The Action Hampshire way

A bridge to communities

Whether it’s a large charity, a small lunch club, or a social enterprise, we provide VCSE organisations with the skills, knowledge, support and funding to build their capacity, enabling them to take community led action with their communities.

History

Action Hampshire’s specialist knowledge in the voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) sector spans over 70 years.

We support the sector to deliver great services to local people and communities; speak up for the changes they would like to see and help shape the future of where they live and work.

Throughout our history, we have supported community-led action, particularly in rural areas, across Hampshire and beyond. From our work on community-led housing and planning to supporting community-led research and community resilience activity, we champion the voices of communities and lived experience.

We are proud to support diverse communities across Hampshire, including Southampton, Portsmouth, and the Isle of Wight.

  • Action Hampshire’s specialist knowledge in the voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) sector spans over 70 years.

  • We support the sector to deliver great services to local people and communities; speak up for the changes they would like to see and help shape the future of where they live and work.

  • Throughout our history, we have supported community-led action, particularly in rural areas, across Hampshire and beyond. From our work on community-led housing and planning to supporting community-led research and community resilience activity, we champion the voices of communities and lived experience.

  • We are proud to support diverse communities across Hampshire, including Southampton, Portsmouth, and the Isle of Wight.

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Catherine (in red, far right) with her family in front of red-brick houses
Jane Essery (Digital Inclusion Manager) Nadine Costello (Support Services Team Leader) Chris Hill (Information & Advice Team Leader) Liz Barrow (Business Support)

Our vision

Everyone thrives in healthy, fair, and inclusive communities, connected with each other and the world around them

Our vision

Everyone thrives in healthy, fair, and inclusive communities, connected with each other and the world around them

Our purpose

To strengthen and sustain the VCSE sector and local communities, enabling collaboration and action that creates healthy, fair and inclusive places to live.

Our purpose

To strengthen and sustain the VCSE sector and local communities, enabling collaboration and action that creates healthy, fair and inclusive places to live.

Our mission

Advocate and amplify

We champion and amplify the voices of the VCSE sector and the communities it serves.

Build strong partnerships

Across networks, connections between VCEs, their communities, and the public and private sector

Support the VCSE sector

We provide research, evaluation, training, and funding support to help VCSE organisations strengthen their work.

Advocate and amplify

We champion and amplify the voices of the VCSE sector and the communities it serves.

All of our work is driven by and underpinned by our values:

Enterprising | Empowering | Bold | Informative

Catherine in 2017 in a navy blue dress, holding the hand of her wheelchair-bound Grandmother.
Catherine (in red, far right) with her family in front of red-brick houses
A bearded person with dark brown hair lays under a white and blue quilt with a ginger and white cat. A more colourful blanket is in the background.

Our Impact

We have been able to collaborate with extraordinary people on projects we are passionate about

Our Team

Meet the team behind all our fantastic work, from our staff to our trustees

FAQ

Explore some frequently asked questions about what Action Hampshire do

Celebrating

70+

Years of Support

1950s

Supported 613 rural craftsmen with guidance.

Provided Legal, architectural or financial advice to 128 village halls.

Supported 15 local Citizens Advice Bureaus.

Held a “Donkey Derby” to help generate our own income.

1960s

1970s

Held the “Best Kept Village” competition.

Worked on rural issues in partnership with Hampshire County Council.

Celebrated 40+ years of running a Chiropody service.

Supporting young people by developing work experience programmes with Youth Enterprise.

1980s

1990s

Held an affordable housing event for 100+ people.

Enabled 650 rural Hampshire dwellers to remain in their village communities.

Encouraging equal partnerships by providing social enterprise organisations with specialist information.

2000s

2010s

Celebrated 10 years of supporting a total of 149 students with our School for Social Entrepreneurs programme.

Future projects

We are excited to be launching a new membership service and an extensive training and development programme tailored to your needs. We will be creating more opportunities for networking across sectors so that we can share and learn from each other!