National Council for Voluntary Organisations
Encyclopedia
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) is the umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector
in England
. NCVO works to support the voluntary and community sector and to create an environment in which an independent civil society
can flourish. NCVO has a growing membership, which currently stands at over 8,400 voluntary organisations ranging from large national bodies to community groups, volunteer centres, and development agencies working at a local level.
Many now well-established voluntary organisations started out as projects within NCVO, including Age Concern
, Citizens Advice, the Charities Aid Foundation
, the Black Environment Network, the Youth Hostel Association and the National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs
.
during the First World War.
On 1 April 1980, just over 60 years since its foundation, the National Council for Social Service became the National Council for Voluntary Organisations.
Voluntary sector
The voluntary sector or community sector is the sphere of social activity undertaken by organizations that are for non-profit and non-governmental. This sector is also called the third sector, in reference to the public sector and the private sector...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. NCVO works to support the voluntary and community sector and to create an environment in which an independent civil society
Civil society
Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
can flourish. NCVO has a growing membership, which currently stands at over 8,400 voluntary organisations ranging from large national bodies to community groups, volunteer centres, and development agencies working at a local level.
Aims
NCVO’s stated aims are:- to bring about a comprehensive understanding of the distinctive value and values that the voluntary and community sector brings to society;
- to ensure that voluntary and community organisations and their users can play the fullest possible part in civil society and in building a diverse, tolerant, just and compassionate society;
- to redefine, develop and improve the relationships and partnerships within the voluntary and community sector and those with the other sectors and the general public;
- to ensure that a voluntary or community organisation, at whatever stage in its development, can access appropriate information, advice and models of good practice easily and quickly;
- to ensure that voluntary and community organisations have access to the resources and personnel they need to achieve their mission and to make the most effective use of those resources.
Activity
NCVO represents the views of its members, and the wider voluntary sector to government, the European Union and other bodies. It carries out research into, and analysis of, the voluntary and community sector. It campaigns on issues affecting the whole of the voluntary and community sector, such as the role of voluntary and community organisations in public service delivery and the future of local government. It provides information, advice and support to other organisations and individuals working in or with the voluntary and community sector.Many now well-established voluntary organisations started out as projects within NCVO, including Age Concern
Age Concern
Age Concern was the banner title used by a number of charitable organisations specifically concerned with the needs and interests of all older people based chiefly in the four countries of the United Kingdom....
, Citizens Advice, the Charities Aid Foundation
Charities Aid Foundation
The Charities Aid Foundation is a registered UK charity. Its Head Office is located in the King's Hill business park, West Malling, Kent with a second office in London on St Andrew Street, EC4A 3AY...
, the Black Environment Network, the Youth Hostel Association and the National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs
National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs
The National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs is the largest rural youth organisation of its kind, in the United Kingdom. The Federation covers various Young Farmers' Clubs throughout England and Wales, helping support young people in agriculture and the countryside...
.
History
NCVO started in 1919 as the National Council of Social Services (NCSS). NCSS was established in order to bring various voluntary bodies together and into closer relationships with government departments. Its foundation was made possible through a legacy from Edward Vivian Birchall, who had played a large part in the emergent voluntary sector before he was killed, aged 32, in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
during the First World War.
On 1 April 1980, just over 60 years since its foundation, the National Council for Social Service became the National Council for Voluntary Organisations.
Officers
Presidents- 1919-1921: The Rt HonThe Right HonourableThe Right Honourable is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Anglophone Caribbean and other Commonwealth Realms, and occasionally elsewhere...
the Viscount UllswaterJames Lowther, 1st Viscount UllswaterJames William Lowther, 1st Viscount Ullswater, GCB, PC, JP, DL was a British Conservative politician. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons between 1905 and 1921.-Background and education:The son of Hon...
PC GCBOrder of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath... - 1921-1928: The Rt Hon J H WhitleyJohn Henry WhitleyJohn Henry Whitley , often known as J. H. Whitley, was a respected and successful British politician whose life and career spanned a period of significant social change, from roots in the heart of the Industrial Revolution through to the inter-war period.- Family and early career :John Henry...
PC MP - 1928-1932: Captain The Rt Hon E A FitzRoyEdward FitzRoyCaptain Edward Algernon FitzRoy, DL was a British Conservative politician who served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1928 until his death.FitzRoy was the second son of the 3rd Baron Southampton...
PC MP - 1932-1935: The Rt Hon J H Whitley PC MP
- 1935-1938: The Rt Hon the Viscount BledisloeCharles Bathurst, 1st Viscount Bledisloe-External links:*...
PC GCMGOrder of St Michael and St GeorgeThe Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
KBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions... - 1938-1939: The Rt Hon the Lord Snell PC CBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
- 1939-1951: Sir Percy Malcolm StewartPercy Malcolm StewartSir Percy Malcolm Stewart, 1st Baronet , was an English industrialist and philanthropist.Stewart was President of the Portland Cement company. Sir Percy Malcolm Stewart and his father, Sir Halley Stewart, believed in good working and living conditions for employees. They developed the model...
BartBaronetA baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
DL OBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions... - 1951-1954: The Rt Hon the Earl of HalifaxE. F. L. Wood, 1st Earl of HalifaxEdward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, , known as The Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and as The Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was one of the most senior British Conservative politicians of the 1930s, during which he held several senior ministerial posts, most notably as...
PC KGOrder of the GarterThe Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
OMOrder of MeritThe Order of Merit is a British dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture...
GCSIOrder of the Star of IndiaThe Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:# Knight Grand Commander # Knight Commander # Companion...
GCIEOrder of the Indian EmpireThe Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:#Knight Grand Commander #Knight Commander #Companion... - 1954-1957: Sir Edward PeacockEdward Robert PeacockSir Edward Robert Peacock, GCVO was a Canadian merchant banker, born in St. Elmo, Glengarry County, Ontario. He is perhaps best known as a director of the Bank of England, or for his role as Receiver General to the Duchy of Cornwall.-Early life:...
GCVORoyal Victorian OrderThe Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys... - 1964-1969: The Rt Hon the Lord Hayworth
- 1969-1973: His Royal Highness the Duke of EdinburghPrince Philip, Duke of EdinburghPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
- 1973-1981: Sir John Partridge KBE
- 1981-1986: Sir John Hedley Greenborough KBE
- 1986-1991: Sir Kenneth Durham
- 1991-1997: Sir Campbell Adamson
- 1997-2002: The Lord Plant of Highfield
- 2002-2007: The Baroness RawlingsPatricia Rawlings, Baroness RawlingsPatricia Elizabeth Rawlings, Baroness Rawlings is a Conservative Party politician and frontbencher in the House of Lords. She was a Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1994....
- 2007 to present: The Lord HodgsonRobin Hodgson, Baron Hodgson of Astley AbbottsRobin Granville Hodgson, Baron Hodgson of Astley Abbotts CBE is a British Conservative Party politician.In both 1974 general elections, Hodgson unsuccessfully contested the strong Labour seat of Walsall North against the incumbent, John Stonehouse...
- Chairmen
- 2007-2010
- Graham Melmoth
- 2010 to present: Martyn Lewis
NEWLINMartyn Lewis (journalist)Martyn Lewis CBE is a British television news presenter and journalist.-Early life:Lewis was born in Swansea, West Glamorgan, though was educated at the co-educational Dalriada School in Northern Ireland and graduated with a BA degree from Trinity College, Dublin. He then joined BBC Northern... - 2010 to present: Martyn Lewis
Sister Councils
The equivalent infrastructure bodies for voluntary organisations in the other UK countries are:- WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
: WCVA, Wales Council for Voluntary ActionWales Council for Voluntary Actionis the national membership organisation for the Third Sector and volunteering in Wales. It aims to make Wales a better place by championing volunteering, voluntary organisations and community groups.... - ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
: SCVO, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations - Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
: NICVA, the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary ActionNorthern Ireland Council for Voluntary ActionNorthern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action is the national infrastructure body for the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland. NICVA also hosts and manages several websites for Northern Ireland's voluntary and community sector online.-History:...