Changes at Community Action IW from October 2026
Unfortunately from October 2026, due to the local authority deciding not to recommission a support service for the voluntary sector, Community Action IW’s role in supporting voluntary and community organisations will be changing.
We will continue to work with partners to deliver as many services as possible to benefit Island communities, but the loss of funds will impact. Some services will stop, some will reduce and some will only be delivered to certain areas/certain groups dependant on the support of partners such as Sandown Town Council and Newport and Carisbrooke Town Council in delivering community development initiatives in their areas.
We will no longer be able to provide one to one support and advice to most groups around subjects such as funding and charity governance. All training we put on will end and the e-newsletter will become quarterly. We will provide some links on our website to mainland organisations who might be able to help with some of the sector’s future needs.
The Volunteer Centre’s islandwide service will continue, supported through our charitable reserves, albeit with reduced capacity and a reliance on online services and the website will continue. The Volunteer Manager’s Network meeting will be retained too, albeit its regularity will reduce to taking place on a quarterly basis moving forward and we will continue with at least one volunteer fair. We will still facilitate an online DBS service for the Island’s voluntary sector. Other volunteering related work delivered in a more targeted way may occur depending on funding.
This e-newsletter will in future only be produced on a quarterly basis and our main office opening hours will reduce to 9am – 2.30pm Monday to Friday.
The future of the IW Voluntary Sector Forum is currently unclear, with potentially the last meeting happening on the 23rd September.
Community Action IW will continue to deliver a range of other services from targeted community development work, to youth services, to learning disability day services to post office services and more.