National Council for Voluntary Organisations

National Council for Voluntary Organisations
Abbreviation NCVO
Formation 1919, as the National Council of Social Services (NCSS)
Legal status charity and membership organisation
Location
Region served
England
Membership
12,000+[1]
Chief Executive
Sir Stuart Etherington[2]
Website www.ncvo.org.uk

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) is the umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in England. It is a registered charity (no 225922)[3] NCVO works to support the voluntary and community sector and to create an environment in which an independent civil society can flourish. NCVO has a membership of more than 12,000 voluntary organisations.[1] These range from large national bodies to community groups, volunteer centres, and development agencies working at a local level.

Location

NCVO's headquarters are in the King's Cross, London area at Society Building, 8 All Saints Street, London N1 9RL.

Aims

NCVO aims to:

Activity

NCVO represents the views of its members, and the wider voluntary sector to government, the European Union and other bodies. It carries out research into, and analysis of, the voluntary and community sector. It campaigns on issues affecting the whole of the voluntary and community sector, such as the role of voluntary and community organisations in public service delivery and the future of local government. It provides information, advice and support to other organisations and individuals working in or with the voluntary and community sector. Many now well-established voluntary organisations started out as projects within NCVO, including Age Concern, Citizens Advice, the Charities Aid Foundation, the Black Environment Network, the Youth Hostel Association and the National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs.

History

NCVO started in 1919 as the National Council of Social Service (NCSS). NCSS was established in order to bring various voluntary bodies together and into closer relationships with government departments. Its foundation was made possible through a legacy from Edward Vivian Birchall, who had played a large part in the emergent voluntary sector before he was killed, aged 32, in France during the First World War.[5]

On 1 April 1980, just over 60 years since its foundation, the National Council of Social Service became the National Council for Voluntary Organisations.

On 1 January 2013, NCVO merged with Volunteering England (which had recently merged itself with Student Volunteering England).[6]

The organisation's first headquarters (from 1928 to 1992) were at 26 Bedford Square, London WC1.

Previous Presidents

Governance

NCVO's President is Baroness Grey-Thompson.[7] She succeeded Lord Hodgson in November 2012.[8]

Former BBC newsreader Martyn Lewis CBE is NCVO's Chair.[9] He succeeeded Sir Graham Melmoth in November 2010.

The Chief Executive is Sir Stuart Etherington,[10] who succeeded Judy Weleminsky in 1994.

Sister organisations

The equivalent infrastructure bodies for voluntary organisations in the other UK countries are:

References

  1. 1 2 "About Us: NCVO membership". NCVO. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  2. Curley, Kevin (21 January 2014). "While the young struggle for jobs, we should not be a part of the problem". Third Sector. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  3. "Charity overview". Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  4. "NCVO Strategy 2014–19". About Us. NCVO. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  5. "History". NCVO. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  6. "Volunteering England trustees named for NCVO merger" (Press release). NCVO. 6 November 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  7. "Our governance". NCVO. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  8. Tonkin, Tim (16 October 2012). "National Council for Voluntary Organisations to appoint Tanni Grey-Thompson as next president". Third Sector. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  9. "NCVO's Trustee Board". NCVO. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  10. "Sir Stuart Etherington, Chief Executive, NCVO, biography". NCVO. Retrieved 3 April 2013.

Further reading

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