Dear Andria,

It’s fair to say that 2025 is already proving to be another busy year. At NCVO, we know that many charities and voluntary organisations are having to take difficult steps to prepare for the challenges ahead.

We are continuing our work to help support the sector in every way we can, offering support and guidance to those who need it. We’re also making sure the voice of the sector is heard by decision-makers, advocating for the needs of the sector, so it can continue to provide support, assistance and help to the people who need it.

Over the next couple of months, we’ll be sharing as much information and advice as we can, and will share updates on our work to create the strongest environment possible for charities like yours to thrive. Keep an eye out for our emails and social posts to find out more.

In the meantime, read on for updates and resources that we hope will support your work. 

👉 Financial sustainability

👉 Charity banking challenges

👉 Investing in volunteers

👉 The true cost of delivering public services

Charity banking challenges

Investing in volunteers

Our recent Time Well Spent research and the Civil Society Almanac 2024 shone a light the £18 billion contribution of volunteers to the economy. They also revealed that organisations with dedicated volunteer budgets report higher satisfaction and retention among their volunteers. Read the latest insights from our Senior Volunteering Consultant Katie on why investing in volunteering is money well spent. 

Explore resources, designed to help you recruit and support your volunteers: 

• Free help and guidance 
• 5 February | Recruiting volunteers training 
• 6 February | Good practice in volunteer management training
• More member-discounted training courses

The True Cost of Delivering Public Services

Thanks to the experiences shared by charities like yours, last year we launched a report into the government’s failure to make sure that public service contracts keep pace with increasing delivery costs. While the work is ongoing, we were pleased to hear from our members that this report is already making an impact. Here’s what the Terrence Higgins Trust had to say: 

“NCVO’s The True Cost of Delivering Public Services report played a critical role in saving Terrence Higgins Trust in 2024 and avoiding disaster in 2025. It not only was timely, but it was thorough and gave my trustees confidence that there were structural issues, not mismanagement, that led to us being in a predicament. The way it identified the trend, spoke about the problem and got the issue covered in the media all helped with our decision making.”