Our president, Baroness Delyth Morgan, shares why she believes the new strategy is key to strengthening our future in the sector.
I’ve been involved with charities and civil society for a long time.
During this time, I've seen time and time again that this sector has an extraordinary ability to keep showing up, even when the circumstances are difficult.
Every day, charities, volunteers and community organisations continue to make lives better for millions of people.
The often-overlooked impact that civil society has on our lives is special. It’s unique. It’s something worth special celebrating. But it’salso something worth protecting. Because none of us should take a strong civil society for granted.
A strong civil society really does create a stronger society.
The voluntary sector helps hold communities together. It gives people a voice, creates belonging and it tackles problems that no single institution can solve on its own. At its best, it doesn’t just respond to change – it helps shape it. I’ve seen it happening and it makes a huge difference.
That’s why NCVO’s strategy launch matters. It's an important moment for us all to pause and ask: what does the sector need now? What kind of support will help it thrive in the years ahead?
This strategy lays out how NCVO will focus its energies and efforts. But we all have a part to play. We're not just passengers.
The challenges facing civil society have become bigger, more connected and more complex. No single charity can tackle them alone. No infrastructure organisation can solve everything on behalf of the sector. The sector needs people to come together.
What I see running through this strategy is a recognition that the future won’t be built by one organisation acting for everyone else.
It will be built through partnership, through listening, through bringing people together, and through giving the sector the confidence and the swagger it needs to shape its own future. And the resilience, connection and influence organisations need as strong foundations on which to achieve their own goals.
My hope is that when people think about this strategy, they think, “Where do I fit into this, what can I contribute?”
Whatever your mission, whatever your size, wherever you are, the truth is, the future of civil society can only be secured by thousands of organisations, millions of volunteers. By countless people choosing - every single day - to work together for something bigger than themselves.
If this strategy helps create the conditions for more of that to happen, then it will have been a success.
Because ultimately, this isn’t about one organisation.
It’s about making sure civil society remains strong, and able to face whatever comes next.
I think that’s something worth supporting.
Find out more about our new strategy: Together for a stronger society.