Voluntary Action Fund

Support & Learning

Providing Investment Support and Facilitating Learning

Making a grant is the first stage in our relationship with funded projects. Most of our work and interest is post grant. VAF were the first funding agency to provide 'Investment Support' to funded organisations aimed at driving up performance and success. Our Investment Support is structured to generate successful projects which have a high degree of impact as well as to provide a structure for capturing the learning which is generated

The package of support varies across different funding programmes and responds to the needs of the projects funded.

Support elements include:

• support for the planning and delivering of projects
• support for monitoring and compliance with grant conditions
  
• support for project evaluation
• facilitation of networks across projects which promote integration and learning
• free training designed to help groups sustain and develop their activities
  

Providing dedicated support enables VAF to manage risk attached to grant making in a practical way. Investment support also builds the capacity of the organisation to manage the grant and manage challenges as well as building their capacity to engage with a funding agency. Another important rationale for investment support is to support organisations to be successful and be able to communicate this success.

In undertaking the investment support VAF develops a learning culture within and between projects, enabling learning from individual projects to inform learning at programme level and potentially influence policy development.

We know that our funded projects welcome our support:

"We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the support and interest you have shown in our project over the last 12 months. It has been such a positive experience - VAF really do excel as funders in terms of meaningful engagement, support and feedback" Dundee Carers.

Policy and Practice

VAF also has a place on the Scotland Funders Forum alongside a range of public funders and grant making trusts, chaired by the Big Lottery. In addition, VAF is also represented on the Funders Forum Frontline for practitioners.

In addition, VAF is a member of the Scottish Grant Making Trust Group, which is a group of independent grant makers which meets biannually to share best practice and promote learning.

In addition, members of staff sit on a number of working groups or fora relevant to specific grant programmes or the general work of VAF.