Press releases
Overhaul of sector’s most popular digital tool adds major new sections on service design, data protection and security
The charity sector’s most popular digital benchmarking tool, the digital maturity matrix, has undergone a major overhaul, adding new sections on security and data protection and on using user research to design better content and services.
The Queen hosts reception to celebrate voluntary action
Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by other Members of The Royal Family, yesterday gave a reception for charities and volunteers in order to celebrate the achievements of voluntary action over the last century, and highlight the contribution of volunteering to millions of lives in the United Kingdom and throughout the world.
The scale of volunteering in today’s society is remarkable, with one in five people across the UK volunteering on a regular basis, and more than half of the population giving their time in some way at least once a year.
The reception brought together hundreds of members of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO). Among them, volunteers of all ages involved in a wide range of social, economic and environmental causes, carrying out tasks from mentoring and befriending, to restoration or gardening, and even life-saving work.
Read more: The Queen hosts reception to celebrate voluntary action
Comprehensive voluntary sector safeguarding resources to be developed by new expert partnership
Unprecedented level of expertise as 13 national umbrella bodies and organisations join forces to help facilitate safeguarding improvement
A comprehensive suite of free safeguarding tools and advice will soon be available to the voluntary sector following the award of £570,000 by the National Lottery Community Fund to the Safer Social Sector Partnership.
Sir Stuart Etherington's 2019 state of the sector address to NCVO Annual Conference delegates
Introduction – where we’ve come from
Good morning.
Thank you for joining us today.
I’d like to begin by asking you to cast your mind back a little over one hundred years, to the time of the first world war.
This space we’re sitting in was a working brewery. Imagine the noise and the sights and the smells of thousands of gallons of beer being brewed in here. It would have been a rough, noisy environment.
New project aims to rebalance the relationship between large and small voluntary organisations bidding for contracts
A major new project aims to rebalance the relationship between large and small voluntary organisations in public services.
Collaborative work between NCVO, ACEVO and Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales, will explore how voluntary organisations of different sizes can work better together in bidding for and delivering public services.
Stuart Etherington to step down later this year
Stuart Etherington is to step down as chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, the charity representative body announced today. Sir Stuart will retire later this year after 25 years in the role.
Recruitment for Sir Stuart’s successor has begun, with an open application process launching today.
NCVO welcomes prime minister's offer to engage on Brexit
Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of NCVO, has written to the prime minister regarding engaging with civil society on Britain's departure from the European Union, following the statement she made to the house of commons on Monday 21 January regarding the withdrawal agreement. In the letter he says civil society has a lot to offer in shaping the kind of country Britain will become.
Read more: NCVO welcomes prime minister's offer to engage on Brexit
Volunteering reduces youth isolation, but middle class benefits most – new research
New research unveils the positive effect of volunteering on feelings of isolation in young people.
Read more: Volunteering reduces youth isolation, but middle class benefits most – new research
Charities must be responsible for creating an inclusive culture, new guidance says
- NCVO launches Charity Ethical Principles guidance after thorough engagement with the sector
- Principles should be viewed as a benchmark of good practice, and are complementary to existing sector codes
- Endorsement of the principles is voluntary, but NCVO encourages all charities to reflect them in their work and decision making
Read more: Charities must be responsible for creating an inclusive culture, new guidance says
Charities should prepare for difficult financial year, warns NCVO
- NCVO’s Road Ahead advises charities to prepare for another financially challenging year
- A combination of Brexit uncertainty, tight government budgets and a slow economy will continue to add pressure on beneficiaries and front-line services
- NCVO’s annual PEST analysis of drivers for the sector provides food-for-thought for charities preparing for 2019
The ongoing negotiations on a withdrawal deal will continue to create an uncertain economic environment, making accurately forecasting the UK economy difficult, the 2019 edition of NCVO’s future-gazing report series, Road Ahead, predicts. It highlights growth predictions from the Office for Budget Responsibility of just 1.6% for this year, significantly lower than many of our European counterparts.
Read more: Charities should prepare for difficult financial year, warns NCVO
