The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) saw its income increase by £1.7m over the last year despite a dip in its membership.

The sector body’s annual accounts for 2022/23 show its income increased from £5.4m to £7.1m and it has an operational surplus of £169,000.

A post Covid recovery of income streams, including conference room hire, training and consultancy work, has contributed to this growth. Its open learning programme has grown by a quarter to support 4,000 people over the year.

This growth in income is being reported as the NCVO reveals a lack of growth in membership numbers for the first time.

While 1,352 new members sign up, the year also saw 1,417 memberships lapsed as its membership slipped by 62.

This coincides with work by the NCVO to clean its records of dormant accounts. This discovered 481 such accounts.

It also saw fewer members join month to month that the previous year.

“The escalating energy crisis has impacted how organisations budget but also contributed to slowing member acquisition in 2022/23,” said the NCVO.

However, it adds it saw a 3% increase in paying members compared with the previous financial year.

The annual report covers the “challenging timing” of the closure of sector body Small Charities Coalition, as well as an overhaul of NCVO's website.

“We started 2022 facing a rapidly evolving cost-of-living crisis, placing substantial demands on the voluntary sector,” said NCVO chair Priya Singh.

“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 reaching out in the best ways, to enable a way forward through the crisis.”

A focus of the NCVO’s work during the current financial year is its work with partners including the government to boost volunteering through the Vision for Volunteering project.

At its AGM on 16 October the NCVO will host a panel discussion discussing challenges facing the charity sector and meeting the needs of communities.

“As a community, over the last year we were faced with a series of crises and challenges, from the outbreak of war in Ukraine to the ongoing cost of living and energy crisis squeezing much-needed funds,” said NCVO chief executive Sarah Vibert.

“From practical guidance to webinars about how to manage rising energy costs, the NCVO team responded time and time again to provide much-needed support to members.

“The whole NCVO team remains focussed on our mission to make the sector as strong as we can, while also making sure we are an organisation that can prepare, alongside the voluntary sector, for the challenges of the future.”

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