The Small Charities Advisory Panel has officially launched today, with 14 members appointed and a first meeting scheduled.
Its creation was planned after the Small Charities Coalition (SCC) closed last year and its services were transferred to a partnership between the Foundation for Social Improvement (FSI) and NCVO.
Given that the FSI is now preparing to close, the panel will have the responsibility of holding NCVO and any future partners to account for continuing the legacies of both the FSI and the SCC.
The panel sits independently but will advise and offer strategic insight to NCVO and its partners.
It will also engage other infrastructure partners and organisations across the voluntary sector to ensure wider support for small charities.
The panel will meet quarterly, with the first full meeting held in May.
Panel members
It is made up of 14 members, with representation from six small charities, two funders and six infrastructure organisations, including one with a focus on volunteering.
The panel agreed to appoint two co-chairs, Ray Coyle, director of Oxford Hub, and Vicki Beevers, chief executive of the Sleep Charity.
Vicki Beevers said the panel will have a vital role in engaging other infrastructure partners and organisations across the small charity sector at a national level.
She said: “We will work hard to widen the offering for small charities, advocating for these organisations that play an increasingly important role in our society. There has never been a greater need for the support many of these organisations offer.”
Coyle said: “The mounting pressures on many communities across the UK means that small and community charities are needed more than ever. This increased demand, alongside increased costs and squeezed funding, means that small charities need our support and need it now.
“The panel will work with charities, funders and infrastructure partners to help NCVO and others to design and deliver that support effectively and quickly so that we provide small charities with what they need to carry on doing their amazing work.”
Other panel members include Amina Ali, principal consultant at NPC, Maddy Desforges, chief execuitve at NAVCA and Becky Gilbert, co-founder, trustee and voluntary operations director at Baby Bank Network.
They also include Shahed Molvi, head of grants at Leeds Community Foundation, Leon Osahaon, chief executive of the WISE Youth Trust, Matt Plen, operations consultant and former chief executive at Masorti Judaism, and Noorzaman Rashid, currently chair of the FSI and chief executive of CEME.
The panel will also include Sara Sellek, assistant director at Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA), Jenny Walton, director of charity services at the Media Trust, Laura J Welti, panel member, chief officer at Bristol Disability Equality Forum, Olivia Barker White, chief executive of Kids Club Kampala, and Karen Wint, chief executive of Sister Circle.
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