Voluntary sector

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The voluntary sector of a nation's economy consists of those entities which are not for profit and yet, at the same time, are not agencies of the state - e.g. charities, volunteer community centres and religious organizations. They may, in some countries, be subject to state scrutiny if they wish to qualify for charitable status.

In Japan since the 1980s, the third sector (第三セクター, pronounced Daisan sector) refers to joint corporations invested both by the public sector and private one.

Voluntary sector organisations form part of The Third Sector, which although still ill-defined, also includes organisations such as Co-Operatives, Trade Unions and Universities. In many countries there are also hybrid organisations which engage in social enterprise and which fall into the Third Sector categorisation. These are essentially not-for-profit bodies which have a profit generating arm to cover operational expenses.

The UK government sees the Third Sector as "the place between State and (the)private sector" : see Cabinet Office - Office of the Third Sector Organisations within the Third Sector have social goals that are their main reason for being. The term 'voluntary sector' is restrictive to the extent that it excludes certain activities such as social enterprise, and social entrepreneurship, both of which are ways of addressing social problems.

This is pure opinion: The term "Third Sector" does not seem to be one that has been widely adopted either within the sector or outside it. Organisations within the sector tend to identify more closely with their immediate categorisation i.e. we're a charity or a voluntary organisation as opposed to a third sector organisation.

[edit] Links to websites

[www.3rdsectorpedia.net] 3rdsectorpedia is a wiki for and by the Third Sector in the UK. It contains lots of information about the Third Sector, what goes on there and the organisations that are part of it.

[Wales Council for Voluntary Action] Wales Council for Voluntary Action is the national infrastructure body for the voluntary sector in Wales.

[Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action] Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action is the national infrastructure body for the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland. NICVA also run [Community NI] as a home for Northern Ireland's voluntary and community sector online.

[[1]] Working Together Project is a local learning and training infrastructure body for the voluntary and community sector in Sussex. Also involved in ChangeUp in Brighton and Hove.