Wells Community Network (WCN) is a coordinated network of volunteers, organisations and initiatives that connect and collaborate across the area to support the community. 

We caught up with WCN volunteer, John Chettoe, to find out more about what they do, and how working with Spark Somerset has helped their organisation become an incorporated charity – giving them the structure needed to develop and apply for funding.

“At the start of the pandemic, a number of community-minded people in the city got together to set up a helpline and recruit volunteers to do shopping, collect prescriptions, marshall at vaccination clinics, and support elderly, isolated people and those who were shielding against the virus.

“In 2021, we became a CIC, as we wanted a more formal status but weren’t sure about the longevity of the project. As the lockdowns started to tail off, we did some extensive research into whether the Network was still needed. The overwhelming view was “yes”, as we were plugging the gaps in the local community and linking up with other voluntary groups as well as statutory bodies. 

“When the Ukraine war started, we began an informal drop-in at the Portway Annexe for refugees coming into the area, providing basic English conversation classes, as well as support for sponsor families. This developed into a formal Welcome Hub, with government funding channelled through Somerset Council, that now offers support for displaced people of any nationality in Wells and the surrounding area. 

“Being a CIC worked well for us for several years, but as we grew further still we started to experience volunteer burnout. To address this, we realised we needed to become a registered charity so we could employ part-time staff to help us run more efficiently, and focus our volunteers on developing our initiatives. During our application to the Charity Commission, we turned to Spark Somerset and their Development Manager, Jenny, gave us some brilliant advice.

“In parallel with our CIO application, we put together a bid for National Lottery funding to finance the employment of part-time staff and again turned to Spark Somerset for input. Their Fundraising Consultant, Miranda, walked us through a stakeholder mapping exercise, and what we might do to meet the National Lottery’s monitoring and evaluation requirements.

“Miranda offered great insights, not just on how to address the issues in the bid, but also on how to implement them in practice. She also provided additional, critical input in other areas of the bid.

“Our funding bid has now been successful and we can’t quite believe we’ve done it after all the hard work and effort put in! We are so grateful to the Spark Somerset team for all they’ve done to support us in getting this over the line.

“We’re very happy to work in collaboration with Spark Somerset; you know the county, you know the structures… You’re the experts in the infrastructure side of things.

“Our next step, now we’ve got our new status and funding, is to begin recruiting initially for a part-time Manager. Once we’ve found the right person and it’s beginning to gel, we will recruit an Administrative Assistant so we can start to drive the organisation forward and meet our charitable objectives.”

To find out more about WCN’s work and how you can get involved, please visit their website.

Are you looking for guidance on structuring your organisation or applying for funding? Find out how our team can support you here.