 Welcome to your fortnightly NAVCA newsletter, with all the latest events, resources, and support from NAVCA, tailored to local infrastructure organisations. Use the headings below to jump to what you're most interested in, or browse the introduction and contents to find out more. NAVCA news, events and resources We're hiring! Join the NAVCA team as a Local Trust Partnerships Manager Impact of war in Iran on civil society Development of Impact Assessment Framework Practical support for NAVCA members: spring/summer training programme Join us to chat all things social media at the next Barking Owl Reminder: NAVCA member organisation survey Policy Navigating changes in local government: new NAVCA member video series Our Place to Give - new DCMS philanthropy initiative NHS volunteering platform – supporting VCSE organisations External events and resources Creating places for everyone: Supporting place-based and community-led racial justice Boost your charity’s impact with Locality’s paid training workshops Livestream fundraising for charities: a practical guide to getting started Register your A Million Acts of Hope event and order your event pack Emergencies Partnership: LIVE! Renters Rights Awareness Week 2026 Community Wealth Fund update Digital for coordination & capacity: join the Community of Practice The Queen Elizabeth Trust Impact of war in Iran on civil societyLast week, Maddy Desforges, NAVCA CEO, joined civil society infrastructure leaders to meet Stephanie Peacock MP and Lucy Rigby KC MP at 10 Downing Street to discuss the impact of the war in Iran on civil society. Thank you to everyone who shared insights and examples ahead of the meeting. Your input helped ensure a strong, place-based picture of the challenges facing the sector, with real examples bringing to life the pressures being felt by communities and organisations across the country. The conversation highlighted a number of ongoing issues being intensified — including rising demand for support, increasing costs including fuel costs, financial uncertainty, and the strain on staff and volunteers. It also reinforced the vital role of the voluntary sector in supporting communities and strengthening social cohesion. It felt like there was a clear commitment to continued engagement with the sector, and to ensuring these perspectives are reflected in future decision-making. Join the conversation on LinkedIn. Development of Impact Assessment Framework Following a careful codesign process with NAVCA members, the project to develop an Impact Assessment Framework for local infrastructure organisations has now moved to the testing phase. Six members that contributed to the co-design work will be rigorously testing the framework from now until the end of September 2026. The framework will then be revised in light of use and feedback with the intention to make it more widely available from early 2027. The framework uses a common set of outcomes drawn from a theory of change that correspond with other theories of change for local infrastructure published recently. If you would like more information, please contact Jill Hopkinson, NAVCA's Policy Manager. Practical support for NAVCA members: spring/summer training programme Local infrastructure organisations are working in an increasingly complex and resource-constrained environment. You’re supporting your local VCSE sector, influencing systems, and navigating change yourselves — from funding pressures to evolving roles. That’s why our spring/summer training programme is designed specifically for NAVCA members: practical, relevant and affordable support that reflects the realities of your work. - Learn from expert facilitators who understand local infrastructure - Build skills you can apply straight away - Connect with peers across the NAVCA network - Access affordable training, with early bird offers available From governance and leadership to volunteering and wellbeing, this programme focuses on the areas members have told us matter most. Strong local infrastructure depends on skilled, supported teams — and we’re here to help you build that capacity. Find out more here: www.navca.org.uk/news/practical-support-for-navca-members-spring-summer-training-programme Join us to chat all things social media at the next Barking Owl The Barking Owl is a safe and supportive network where NAVCA members can share the challenges of working in communications, and all members are welcome to join us. The next Barking Owl meeting will take place at 3pm - 4pm on Tuesday 28th April, online via Zoom. We will be talking all things social media - catching up on what platforms people are using, any challenges you are facing or problems you would like help with, ideas you have for new content, social media trends, and more. Please bring any questions or subtopics you would like to discuss - these meetings are shaped by NAVCA members and designed to be as useful as possible. You can sign up for this event via the NAVCA website here. Reminder: NAVCA member organisation survey If you're a CEO and haven't completed NAVCA's annual member organisation survey, please do so by Thursday 30 April to be in with a chance of winning a year’s free NAVCA membership. As a NAVCA member, sharing your experiences and information helps us to advocate for you at a national level. By using data, insights, and qualitative feedback, we can inform policymakers, funders and other stakeholders of the value and importance of local infrastructure. CEOs can complete the survey here. Emergencies Partnership: LIVE!In October, the VCS Emergencies Partnership will be hosting their first all-partner, in-person event, Emergencies Partnership: LIVE!
Emergencies will continue to impact us, whether they’re your core business or not, and by coming together as the different parts of the sector we can challenge, inspire and support each other to build stronger communities. EP:LIVE is a one-day extravaganza that’s not to be missed. We want the day to reflect our partnership - bold, diverse and curious. Built around a choose-your-own-adventure format, whether it is the unifying moments tackling the big topics together, or splitting out into streams to choose from a mix of content that aligns to your learning goals, the day blends knowledge sharing and insight with practical takeaways and space to connect, learn and be inspired. The event will take place in Leeds on Thursday 8th October 2026. Find out more and book your ticket here. Renters Rights Awareness Week 2026As part of Renters Rights Awareness Week 2026 (27th April – 3rd May 2026), Generation Rent is running a series of FREE online webinars. With the Renters Rights Act coming into force on 1st May, this series of webinars will help renters understand what’s changing and put their new rights into action. Across the week, we will be covering a range of key topics including how evictions and rent increases are changing, how councils will enforce the law, and what the new law means for issues like disrepair, owning pets and living in student housing. For VCSE organisations, this session might be particularly useful: Renters Rights Act – what VCSE organisations need to know about the changes - Wednesday 29th April, 2 – 3 pm The end of Section 21 evictions is just the highest profile change happening on 1 May, but there is a range of other changes that will affect private renters. Knowing what the new rights and protections are will be crucial when dealing with renters who are facing housing problems. Learn more about the Renters Rights Act. For full details, and to sign up, click here. You can find the details of all other webinars Generation Rent are running here, and on their online rights awareness events calendar. Community Wealth Fund update The National Lottery Community Fund has issued an update on the Community Wealth Fund, which will be targeted at communities with limited resources and services, helping residents identify priorities and use funding to improve their neighbourhoods. The intended model will reflect local needs and be community led. It will provide support to 60 areas that are doubly disadvantaged, with each community receiving grants of £1-2.5m over 10 years. The areas are currently being selected and will be published in the autumn. Phase 1 will be open for applications later in the year, but only to Community Anchor Organisations, with all three phases operational by April 2028. Read more here. Digital for coordination & capacity: join the Community of Practice Are you exploring a new Volunteer Management System (VMS) or trying to optimise your current digital tools? Join the "Digital in Volunteering" Community of Practice for a free, peer-led webinar on how digital can help your organisation achieve scale. Featuring expert insights from Ben Hughes and Wendy Halley, this session moves beyond the "sales pitch" to provide honest, practical guidance for volunteer leads. The session will take place at 1pm - 3pm on Thursday 30th April. Book your free place here. The Queen Elizabeth Trust The Queen Elizabeth Trust is a new independent charity created to honour Queen Elizabeth's lifelong commitment to public service, communities and bringing people together - putting her values into practical action across the United Kingdom for present and future generations. The Queen Elizabeth Trust will work across the UK to support communities to restore and sustain shared spaces that bring people together across generations from all walks of life. Inspired by Queen Elizabeth’s belief that “everyone is our neighbour”, the Trust will work hand in hand with communities, providing funding and targeted support to create spaces that will thrive long into the future. It will place particular emphasis on reaching underrepresented and under-engaged groups and will encourage multi-generational collaboration. Backed by a £40 million Government endowment, the Trust will leverage additional fundraising to maximise its reach and impact across the country. Comments are closed.
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