The National Council for Voluntary Organisations increased its membership income by nearly 27 per cent last year but overall remained relatively flat, latest figures show.
The body’s membership income rose from £1.8m last year to £2.2m, according to its accounts for the year to the end of March 2026.
This was part of the NCVO’s income from charitable activities, which overall remained static compared with last year, at £4.1m.
A spokesperson for the NCVO said the increase in membership income was primarily driven by subscription fees, rather than a significant increase in member numbers.
“Our membership fees are set on a sliding scale according to the size of an organisation, meaning larger organisations contribute more,” they said.
“This approach helps ensure that smaller charities can access the support, connections and representation they need without carrying a disproportionate financial burden.”
The membership body’s total income remained relatively flat, recording £9.6m in 2025/26 compared with £9.4m the year before.
Income from services and partnerships dropped from £2.3m to £1.8m year on year, while income from trading activities fell slightly, from £2.9m to £2.7m.
Donations and legacies brought in £2.5m during 2025/26, compared with £2.2m the previous year.
The membership body also recorded £257,000 from investments and £22,000 from engagement and influence activities.
The NCVO recorded a total expenditure of £9.3m during the year, compared with £8.8m in 2024/25.
Most of these costs went towards engagement and influence activities, with £2.8m being spent on this.
A further £2.3m was spent on services and partnerships, nearly £2m went towards the NCVO’s transformation programme, £1.5m was spent on raising funds and £548,000 on membership costs.
The accounts show the NCVO spent a total of £196,000 on redundancy and termination payments during the year, with £81,000 in such payments outstanding at the end of the year.
But the charity’s average number of employees rose from 75 in 2025 to 80 in 2026.
The redundancy costs stemmed from a restructure that the NCVO carried out during the year, which the accounts say involved some “difficult but necessary decisions” to reshape the organisation.
“This included reshaping teams, investing in new leadership capacity and strengthening our digital, data and strategic intelligence capabilities,” the accounts say.
In March, Third Sector revealed that the NCVO had cut most of its practical support team, with plans to replace the function with a “scalable, digital-first model”.
The membership body also hired for several new roles in its engagement and influence directorate at the time, prompting some concern online over the recruitment messaging and the restructure’s implications for small charities.
The NCVO’s accounts say: “Alongside these organisational changes, aspects of our culture became the subject of external commentary.
“Through organisation-wide culture workshops, our colleague forum and ongoing engagement with our recognised trade union, we have strengthened the way colleagues can influence change and helped shape new organisational values that reflect who we want to be.”
The accounts show the NCVO’s staff costs amounted to £5.9m in 2025/26, with chief executive Kate Lee, who joined at the end of September 2025, earning the most per month worked.
She received a salary of £81,634 during the remainder of the financial year, the accounts show, equating to an annual salary of about £163,000.