Income at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations rose by £1.7m last year, its latest accounts show.
NCVO’s income grew from £5.4m to £7.1m in the financial year ending 31 March 2023, which included £3.8m raised from charitable activities and £2.2m from trading.
The membership body said the increase could be mostly put down to income from the hire of its conference facilities returning to pre-pandemic levels.
The organisation’s expenditure grew by £0.6m to £6.9m, which the NCVO said was down to an “increase in services, such as our conferencing suite and consultancy, together with costs associated with Vision for Volunteering”.
Vision for Volunteering is a “10-year collaborative project designed to reimagine the future of volunteering” with the help of 350 people from more than 300 organisations and funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
NCVO’s membership numbers dropped by 62 to 17,040 organisations, with 91.9 per cent of previous members renewing their membership in the new year.
The average number of employees at the NCVO, which supports charities, voluntary organisations and community groups in England, grew from 75 to 85 over the course of the year. Sarah Vibert, the chief executive, earned the highest salary at £120,000 a year.
Priya Singh, chair of the NCVO said: “We started 2022 facing a rapidly evolving cost-of-living crisis, placing substantial demands on the voluntary sector.
“People and organisations have continued to adapt, step up and innovate to meet new needs.
“We can all take inspiration from the continuing strength, resilience and courage of those working and volunteering in the sector.
“We are working hard to utilise our connections and reach out in the best ways, to enable a way forward through the crisis.”
Vibert said: “One theme that runs through all the conversations I have with charity staff and volunteers is the challenge of keeping organisations running successfully in the short term, especially through times of crisis, while keeping focused on the long-term vision.
“NCVO certainly shares this challenge in responding to immediate needs of members while staying focused on the long-term sustainability of the voluntary sector and volunteering.
“The strength of the NCVO membership community and the depth of our relationships across the sector, give NCVO a strong basis on which to progress and support the sector as we weather the storms of the year ahead.”