Firm Foundations

BASIS is the name of the BIG Lottery funding which pays for the ‘Firm Foundations’ Programme.   Firm Foundations is a partnership between Volunteer Cornwall, East Cornwall CVS, Cornwall Rural Community Council, Penwith Community Development Trust, Disability Cornwall & Council for Racial Equality Cornwall.
The Funding Advisors deliver a mixture of 1-2-1 advice and support and group training sessions and seminars, reaching as many organisations as possible whilst providing a personalised service where needed.

The Firm Foundations Project supports front line Voluntary & Community Sector Organisations (VCSOs) across Cornwall to engage with the public sector in a number of ways. By strengthening VCSOs ability to engage with the Local Area Agreement outcomes, the new Unitary Authority and the current round of European funding available in Cornwall, we aim to deliver a lasting legacy of a sustainable and engaged sector fulfilling its potential within the county.

We do this by providing help in three of the most challenging areas faced by VCSOs: 

• Funding Advice
• Equality & Diversity Issues
• Using volunteers to support the delivery of public sector services.

Over a period of 24 months, Firm Foundations aims to deliver targeted help to front-line VCSO’s across Cornwall, supplementing and enhancing existing services available from infrastructure partners whilst plugging an identified gap in provision.
Firm Foundations provides advisers to help voluntary and community groups across Cornwall. There are 3 part-time Funding Advisers:

Funding Adviser (East) – Tina Robinson – 01208 832763
Funding Adviser (Mid) – Chris Hassell – 01872 273952

Equalities Adviser (County-wide) – Lyndsey Haydock-Clemo – 07541 953838

Firm Foundations also provide training on the use of volunteers for public sector organisations funded by BASIS – call Helena Oliver on 07595 465428 for more info on this.