Taking Account

 Taking Account: a Social and Economic Audit of the Community & Voluntary Sector

In times of economic hardship, the local third sector plays a major role in bringing millions of pounds into the city and maintaining free, high quality services for its residents. Charities and voluntary groups contribute a staggering £96 million a year to the Brighton and Hove economy, according to a new report, Taking Account, recently launched.

The report shows:

• That there are approximately 1,600 third sector organisations in Brighton and Hove, who contribute £96 million to the Brighton and Hove economy each year
• That the sector is a significant employer in the city, employing about 8,000 people
• That only 43% of its income comes from grants, of which the majority (62%) comes from outside the city.

The report also shows that Brighton and Hove's citizens are strongly committed to improving the city's wellbeing for all, and do so by spending generous amounts of their time volunteering.

Value of volunteering:

• There are 19,200 volunteer positions in Brighton and Hove, giving 57,600 hours per week
• If volunteers were paid the same rate as workers in the third sector their annual salary bill would be worth £24 million - a huge donation of time and effort.

Overseen by the Dialogue 5050 group, members of the local CVS and academics from the University of Brighton, the Audit used a variety of methods to gather information from organisations across the sector including data on volunteering, staffing and income.

In addition to providing evidence of the sector's impact, Taking Account makes a number of recommendations around how the role of the sector in the city could be better maximised and how partnership working could be strengthened.

Download the summary Taking Account report (1.43KB)

Download the full Taking Account research report (1.61KB)

For more information, contact info@cvsectorforum.org.uk or contact Sally Hiscock