In the community,
for the community
We help people in Northumberland organise
and improve lives in their communities.
welcome to NCVA
Northumberland Community and Voluntary Action (ncva) champions volunteering and voluntary organisations. We help people get organised to work in the community and for the community. Thousands of people across Northumberland contribute through voluntary groups supported by ncva.
How we can help you:
NCVA provides guidance and advice based on experience to help you set up, run and develop your community/voluntary group or charity. We help you find funding, develop the tools and methods to run your group legally and effectively.
If you think you might enjoy volunteering, or need support recruiting and managing volunteers, NCVA has 30 years experience working with volunteers. We can help find the right route for you or your community project.
Improve your skills, knowledge and confidence with accredited and non-accredited training. NCVA works to help your personal and career development, enabling you to be more effective in your community or your workplace.
“NCVA’s members are the voice of the voluntary and community sector in Northumberland helping extend their reach and influence through the county.”
caroline rogan – chief executive, ncva
Funded and supported by:
Making a difference
Voluntary organisations, community groups and social enterprises are shaped by the community needs that they were created to serve. They are flexible and fluid, changing with those needs and responding to new challenges as they arise. This is one reason partnerships involving VCSE bodies offer more than the sum of their parts and why NCVA works to provide the conditions and support that enable them to flourish.
How NCVA helps
Building communities
Northumberland has some of the most remote communities among the lowest population densities in England. At the other extreme urban South East Northumberland accommodates 50% of the county’s population in 3% of it’s land area and has areas among the poorest in England. In both cases the voluntary and community sector provides services and facilities that enable communities to develop, harness new ideas and utilise energy and enthusiasm. NCVA helps by providing the knowledge and experience to enable volunteers and trustees to run effective, legally compliant and better resourced organisations.
Creating sustainable places
Demographic trends and geography have pulled commercial, state and local government services out of smaller towns and villages. In some cases voluntary and community organisations have not only filled the gap but improved service delivery, becoming more responsive to local needs. NCVA looks for opportunities to bring people and organisations together in partnerships that offer more than the sum of their parts to extend the capacity of communities to sustain themselves and their quality of life.
Enhancing wellbeing
The all-round approach to wellbeing, including physical health, mental health, social inclusion and preventative public health is enhanced immeasurably by the work of hundreds of community groups, major national and local charities. Understanding that ‘holistic’ approaches to wellbeing rarely come about by accident, NCVA is proactive in supporting wellbeing initiatives and providing the back-up to voluntary organisations in delivering their services in partnerships.
Looking for a new challenge?
There are job opportunities throughout Northumberland in the voluntary and community sector. See the latest vacancies on this site.
projects & PARTNERSHIPS
NCVA helps to initiate, develop and maintain networks and partnerships across the voluntary and community sector in Northumberland. We also focus our work in targeted projects where our experience can benefit individuals and our community as a whole. These are just some of the areas in which NCVA leads and contributes.
Bridge Northumberland
Funded by the Lottery Community Fund and the European Social Fund, Bridge Northumberland, in which NCVA is lead partner, seeks to overcome the barriers to employment encountered by people, some of whom may have been out of the job market for some time.
Connecting Northumberland
Simply Connect Northumberland enables people to find self-help groups, advice and support organisation or to get involved in leisure and social activities by searching a database of hundreds of local community organisations.
Assisted Shopping
NCVA brings together volunteers to help enables older people to get out to the sops with one-to-one support. The service helps combat social isolation as well as meeting a basic need in which participants can do things for themselves.
Digital Inclusion
Having identified a gap in ICT provision in the area, NCVA established a digital inclusion programme for older people through which they can become familiar with the essentials that make life in a digitally-driven world liveable.
Employability Network
Improving the skills and job prospects of people in Northumberland is central to NCVA’s work. The Northumberland Employability Network brings together organisations delivering services in this field to share experiences and build links.
Health & Wellbeing Network
The Northumberland VCFSE Health and Wellbeing Network is a new partnership bringing together community and voluntary groups to share information, experience and good practice and link with statutory services in the county.
OUR MISSION
We exist to enable the community and voluntary organisations in Northumberland to develop and succeed. To do so we provide expert advice, training and information. We provide a voice for the voluntary sector and help build partnerships.