Following a community organising campaign, ACORN UK started in 2014 when a group of residents in Easton joined together to take action against unscrupulous landlords. Through a network of volunteers trained and empowered to organise in their local communities, ACORN currently works to combat evictions, fight rip-off tenancy fees and insist on healthy housing.
ACORN contacted Voscur asking for help with fundraising and managing their staff and volunteers. A development worker met with them and designed an action plan to help the organisation move forward in all these areas. Voscur’s support included helping ACORN to develop a theory of change, write a business plan and income generation strategy, review and develop their volunteer management and improve their fundraising capacity and diversify their funding streams.
Since receiving Voscur’s support, ACORN have gone from strength to strength. They successfully secured a grant for £75,000 and are now organising in other cities across England. Most recently, ACORN have won Bristol City Council’s adoption of their Ethical Lettings Charter as the city’s new rental standard.