Our governance

National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) is a charitable company limited by guarantee incorporated and registered in England under company number 198344.

It was founded in 1919 as the National Council of Social Services, incorporated on 30 May 1924 and registered as a charity on 1 January 1964.

It's governed by its articles of association and detailed regulations made under the articles.

NCVO’s registered office address is Society Building, 8 All Saints Street, London N1 9RL.

NCVO is registered with the Charity Commission under number 225922.

Articles of association

Sets out our governing rules, structure and how the organisation is run.

The list of trustees on page 8, item 7.7 is now superseded by our current trustees

Articles of association (PDF 246KB)

Register of interests

Records trustees and senior staff declared interests to support transparency and good governance.

Register of interests (XLSX 22KB)

Annual reports

Provides an overview of our work, impact and financial position each year.

View reports.

Our board comprise three honorary officers (chair, vice chair and treasurer).

The chair, treasurer and seven of our trustees are directly elected from the membership. Three trustees are co-opted by the board to ensure the right mix of skills and experience. One of the trustees is elected to the position of vice chair honorary officer by the board.

Trustees serve for a term of three years, with a maximum of two terms to be served.

The trustee board appoints four committees to support its work. Full committee membership details are available in our annual reports.

Audit and risk committee

• Provides independent advice and assurance on risk, control and compliance matters.
• The committee is chaired by an independent member of the committee.

View committee members.

Finance and commercial committee

• Provides oversight of all commercial activity within NCVO.
• Reviews our business plans and budgets as well as monitoring our performance against targets, both financial and non financial.
• Oversight of investments and our defined benefit pension scheme.

View committee members.

Governance and people committee

• Facilitates diversity in the governance structure and ensures the right mix of skills and experience on the board and its sub-committees.
• Supervises the trustee election process to ensure it's open and democratic.
• Provides oversight and assurance on our overall approach to people, culture, pay and development: ensuring alignment with agreed policies and strategic objectives.

View committee members.