The Building Thriving Communities Programme is a collaborative partnership between the Voluntary, Community, and Faith (VCF) sector and us. We’re bringing together local organisations to strengthen community support by using and developing the Welcome Places network. These community hubs are vital for helping people with cost-of-living challenges.
The programme is run by a consortium including Citizens Advice Sheffield, South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation and Voluntary Action Sheffield. It's funded by the Sheffield Shared Prosperity Fund. The programme builds on the lessons learned from Sheffield’s collaborative response to the pandemic.
Aims of the programme
The programme aims to:
- strengthen the capacity of Sheffield City Council and the VCF sector to tackle inequalities worsened by the cost-of-living crisis
- empower local organisations to better engage residents with their neighbourhoods and support services
You can watch some short videos which explain more about our programme.
Welcome Places
A Welcome Place is any place in the city that is open to all, provides a warm welcome and offers signposting and support on the cost-of-living crisis.
Welcome Places are run by the Voluntary, Community and Faith (VCF) organisations, alongside ourselves and other statutory services. They play a vital role in supporting people in Sheffield.
As a result of this project and the work carried out by the Community Development Workers and Cost-of-Living Link Workers, there are over 300 Welcome Places in Sheffield.
You can view a map of our registered Welcome Places. If you would like your organisation to be added to the map, please contact us.
Support available through the programme
Support is available to local community organisations and Welcome Places. You can find information about the four elements of the programme and how to access support below.
Our impact
We've commissioned an independent evaluator, Social Research Builders, to support us in evaluating the impact of our project. You can view a copy of the interim evaluation report, from September 2024. A final report will be available after the end of the current project in March 2025.
Figures around our impact include:
- on average, 7,900 people benefited from Welcome Places’ cost of living support every week
- in the 12 months prior to September 2024, 50% of Welcome Places have reported an increase in engagement with their cost-of-living services
- 59% of Welcome Places were able to secure further funding outside of the project for their cost-of-living support projects, 35% of which has been thanks to their Community Development Worker
- 125 groups received a total of £935,000 in grants, with approximately 51,000 beneficiaries supported through these grants to date - 40% of the projects wouldn’t have happened without this funding
- 30 organisations were provided with organisational development support, helping them to grow and secure further funding
- 46 people attended group training sessions on how to write good funding applications and choosing the right legal structure
- 81 training sessions have been delivered by Citizens Advice Sheffield, with more than 600 volunteer/staff attending and 103 organisations benefiting
Case studies will be available here soon.
If you have any questions about the programme please contact the Cost of Living Team.