Like many other charities, SSAFA faces significant challenges, including shifting trends in volunteering, more complexity in the needs of our beneficiaries, an increase in regulatory pressure and the ever pressing need to ensure that the charity is financially sustainable. These challenges have inspired us to review our structures and processes, and ultimately led us to the Network Delivery Project.

The NDP was initiated to develop a sustainable welfare delivery model which provides consistent, timely, quality-assured support to all our beneficiaries and builds a sustained awareness of SSAFA. It is a roadmap for:

• Transforming and protecting how we deliver the highest quality support.
• Revitalising, growing, and supporting our network of volunteers.
• Weathering the challenges we face now and in the future.

SSAFA@140 recognised that increased support to branches would be beneficial and the subsequent introduction of the Regional Offices to provide that support has been welcomed widely.

Both the 2022 and 2024 volunteer survey highlighted that an overwhelming majority of our volunteers are committed to our work, are proud to volunteer for us and enjoy their volunteer role. However, in 2024 30% of volunteer respondents feel their workload is too much and 37% report often feeling stressed when volunteering and this was similarly shown in 2022. Despite some improvements for caseworkers, those filling our senior branch roles are those most under pressure. The 2024 survey also highlighted that we need to do more to show volunteers how much we value and care about them. We have already begun addressing this by placing a renewed emphasis on support, supervision, and wellbeing.

As well as delivering casework, branches have always raised money to support local casework and other SSAFA-related delivery activities. Our long-term sustainability depends on increasing awareness of our brand which, among other things, will help us generate more income, nationally and locally. Enlisting volunteers to support this is vital for our future and has been a central consideration for the new model.

In 2022 Council approved the formation of the NDP Board (NDPB). Comprising both employees and volunteers, the Board has overseen the development of options that seek to address our challenges and mitigate the risks to our service delivery and branch models. It agreed a set of guiding principles at the outset, which included:

• Placing the beneficiary and their needs at the heart of what we do.
• Volunteers will remain a critical part of direct delivery and support to our beneficiaries.
   

Having considered many possible options, the NDPB made recommendations to Council, who agreed that a trial of an alternative welfare delivery model across two regions should be conducted. Further to consultation with the regional chairs, Wales and East Midlands became the trial regions. The new model of service delivery sees:

• Casework being delivered at a regional rather than branch or division level based on the current regional office structure.
• Employees and volunteers sharing the casework load in a more integrated way, with employees taking much of the administrative burden and volunteers remaining the frontline face of SSAFA.
• Volunteers being supported and managed by employees.
• Branches no longer being directly accountable for casework delivery.

The purpose of the trial was also to add more focus on how branches have a valuable role to play in building local support and awareness of SSAFA. Branch volunteers are connected to and have unique links into the fabric of their local communities. Their ability to promote the charity remains absolutely critical if we are to:

• Ensure beneficiaries see SSAFA as a trusted source of support.
• Ensure potential volunteers see SSAFA as an organisation that will use their time effectively and give them manageable and meaningful roles.
• Ensure individuals and organisations who wish to support the Armed Forces community financially, see SSAFA as the best and most efficient means of doing that.
• Provide a supportive environment for all SSAFA volunteers in their locality whatever the nature of their roles.

The trial sought to test and prove whether both aspects of the NDP could be effective and sustainable and offer the best long-term solutions for all our stakeholders. Therefore, employee and volunteer engagement, energy and commitment before and during the trials has been vital in identifying the optimum way forward and outstanding efforts have been made by all.

The project implementation team, under the NDP Board, has been led by Julie McCarthy, Director of Volunteer Operations, along with Jonathan Sandall, Director of Fundraising, Marketing and Communications. The board has overseen the detailed design and development required to implement and oversee the trials that started on 1June 2024 and came to fruition in December 2024.

Overseas, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland branches and our Serving Community teams and Committees require special consideration, and this work is to be undertaken in the first half of 2025.

A comprehensive trial outcome report was submitted for Council consideration on 10 December 2024, and their decision to proceed with the implementation of the NDP’s new models for service delivery and branches was announced to the network on 17 December. The National Chair’s statement and supporting documentation can be viewed here.

The NDP is about optimising the support to our beneficiaries and sustaining the future of the charity. The combined involvement of volunteers and employees as one team has been, and remains, vital for the continued success of the project as we move forwards. The NDP model will continue to rollout across SSAFA over 2025 and 2026. At each stage of the transition process more detailed information will be made available.

Thank you to those who have been involved in this project thus far and to all of you for ensuring we remain the trusted source of support to serving personnel, veterans and their families in their time of need for many years to come, so that they never battle alone.