Home Visits Library
Service volunteers
80
Team Merton
event volunteers
761 new volunteers aged 16-25
Our work
Fayre and Square: sold a range of arts and crafts on behalf
of 25-30 independent artisans and provided 10 week placements
for volunteers to learn retail and customer service skills.
The Avanti Club: set up a weekly club for people
experiencing mental health difficulties, their friends and their
carers.
Merton Befriending Service: a partnership between MVSC,
Age UK Merton, The Wimbledon Guild, Positive Network and
Carers Support Merton to deliver high quality befriending
services for isolated older people.
Merton Libraries and Home Visits Library Service: recruited
volunteers to support libraries and deliver books to housebound
residents.
Youth Action: supported disadvantaged young people and
enabled them to volunteer within their local community whilst
using that experience to enhance their personal development
and employability skills.
Supported Volunteering: supported young people and
adults with mental health issues and disabilities to volunteer.
Team Merton: made it quick and easy for Merton residents
to give their time and do great things for their community.
Youth Approved Volunteering Award: a youth led Quality
Mark aimed at raising the standard of Youth Volunteering in
Merton to ensure that young people are getting the best
experience to enhance their personal and career development
opportunities.
Merton Good Neighbours Scheme: encouraged local
residents to find ways to help neighbours in need.
Disclosure and Barring Service: As an Umbrella Body,
carried out DBS checks for local VCS organisations.

What does 2015/2016 hold for
volunteering in Merton?
We have some exciting developments planned during the
next 12 months, including the launch of our brand new
interactive Merton volunteering website. This new site will
provide an innovative system for organisations in Merton to
create and advertise volunteering their roles, whilst providing
volunteers with an intuitive platform to search and apply for
local volunteering opportunities.
MacMillan Coffee Moring at Fayre and Square
MVSC, working in partnership with Value You and LBM will
be launching the Merton Value You scheme, providing a
volunteer recognition scheme for people who undertake
community volunteering within their community. Volunteers
completing 100 hours of volunteering in their community will
be able to benefit from a range of discounts and gift vouchers
from participating businesses.
We are delighted to have gained support from BBC Children
in Need, which builds upon our existing Youth Action
Programme, funded by LBM. This new 3 year project will
allow us to increase capacity for youth volunteering and
launch our brand new youth befriending service, Youth Action
Connect. Through this service, we will be working with
disadvantaged 16-18 year olds to reduce isolation and
increase aspirations through a peer befriending support
programme.
________________________________________________
“The volunteering I have been
supported into by MVSC has helped
my communication skills develop. My
confidence in dealing with people I
don't know has increased and I am
more approachable.”
Youth Action Volunteer
________________________________________________
Youth Action Connect Launch
The Avanti Club
Team London Recruitment Session
Corporate Volunteering

“I wanted to
volunteer so I could
gain confidence and
more experience. It
has really helped me
get out the house,
meet new people
and make new
friends which has
been fantastic.”

Healthwatch Merton
2014-15 was a busy year for
Healthwatch Merton with our
own work plan and direction.
The year began with our ‘Feedback and the Future’ event where we
presented our first annual report and shared our work streams for the
year. Since this event we have heard from over 869 people on a
variety of issues that enabled us to gather a wealth of information
that covered everything from transport issues, access to services,
integration of services, person centred care, social care and carers
issues.
We carried out 23 outreach visits and spoke at various community
forums, support groups, residents associations and voluntary organisations
to ensure that people throughout our community have the chance to get
their voice heard on local health and social care matters important to them.
The intelligence and information we collected was shared with relevant
decision makers, decision making boards and service providers within
Merton to impact and influence the health and social care provision
delivered locally.
Service providers are recognising the powerful feedback patients and users
of their services are able to provide and how this can lead to more
effective services with better outcomes. The local
commitment to listening directly to you is something
Healthwatch Merton is proud to support.
869
people spoke to us on a
variety of health and social
care issues
827
Twitter followers
23
outreach visits and various
forums, support groups and
residents associations
2,040
subscribers to our
monthly newsletter

The information contained in this summary has been
extracted from the Annual Report of the Trustees and
Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2015.
These accounts have been audited by, Hartley Fowler LLP,
who have presented an unqualified opinion.
A full copy of the Annual Report of the Trustees and
Financial Statements is available at www.mvsc.co.uk or
on request from the company secretary.
Sarah Wilson
Honorary Treasurer
For and on behalf of the Trustees of MVSC
Our Accounts
Unrestricted
2015
£
Designated
2015
£
Restricted
2015
£
Total Funds
2015
£
Total Funds
2014
£
Total incoming resources 285,702 - 834,532 1,120,234 878,097
Total resources expended 201,306 - 899,407 1,100,713 868,683
Net incoming (outgoing)
resources before transfers 84,396 - (64,875) 19,521 9,414
Gross transfers between funds (38,687) - 38,687 - -
Net movements in funds 45,709 - (26,188) 19,521 9,414
Total funds brought forward 131,103 60,000 62,275 253,378 243,964
Total funds carried forward 176,812 60,000 36,087 272,899 253,378

“Home-Start Merton cannot
praise MVSC enough for their
continued support and guidance.
We truly appreciate the service.”
Home-Start Merton

Our team
Adele Williams Information and Outreach Officer
Alec Botten Vice Chair of Trustees
Allan Pearson Development Worker - Federation of Community Associations
Angela De Leon Administration Officer
Anthony Gubbins Observer to the Board
Beau Fadahunsi Head of Development and Funding Advice
Bec Yusuf Associate
Beverley Burton Development Worker
Cath Richens Volunteer
Charles Lusack Trustee
Charlotte Pearcey Volunteer
Cresso Scarlett Volunteer
Dave Curtis Healthwatch Merton Manager
Debby Brooker Recruitment and Placement Support Worker
Ellie McGowan Youth Action Coordinator
Gemma King Youth Action Support Worker
Hayley James Volunteering Strategy Programme Manager
Ian Petherbridge Observer to the Board
Ian Beever Associate
Iris Hackers Volunteer
Jackie Hinton Volunteer
Jade Fairfax Information and Outreach Officer
Jennie Chapman Associate
Jeyanthy Satkunapalan Finance Officer
Jon Stone Head of Operations
Khadiru Mahdi Chief Executive
Lin Gillians Associate
Lola Barrett Chair of Trustees
Marcella Meloni Recruitment and Placement Officer
Mitsuyo Ogino Volunteer
Morag Plank Associate
Muriel Martin Trustee
Philip Barrow Observer to the Board
Ray Hautot Trustee
Ray Kinsella Business Engagement Manager
Rob Mobile Associate
Sally McGarvey Database Administrator
Sandra Vogel Associate
Sarah Hannigan Head of Volunteering
Sarah Wilson Honorary Treasurer and Trustee
Sharon Clark Recruitment and Placement Officer
Shirley Higgins President
Sophie Matthews Marketing Communications Officer
Susanne Baccini Associate
Tesfai Meresse Community Accountant and Finance Manager