NCVO cuts most of its practical support team in favour of ‘digital-first’ model
The membership body’s practical support team, which ran its Small Charities Helpdesk, has mostly been cut, with plans to replace the function with a “scalable, digital-first model”, Third Sector has learned.
The new function will focus on signposting and triaging, rather than the former casework model, documents show.
The infrastructure body has restructured in a bid to tackle a forecast income shortfall of about £363,000, axing all but one from its practical support team, sources said.
But it is understood the organisation is also hiring externally for seven new roles in its engagement and influence directorate, and plans to expand its senior leadership team as a result of the changes.
NCVO said its total headcount prior to the restructure was 97 and its headcount under the new structure would be 90, including the roles it is recruiting for.
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Charity mergers up by almost a half last year
The Good Merger Index, published by the consultancy Eastside People, found there were 94 mergers involving 183 organisations in 2024/25, a 49 per cent increase on the previous year.
The index focuses on charities and organisations based in England and Wales, although some significant mergers are included involving organisations from outside these nations.
Takeovers remain the most common merger type and the percentage of smaller charities operating at a deficit the year before merging rose from 47 per cent in 2021/22 to 56 per cent, the research found.
“We can only speculate, but it may be that more smaller organisations are financially distressed prior to merger, and are therefore looking to find a safe harbour through merger, and such mergers are more likely to be takeovers,” the research says.
The total income of charities involved in mergers was almost £2.2bn in 2024/25, a major increase on the £1bn recorded in 2023/24.
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Civil Society Council members revealed
Voluntary sector figures appointed to the body, which will work with the government to oversee implementation of the Civil Society Covenant, include Gemma Peters, Mark Russell and Matt Hyde, the chief executives of Macmillan Cancer Support, The Children’s Society and the Lloyds Bank Foundation, respectively.
Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, Charlotte Hill, chief executive of The Felix Project & FareShare, and Emma de Closset, head of UK Community Foundations, are also among the 12 names that have been confirmed by 10 Downing Street.
Kate Lee, chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, was last year named as the chair of the group.
Downing Street said the appointees, who were selected from almost 600 applications, were chosen “to reflect a broad mix of experience, expertise and geographic representation”.
The government said the council would “drive a new approach to partnership with civil society, overseeing implementation of the Civil Society Covenant at national and local level”.
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