 First up, volunteering! In consulting with members around the new RVS volunteering platform, we heard that members would like us to create a campaign that showcases the importance of local infrastructure in supporting volunteering in communities. We are starting to make plans, but we need your input and ideas? Firstly, we are gathering information about what you do around volunteering, how many roles you advertise, how many VCSE groups you support, and more. This will help us to paint a picture of how crucial NAVCA members are in nurturing a thriving and inclusive volunteering culture locally. Secondly, if you can contribute to our campaign, we'd like to hear from you. Jump to the section below to find out how to feed back - we'd love to hear from you. We've also been planning our autumn/winter training series, where we're hosting a series of training sessions for NAVCA members, to help you develop your skills and support your local voluntary sector. I'm so pleased to see that our session with the Charity Commission has been popular - there are still a few spaces left, so book your place today to avoid missing out. Myself and Lydia, our Projects Officer, have been working on making sure that our regular network meetings (such as volunteering, anti-racism, and climate) are as useful to members as possible. We have a volunteering meeting and an anti-racism meeting next week, and we'd love to see you there. And in another of our regular policy-orientated member conversations, we’re hoping you’ll join us to dig into the findings of recently released DCMS research into Local Civil Society Infrastructure. There's a lot going on, so do check out the NAVCA website Member Hub, where you can chat to other members, download hundreds of free resources, and sign up for all NAVCA events. NAVCA events and resourcesVolunteering - help to support our campaign In response to member feedback, we will be developing a new campaign that highlights the value of local connection in supporting volunteering. We’re going to explore how we might do this - but one thing we know is it will only work if members work with us. Please let us know on NAVCA Connect if you’d be able to give a bit of time and energy to creating and delivering a campaign. To help us show the extent and impact of locally based volunteering support for this campaign, we need to know how you support volunteering and the approximate numbers of organisations and people you support. Completing this short survey by Friday 12 September will help us build the case and show others what you are already doing to facilitate and enable volunteering. Charity Commission Masterclass - Registering a CIOThis online masterclass is a unique opportunity for members that support community organisations to register as charities to hear directly from the Charity Commission about the process of registering a charity. You’ll get insights from Stuart Wood (Head of Registration) into what they look for, share your practical experiences, and help shape the dialogue with decision-makers. The session will address some common challenges, such as identifying and explaining an organisation's 'charitable purpose', 'objects' and 'public benefit'. This event is aimed at development workers and staff that regularly support organisations with Charity Commission registration. The event will take place online on 18th September, 10am - 12pm, and costs £75. Book your place here. Also, keep an eye out for more training sessions over the next few months! Building your brand with Few and Far - member workshop Branding is an important topic for members, as more organisations begin to explore rebranding or refreshing their brand in order to make the greatest impact. At our 2025 Annual Conference, we held a workshop hosted by Few and Far, a digital agency that specialises in working with not-for-profit organisations, on branding, digital and more. We know this was a popular topic for members, and also that many of you wanted to attend this workshop but were unable to. That's why we're hosting an online workshop in November, so more members can attend the session. We’re now excited to welcome Colin Grist, Creative Director at not-for-profit digital agency Few and Far, for a hands-on 2-hour online workshop for NAVCA members. Together, we’ll explore the adjectives and archetypes that define your brand today – and where you’d like it to go in the future. By the end of the session, you’ll have a clear “brand personality” that you can use as a benchmark for future brand or rebrand work, making sure it always connects back to your organisation’s story. You’ll take part in the collaborative exercise on the day, then leave with the tools to repeat it with your own team. The event will take place online on 5th November, 11am to 1:15pm, and we have a limited number of early bird tickets available for £100. Book your place here. Barking Owl - September: Analytics Join us at the Barking Owl, the network for communications workers and similar roles in the NAVCA membership. In this meeting, we will be chatting all things analytics - including Google Analytics/GA4, alternative platforms, and how to make sense of it all! If you're an analytics expert, bring your knowledge and insight. If you're a beginner or need some tips, bring your questions! This event will take place online on 25th September, 10am - 11am. Book your place here. Volunteering Network: Creativity in Volunteering Join us at the next NAVCA Volunteering Network for members working in all areas of volunteering. For this session, we will be joined by Tamara Friedrich from Warwick Business School, who have been conducting research on factors that enable creativity in volunteering and barriers that hamper it. We will discuss their learning, best practice, and ideas for creative methods of volunteering. The meeting will take place on Tuesday 9th September, 12pm - 1pm, and all NAVCA members are welcome. Sign up via the NAVCA website here. NAVCA Anti-Racist Group: Diversity of Trusteeship Join us at the next NAVCA Anti-Racist Group, for any NAVCA member interested in tackling racism in their community. With insights from Sandra White, CEO of NAVCA member Compost London, we will discuss the importance of having a diverse board of trustees, how to recruit, and the importance of having 'courageous conversations'. The meeting will take place on Thursday 11th September, 3pm - 4:30pm. Sign up via the NAVCA website here. HealthNational Voices - Lived Experience Partners wantedNational Voices' Lived Experience Partners are people with significant lived experience of using health and care services, who experience health inequalities. National Voices work with their Lived Experience Partners in a range of ways to inform and influence their work, and they are looking for new people to join. This is a great opportunity for people with lived experience to influence National Voices’ work, both internally and externally. They also offer training and development opportunities to their Lived Experience Partners, including coaching and mentoring skills, to enable you to influence senior leaders and decision makers in a range of ways. Equipping people with further development and skills means they are better informed and placed to contribute to all the engagement and participation work they get involved in, benefitting all the organisations they work with. You can find more information about recruitment for Lived Experience Partners on the National Voices website here. New community grants programme for health data scienceThis September, Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) is launching a new community grants programme called Take the Lead, offering between £500 and £1,500 for community groups to deliver projects, events or activities that explore how data can support health and wellbeing within their local community. Grants will support activities taking place between January and March 2026. The programme is designed to support community-led ideas and engage groups not usually involved in health data science, particularly those working with: • People disadvantaged in terms of income • Minority ethnic communities • Older children and young adults aged 11–25 (especially in areas of deprivation) • People over 65 (especially in areas of deprivation) • People living in rural areas • People experiencing digital exclusion Take the Lead grants will open for applications in September 2025. Eligibility and guidelines will be shared on our website then. In the meantime, register now for our online Q&A session about the grants taking place on 11 September 2025 at 14.00 BST. PolicySession to explore the DCMS LCSI researchJoin us at this session to explore the findings of the DCMS commissioned research into local civil society infrastructure (LCSI). There will be opportunities to ask questions and to explore the implications of the findings for local infrastructure policy and practice.
The session will take place on 17th September, 11am - 12:30pm. Sign up here. NAVCA response to procurement consultationA further consultation on provisions of the Procurement Act that apply to SMEs and the VCSE sector were consulted on over the summer. The consultation was effectively a technical consultation, with limited opportunity to respond beyond the questions themselves. NAVCA has submitted a response which picks up some of the broader issues of procurement in relation to VCSE organisations emphasising what else needs to change beyond the proposals currently made. You can read the response on the Members' Hub here. Neighbourhood Governance The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill includes a requirement for forming unitary authorities to establish neighbourhood level governance structures. MHCLG are currently drafting the regulations that will inform how these will be set up and run. We have spoken to many members over the summer who currently work with various neighbourhood boards, community partnerships, area committees etc., and compiled your experiences for MHCLG, identifying some key pointers like the value of coterminous boundaries with health systems, membership and decision-making extending beyond elected councillors, and the need for funding. The first section summarises the key learning, the subsequent sections provide detail on different systems in anonymised areas, with a couple of exceptions where it makes sense to name them. The first draft of the regulations are expected during October and we will update you further then. You can read the response on the Members' Hub here. External events and resources How to handle volunteer concerns and complaintsManaging concerns and complaints from volunteers is essential for maintaining trust, safeguarding wellbeing and strengthening your volunteer involvement. In this session, NCVO will look at how to create a safe environment where volunteers feel confident to raise concerns, and how to respond appropriately when they do. You will learn practical advice on setting up proportionate procedures and ensuring your processes reflect your organisation’s values. You’ll also hear how other organisations have successfully handled volunteer complaints to improve practice and culture. This session is suited to volunteer managers and anyone responsible for volunteer engagement and safeguarding. The webinar will take place on Tuesday 23 September, from 10:30 to 12:00, and is free to attend. We’ll be joined by expert speakers: Victoria Dickinson, NCVO Associate; Catherine Haines, Resolutions Manager at The Ramblers; and Steve Naylor, CEO of Bucks Vision. They’ll share their insights and experience to help you: • create a supportive environment where volunteers feel confident raising concerns • establish clear, values-led processes for handling complaints • respond effectively to issues as they arise You can find out more and register here. Comments are closed.
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