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About us

Find out about our services, the way we operate and how we champion voluntary action

Who we are

We’re the membership community for charities, voluntary organisations and community groups in England

Our services

Find out how we can support you, from support for small charities and training to consultancy and corporate relations

Training

We offer a range of training courses designed to help you do what you do best

eLearning: Roles and duties of trustees

This flexible, interactive course will help you understand your duties as a trustee and support you to run your charity effectively so you can make a bigger difference

Leading on purpose

A practical four-month programme for emerging charity leaders who are on their way to leading organisations

Our vision for charity leaders

Learn about the mindset, knowledge and connections that emerging leaders need to guide the sector into the 2030s

Support for small charities and voluntary organisations

We know small charities make a big impact with limited resource - that's why we're here to help

Small charity helpdesk

Ask our practical support team any question about the setting up or running of your charity or voluntary organisation.

Our equity, diversity and inclusion work: Proceeding at the pace of trust

  • Inside NCVO
  • Equity, diversity and inclusion

Volunteering round-up: February 2023

NCVO’s senior policy and influencing advisor Catherine Goodall shares recent updates and upcoming dates for your diary

  • Involving volunteers

Governance round-up: February 2023

Our round-up for trustees and governance professionals, with useful sector updates, training courses and guidance

  • Governance

Five tips for managing costs with the new Energy Bills Discount Scheme

Advice on what the Energy Bills Discount Scheme means for charities and tips on how to cope with rising costs

  • Responding to crises

Exploring approaches to age friendly inclusive volunteering

Susannah Hodge, training and regional support manager at the Third Age Trust, shares learning and reflections from NCVO's age inclusive volunteering project

  • Involving volunteers

The inside track: February 2023

Our latest update on what’s happening in Westminster. This month sees the creation of new government departments and a big change at the top of Scottish politics

  • Government and politics

Governance round-up: March 2023

With many of us approaching the end of our financial year, senior governance consultant Sally Stephens shares guidance for completing your annual return

  • Governance

Is this what a voluntary sector CEO looks like?

To mark International Women’s Day 2023, our chief executive Sarah Vibert reflects on what changes are needed to encourage more women into leadership positions in the voluntary sector

  • Equity, diversity and inclusion

Charities urge chancellor to provide cost of living support

Organisations have united ahead of next week’s spring budget to call on the chancellor to provide urgent support

  • Responding to crises

Government policy and funding round-up: March 2023

The latest government policy and funding announcements and updates on our influencing work

  • Government and politics
  • Funding and income

Redundancy

A sample redundancy policy, designed for small charities and voluntary organisations

Retirement

A sample retirement policy, designed for small charities and voluntary organisations

Shared parental leave

A sample shared parental leave policy, designed for small charities and voluntary organisations

Sickness absence

A guide to help you develop a sickness absence policy and procedure for your organisation

Stress

A sample stress policy, designed for small charities and voluntary organisations

Whistleblowing

A sample whistleblowing policy and procedure, designed for small charities and voluntary organisations

Carer's leave

Recruiting and inducting staff

Guidance on the steps you should take when recruiting and inducting paid members of staff

  • Employing and managing staff

Designing the role

Guidance on designing a new role within your organisation

  • Employing and managing staff

Advertising the role

Guidance to help you decide how and where to advertise a role

  • Employing and managing staff

Boost your personal influence and impact (0.5 day)

Learn practical tools and techniques to increase your capability, confidence and impact when seeking to influence others – both within and outside your organisation

Charity finance strategy (1 day)

This course will give you an overview of how to build a simple finance strategy. We’ll introduce tools to help you build the financial resilience of your charity

Data protection essentials (2 x 0.5 days)

This essentials course is suitable for anyone within an organisation that handles the personal data of staff, service users, beneficiaries, volunteers, customers, members or supporters, and needs to know the basics of data protection for voluntary organisations.

Safeguarding essentials for trustees (0.5 day)

This introductory course explains the key trustee responsibilities for safeguarding, following guidance from the Charity Commission

Project management in the voluntary sector (2 days)

This practical course is specifically tailored to the voluntary sector. It’s designed to give you all the principles and practical tools you need to plan, deliver and evaluate your project successfully

Designated safeguarding leads in charities (1 day)

This one-day training course provides an overview of the roles and responsibilities of safeguarding leads in charities in England

Small Charity Week 2025 Webinar: Top tips to create an effective fundraising strategy

This free webinar as part of Small Charity Week 2025, will give small charity leaders practical tips to develop and deliver a successful fundraising strategy to ensure the resilience and sustainability of their charity.

Trust fundraising in a challenging climate: Over to you

We know that increased competition for funding, shifting priorities among funders, and economic uncertainty are making trust fundraising more challenging for charities. It’s more important than ever to understand the evolving funding landscape and adapt your approach. This free event is an opportunity to network with other NCVO members in facilitated discussions. Share experiences and challenges, work through solutions together, develop new relationships and learn from your peers.

Leading a thriving organisational culture (1 Day)

This training provides you with the insights, tools, and confidence to evaluate and strengthen your organisation’s culture providing a strong foundation for success.

Theory of change for strategic planning and evaluation (1 day)

Learn how to create your own theory of change and narrative. This course will challenge you to think critically about what you're doing and why