From Karen Loftus – Chief Executive

I’m proud to lead a local infrastructure charity that champions Dorset’s amazing charities and community groups. It never ceases to amaze me the great work they do, often as volunteers and often unsung. This is what drives us to do all we can to serve them.

I’m delighted to share our Annual Report for 2023/2024. It’s concise and shares examples of our work to support communities across the county of Dorset to be strong, healthy, diverse and thriving.

Our values inform everything we do – and there are some great examples of that in the report.

My highlights

• Our members are at the heart of CAN – they form our Board of Trustees and enable us to be representative of the sector, membership has grown significantly over this year – this is not just a list but a relationship with every group that joins CAN.
• We’ve supported 411 groups directly to develop good governance and safeguard their teams and the people they serve.
• Our webinars and training reached nearly 400 people – the vast majority (99%) reported an increase in their knowledge.
• We’ve supported nearly 700 people to volunteer in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area
• Our Trusted Voices increased to 125 amazing community leaders – reaching out to communities that are not well served historically
• Over 300 people from local charities and community groups have accessed our networks, which enable us to gather and share sector insights.
• Our eNewsletters sharing good practice, essential information and news from around the sector and beyond continues to be well received (people do read them!)
• We’ve helped save our NHS and Councils thousands of pounds through our essential work to support wellbeing and mental health and our Wellbeing Volunteers are going from strength to strength.
• CAN Connects! Meeting folks in person works. Our Information Stations across the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area provide a lifeline for people looking for support in their local community – we’re proud to connect them to brilliant local charities and community groups, as well as our public sector services.
• We championed 23 groups through Community Heroes in the Spotlight.

There’s much more to share – please take a look at our report.