Aims and Objectives

SAVAGE's mission is to work with Community and Voluntary Organisations (CVO's) in order to increase their access to and usage of European funding for the benefit of excluded and disadvantaged people.

This work comprises three core activities of the organisation, to promote:

• Awareness of European funding
• Capacity to manage European funding
• Environment in which CVO's can access European funding

Founded in 1991 at the behest of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) as a regional office to support voluntary and community organisations wishing to apply for European funding. SAVAGE’s mission is to ensure that all voluntary and community organisations, however small, have equal opportunity to ensure that the voluntary sector can play a full and effective part in planning future strategies.

Our objectives are:

• to promote education, training and associated activities anywhere in Southern England, for organisations whose work may benefit from, and contribute to the development of, effective voluntary action in Europe and
• to represent the interests and act on behalf of Members dealing with appropriate bodies such as Government Offices.

Services to members include: organising regional and sub-regional conferences, awareness raising of European Funding, training in administration, funding application, project management, information on new initiatives, one to one surgery sessions to assist in compiling effective bids, lobbying DfEE on issues such as late payments etc. In addition, the office staff and Board members provide constant support through help lines at appropriate times in the application process and also to “sign post” organisations to appropriate contacts when there are questions which are not within the SAVAGE remit.