Ensuring strong foundations
Creating an environment for collaboration
Stronger connections are core to a sustainable and resilient voluntary sector, and ultimately stronger communities.
Connections help foster collaboration, which is more impactful than competition, especially when it comes to funding. Collaboration is also key to finding creative solutions to common challenges, and a platform for sharing resources and building capacity – particularly when times are tight.
At NCVO, we do not want charities to see themselves in isolation, but as part of a bigger, broader, and wider voluntary sector, one where we can build meaningful partnerships and safeguard the future for all. We want to normalise collaboration for funders and local authorities, too, and for staff and volunteers within organisations.
Resilient charities create stronger communities
Supporting charities and voluntary organisations to make a bigger difference is a key part of our work. It is vital charities have the resilience they need to be able to play their role – this is especially true on a local level, where small charities are the beating heart of communities.
The role of small charities in building social cohesion and resilience cannot be underestimated. They need to be involved in national and local decision-making and influencing. To do that, we need to recognise the value of local and national infrastructure, whether that is NCVO or other membership organisations and the local VCS.
Every community has its own unique factors of resilience. Engaging with communities to listen, understand, and amplify their voices will improve engagement with resilience efforts and better address local needs.
These organisations, including ours, ensure that smaller charities have access to the networks, tools and resources they need. We also facilitate meaningful partnerships with other groups so that they can tackle bigger issues together.
NCVO also recently led a development project, called Power of Small, to research and test the support that 'smalls' (voluntary organisations with under £1 million of income) need from infrastructure bodies to be resilient and thrive over the coming years. The report for this is due soon.
Good governance is needed
Governance is defined as the systems and processes concerned with ensuring the overall direction, effectiveness, supervision, and accountability of an organisation.
With public trust in charities at a high, charities will need to be transparent over their governance, spending, and values to maintain it. A new Charity Governance Code, due in early summer 2025, will shift and strengthen expectations for Boards, while also prompting many charities to think about governance reviews.
With tough decisions ahead, ensuring your charity has good governance processes in place will be key. Leadership teams and Boards need to be able to work together and have the right skills and tools to understand and manage risk so that they can take effective action.
Charities across the UK are experiencing issues with Board recruitment and retention, which is inhibiting their ability to ensure good governance. In a survey of members in 2024, NCVO found that 85% of respondents said they found it somewhat difficult or very difficult to fill vacancies on their board.
In that same research, 60% of charities say board vacancies are preventing them from developing as an organisation and worryingly, four in 10 (43%) said vacancies are limiting their ability to follow good governance practices.
The importance of strategy and evaluation
During times of crisis and financial pressure, it is easy for ‘mission creep’ to set in. It is vital that the emerging needs of communities, and unstable financial situations do not knock your charity off course.
Having a clearly defined and measurable strategy in place will be vital. Having, and following, a strategy can help you to:
- Make better decisions – when deciding what actions to take, or how to spend your money and time, a strategy provides a basis for making good decisions.
- Adapt to change – by understanding what's changing around you and how you need to respond, you can make sure your organisation is set up well to respond to change.
- Focus on what you’re best at – by identifying your strengths, you can deliver more impact.
- Collaborate – by identifying organisations to work with, you can achieve more together.
- Inspire and motivate – a strategy can inspire your staff, volunteers, supporters and partners, helping them to move towards a shared aim.
- Demonstrate your impact – a strategy provides a starting point to understand and communicate the change you’re making.