Charity of the week – Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service

Who are Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service? 

Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service (NCVS) is the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector support and development organisation for Nottingham. Established in 1875, Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service aims to improve the quality of people’s lives in Nottingham by strengthening the local voluntary sector’s capacity to help its clients - through training and development support and opportunities to network. NCVS also supports volunteering in Nottingham. The Volunteer Centre at NCVS is part of a network of accredited Volunteer Centres across England. Although volunteering in Nottingham has existed since NCVS was first established in 1875, a dedicated resource has only been available since 1977. In 2017 the organisation celebrated 40 years of volunteering support in Nottingham.

What’s the aim of the charity?

"To support VCSE organisations and groups to grow their capacity and capability, to increase the scale, scope and impact of volunteering and to be a strong, strategic voice for the sector."

Did you know?

Although they're now well know as the Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service, the charity originally went by the name of Nottingham Society for Organising Charity. They still have the original minutes from their first ever meeting back to 21st December 1875. Pretty impressive! 

Services:

• Volunteering: improving the quality of volunteering and breadth of volunteering opportunities across the city;
• Voluntary sector development: strengthening the voluntary sector’s capacity to help its clients through promoting best practice, funding advice and training;
• Voices: speaking up for the voluntary sector on issues crucial to its future, and increasing the sector’s access to, and influence upon, decision makers.

The Problem of The Poor Project: 

Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the 'Problem of the Poor?' volunteer heritage project explored the lives of people in need who lived in Victorian Nottingham, recorded through their encounters with the Nottingham Society for Organising Charity. What is now NCVS began life as the Nottingham Society for Organising Charity (NCOS) in 1875.

The project ran from April to October 2015 as part of the organisation's 140 year celebrations. Find out more about the project here. 

You can take a look at what Nottingham was like during the time of the Victorians in the video below. 

Get in touch:

If volunteering sounds like something you like to get involved in, there is plenty of information available on Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service's website on how to get started. Take a peek here. 

Telephone: 0115 934 8400

Email: ncvs@nottinghamcvs.co.uk

Address: 7 Mansfield Road, Nottingham, NG1 3FB