Community Action Suffolk

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Community Action Suffolk Community Action Suffolk offers support and services for the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector in Suffolk.

💚 What an incredible evening.The Suffolk Community Awards is always my favourite event of the year, and the ceremony thi...
24/09/2026

💚 What an incredible evening.

The Suffolk Community Awards is always my favourite event of the year, and the ceremony this year was a powerful reminder of why. It gave us the opportunity to come together and celebrate the individuals, volunteers, charities, community groups, parish and town councils who quietly make such a difference to the lives of others every day.

With a record-breaking 305 nominations, the evening shone a light on the extraordinary kindness, dedication and community spirit that exists across Suffolk. Behind every nomination was a story of someone choosing to give their time, energy and compassion to support others, often without seeking recognition or thanks.

I am immensely proud of every winner, every highly commended nominee and every person who was nominated. You represent the very best of our communities and the incredible voluntary, community and local government sector that works tirelessly to make Suffolk a stronger, kinder and more connected place.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to nominate, attend and support the Awards. Congratulations to all of this year's nominees and winners. It was a privilege to celebrate your achievements.

Hannah Reid, Chief Executive, Community Action Suffolk

🏆💚

Join Us at the 2026 VCFSE Funding SummitsLooking ahead to funding opportunities, strengthening sustainability, and demon...
14/09/2026

Join Us at the 2026 VCFSE Funding Summits

Looking ahead to funding opportunities, strengthening sustainability, and demonstrating impact? The 2026 VCFSE Funding Summits are designed to help voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisations in Babergh and Mid Suffolk navigate an increasingly competitive funding landscape.

The half day events bring together local funders, sector specialists, trustees, staff, volunteers and community organisations to share practical insights, build connections and explore funding opportunities.

Representatives include Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils Grants Teams, Community Action Suffolk, Suffolk County Council Funding Team, The National Lottery Community Fund, National Lottery Heritage Fund, St Elizabeth Hospice Community Fundraising Team, National Grid Funding representatives.

⭐ VCFSE Funding Summit - Babergh

📆 Monday 5 October 2026 | 9.00am - 2.30pm
📍 Lavenham Village Hall
🥪 Light lunch and refreshments included

⭐VCFSE Funding Summit - Mid Suffolk

📆 Wednesday 21 October 2026 | 9.15am - 2.30pm
📍Debenham Community Centre
🥪 Light lunch and refreshments included

To maximise access across the sector, bookings are limited to two representatives per organisation.

What will you gain?

These summits will provide practical guidance to help your organisation strengthen funding applications and improve long term sustainability. Plus, explore effective ways to measure, evidence and communicate your impact, learn how community engagement can strengthen project design and funding bids.
Hear directly from funders about priorities, expectations and emerging opportunities and exchange ideas and experiences with peers facing similar opportunities and challenges, identify potential partnerships and collaborative approaches.

ping new services, planning for future growth or looking to better demonstrate the value of your work, the Funding Summits offer practical learning, useful connections and access to expert support.

Book and Secure Your Place

VCFSE Funding Summit - Babergh
📆Monday 5 October 2026, 9.00am - 2.30pm
📍Lavenham Village Hall
🚨Book here: https://www.communityactionsuffolk.org.uk/casevent/3897/

VCFSE Funding Summit - Mid Suffolk
📆Wednesday 21 October 2026, 9.15am - 2.30pm
📍Debenham Community Centre
🚨Book here: https://www.communityactionsuffolk.org.uk/casevent/3926/

For further information, please contact [email protected].

📢 WE’RE HIRING! Finance & Business Planning OfficerAre you passionate about helping charities and community organisation...
10/09/2026

📢 WE’RE HIRING! Finance & Business Planning Officer

Are you passionate about helping charities and community organisations become more financially sustainable?
Community Action Suffolk (CAS) is looking for a Finance & Business Planning Officer to join our Capacity Building Team and help Suffolk’s voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) organisations build the skills, confidence and financial resilience they need to thrive.

💼 18.5 hours per week
📍 Ipswich or Lowestoft with blended working
📅 Fixed term to 31 March 2029
💷 £31,048.83 FTE / £15,317.42 actual salary
🚀 Start date: As soon as possible

We’re looking for someone who is confident, proactive, resourceful and an excellent communicator, with the ability to support a wide range of organisations. You’ll need to be comfortable working independently, managing a varied workload and bringing a positive, can-do approach.

We offer flexible and blended working, generous annual leave, matched pension contributions, volunteering days, professional development and more. 💙

📩 Interested? Please contact Jessica Glen at [email protected].
👉 Find the full job description and application pack: http://www.communityactionsuffolk.org.uk/vacancies/

Closing date: 12pm, 23 September 2026

Know someone who would be perfect for this role? Please tag them or share this post! 💙

New report available to download!'Time to Thrive' is a new report from Community Action Suffolk in response to recent se...
10/09/2026

New report available to download!

'Time to Thrive' is a new report from Community Action Suffolk in response to recent sector challenges and organisation closures aimed at supporting the sector and partners to understand concerns and drive change.

Download your copy here: https://www.communityactionsuffolk.org.uk/partnerships/research-into-suffolk-and-the-vcfse-sector/

If your organisation would like support to identify actions you could take to support Suffolk's VCFSE sector, do get in touch:
[email protected]

The latest podcast is now live!In Conversation With... Keri Bird and Deborah WatsonWe very much enjoyed chatting to Ke...
09/09/2026

The latest podcast is now live!

In Conversation With... Keri Bird and Deborah Watson

We very much enjoyed chatting to Keri about what it means to her to found Little Ripples - a new charity making big waves right here in . We talked about the highs and lows of charity start up, recruiting trustees, the importance of partnership and collaboration, funding challenges and of course her own lived experience that led her to starting the charity.

Keri epitomises a charity founder - passionate, driven, and completely devoted to her cause. It's definitely worth a listen: https://www.youtube.com/

However you listen to podcasts - grab the earbuds, coffee, dog etc and enjoy the conversation! And of course, don't forget to subscribe to be notified of future episodes.

09/09/2026

King's Award For Voluntary Service The King’s Award for Voluntary Service is the highest award given to local volunteer groups to recognise outstanding work done in their own communities. Who can be nominated?Any group of 2 or more people doing volunteer work that provides a social, economic or en...

We’re looking for an individual looking for a new start, and passion for making a positive difference. As Community & Pa...
03/09/2026

We’re looking for an individual looking for a new start, and passion for making a positive difference.

As Community & Partnerships Capacity Office, the role will involve specific project activities in the areas of rural, health, family and wellbeing, and play an important role in developing partnerships within and beyond the Suffolk system – supporting connections and facilitating coproduction to ensure the voice of the VCFSE sector is heard.

Hours: 30 hours per week
Location: Office base Brightspace, Ipswich or Kirkley Centre, Lowestoft with blended working
Term: Fixed Term to July 2027 (potential to extend subject to funding)
Salary: £29,390.68 Fulltime (pro rata £23,512.54)
Start date: As soon as possible

If you are interested in the role and would like to learn more, please contact [email protected] Deputy Director of Operations and Business Development for an informal conversation.

The CAS Food Team is hosting, spotlighting, or supporting a wide range of innovative food events in the coming weeks. Th...
01/09/2026

The CAS Food Team is hosting, spotlighting, or supporting a wide range of innovative food events in the coming weeks. They enable greater access to nutritious affordable food, support communities, bring people together, and in many cases promote wellbeing and mental health. Contact information can be seen in the descriptions of each event.

As part of the CAS Volunteering Team’s comprehensive approach to supporting VCFSEs to recruit, successfully retain and m...
18/08/2026

As part of the CAS Volunteering Team’s comprehensive approach to supporting VCFSEs to recruit, successfully retain and manage volunteers, plus implement appropriate compliance and legal procedures, it has introduced three new great value training events:

Volunteers and The Law

Ensure that you and your organisation are up to date on all things lawful.
Understand the pitfalls and how to avoid them.
Ensure consistency in your organisation.
This course helps board members and those who lead on volunteer involvement.
WHEN: September 22nd 9:30-12:30
WHERE: ONLINE (TEAMS)
COST: £45 VCFSE £60 OTHER
BOOKING INFO: https://www.communityactionsuffolk.org.uk/casevent/3864/

The Volunteer Journey

Attracting and retaining volunteers remains one of the biggest challenges. If you are responsible for volunteers, are you confident in your plan? Volunteering programme? Do you have one? Reviewed it lately?

To review your practices or if you are starting from scratch our ‘Volunteering Journey’ training gives you all the tools you need.
You come out with your own ACTION plan with new ideas and the confidence to deliver them.
WHEN: September 29th 9:30-1:30
WHERE: ONLINE (TEAMS)
COST: £45 VCFSE £60 other
BOOKING INFO: https://www.communityactionsuffolk.org.uk/casevent/3865/


The Complete Leadership Course

If you need both of these two courses, you may wish to book on our ‘Complete Leadership’ course, saving you money.
The ‘Complete Leadership’ course includes both the above courses and a third part called ‘handling difficult conversations, involving volunteers.’

It will be a very practical event involving ‘thinking on your feet.’ It will enable you to gain the confidence and tools needed to deal with situations when they arise, and how to avoid them in the first place.

We are pleased to be holding ‘The Complete Leadership’ course in person, in Ipswich.
WHEN: October 6th and 13th 9:30 – 3:30
WHERE: Community Action Suffolk, Brightspace, 160 Hadleigh Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP2 0HH
COST: £112 VCFSE £150 OTHER (a saving of 17% per person)
BOOKING INFO: https://www.communityactionsuffolk.org.uk/casevent/3867/

🎡 ☀️ Fish and chips, doughnuts, beach games and a Bonny Baby competition... what more could you want from a summer celeb...
17/08/2026

🎡 ☀️ Fish and chips, doughnuts, beach games and a Bonny Baby competition... what more could you want from a summer celebration?

Our CAS team enjoyed a fantastic day together in Felixstowe last week, taking some well-earned time out to relax, laugh and enjoy each other's company.

A huge thank you to everyone who came along and helped make it such a memorable day.

💙 Sometimes the best team building is simply spending time together.

Address

Brightspace, 160 Hadleigh Road
Ipswich
IP20HH

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

01473 345400

Website

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