Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) is a membership body that unites voluntary organisations across Wales to enable them to make a bigger difference together. Their vision is a future where voluntary organisations and volunteering thrive across Wales, improving wellbeing for all. Currently, the organisation is looking forward to the next 5 years and imagining how it can shape a better future for Wales as a catalyst for positive change, through promoting connections, enabling organisations to have the skills and resources they need, and influencing the wider sector.
WCVA offers financial support to charities and across 2022/23 distributed £27.5m in funding to charities, social enterprises and volunteers in Wales. It manages several funding schemes that benefit the voluntary sector in Wales, directed at areas such as the climate emergency, improved volunteering, social investment and Wales-Africa projects.
‘Without this grant we strongly believe that [we] might not still be operating due to the significant and difficult circumstances we are experiencing.’
-Harlech and Ardudwy Leisure
Further to this financial support, they offer training which helps individuals and their organisations run more effectively and develop skills, knowledge and confidence. Their training programme contains a variety of short courses, accredited learning, online learning, workshops and seminars, and training is led by experts in their field who are committed to the values of the third sector in Wales.
‘Thank you for the excellent session you delivered, it helped us to re-evaluate our thinking and we will be able to make decisions in a better-informed way.’
-Wales Neurological Alliance
In their mission to maximise the effectiveness of volunteers and volunteering, WCVA offer support and information for both aspiring volunteers and those who work with volunteers on how to get started in volunteering, what volunteering opportunities are available, how to develop volunteering strategies and policies, and volunteer recruitment and investment.
‘They support you every step of the way and we have found it very rewarding to take the time to reflect on and showcase the positive impact that our work has on people’s lives.’
Each year, the WCVA promote connections and networking through an impressive and varied programme of events, from gofod3, their annual flagship event for the sector, to their annual lecture. They also run a series of regional events across Wales with their County Voluntary Council (CVC) partners, Third Sector Support Wales as well as attending the National Eisteddfod to showcase the great work of charities in Wales.
‘Your staff are an absolute credit to you. Their passion to inform, to help us understand more, is outstanding.’
Furthermore, working with its members, the WCVO has been a powerful voice for influence in the wider sector, lobbying for change at a national level and responding to significant events such as the Covid-19 pandemic and withdrawal from the EU. They strive to examine the influence of these events on the sector, imagining how they might move forward from them positively and preparing organisations for the future challenges that these might bring.
For more information about this exciting role at WCVA, click here.