The latest chapter in the Support Cambridgeshire story is starting to unfold

The latest chapter in the Support Cambridgeshire story is starting to unfold. In November 2024, CCVS and Hunts Forum gained approval for a merger that would see both organisations join forces as a new charity – under the name Support Cambridgeshire. The brand name has been well known and well regarded for several years, as a programme delivered by CCVS and Hunts Forum – but as of 1st April 2025 took on a new significance as the name of our charity; with CCVS and Hunts Forum combining forces to become one single team.

As you would expect, there has been lots of work for our teams behind the scenes, whilst also continuing with the delivery of our services.

You’ll now start to see some changes in our evolution in line with our 1st April 2025 merger date; moving forward in a way that takes in best practice and follows legal advice. Merger activities and actions are following an intentionally phased process to ensure we roll out changes and updates in a methodical way – but crucially, without disrupting our core areas of work.

Here we share the latest status on this exciting development.

  • Hunts Forum has formally changed its name to Support Cambridgeshire and the team has started to use new email addresses – but for now, and until the formal transfer documents are signed, the CCVS team will be continuing to use their old addresses.
  • Three CCVS trustees – Flóra Raffai, Angie Ridley and Mary Sanders – will be co-opted onto the Support Cambridgeshire board whilst still remaining as CCVS trustees as well, with the remaining CCVS trustees transferring across to the new charity if they wish once the organisation has been formally wound up.
  • We are hugely grateful that the new charity will benefit from the existing counsel of the CCVS and Hunts Forum chairs (Flóra Raffai and Noel Kearns) who now move forward as Co-Chairs.
  • We can also announce that for any period following the retirement of Julie Farrow on 30th April and before the CCVS assets are transferred across to Support Cambridgeshire, a formal agreement will be made for Mark Freeman to step in as the interim CEO of Support Cambridgeshire.

In coordinating the comprehensive merger process led by legal guidance, the whole team is working incredibly hard – and for that, we thank them hugely. Working closely together, we are continuing to deliver the exemplar services we have always provided, whilst at the same time managing the complex process of joining up all systems, processes and approaches as we move forward as one new entity.

Running a tightly managed and well-balanced merger process helps to ensure the new Support Cambridgeshire charity has strong foundations from the start – providing us with more resilient set up and a platform from which our services and support grow and improve.

If you have any questions at all, please do contact Mark Freeman at mark@cambridgecvs.org.uk. You can also read more about this development in the original merger announcement.