Our History:
Voice4Change England was originally known as the BME Standing Conference Partnership and developed following a national summit held in October 2005.
This event brought together over 40 BME organisations to discuss how the sector’s interests could best be represented within national policy making and programme development.
The Noughties:
The overwhelming conclusion of the day was that the sector needed a coherent national voice, and that this voice should speak through a national body drawn from the existing BME national and regional infrastructure organisations.
19 founding partners submitted an application to the Home Office Active Communities Unit Strategic Funding Programme. This resulted in funding for an initial three year period from April 2006 to March 2009.
Early Years:
Voice4Change England launched on 1 November 2010 as an independent organisation dedicated to strengthening the voice of the Black and Minority Ethnic voluntary and community sector (BME VCS) to meet the needs of disadvantaged communities.
The national policy body are now embarking on a new phase as they become fully incorporated and introduce a new governance structure and membership scheme to be announced in December of this year. The new scheme will make V4CE the first national BME membership based organisation in England.
Now more than ever, V4CE are positioned to influence practice that has a direct effect on the development, delivery and impact of BME VCOs. With our Independent Chair, experienced Board of Directors and dedicated staff team, V4CE is trusted and recognised by policy makers. We will use this unique position to create platforms of influence for the BME VCS and promote their vital contribution to a healthy civil society.