Sector bodies call for review of charity infrastructure
Howard Lake | 2 November 2026 | News
The chief executives of ACEVO, NCVO, NAVCA and Charity Finance Group have called for an independent review of voluntary sector infrastructure in England, arguing that support bodies need to be rethought rather than rescued.
The call comes in a joint article published on today by Jane Ide OBE (ACEVO), Kate Lee OBE (NCVO), Maddy Desforges OBE (NAVCA), and Clare Mills and Sarah Lomax, Co-CEOs of Charity Finance Group (CFG). Together, their organisations connect with more than 170,000 charities, voluntary organisations and community groups.
Closures prompt the call
It follows a run of bad news. On 1 September, Reach Volunteering announced it would close after 45 years, before nine funders and donors agreed three weeks later to keep it open until the end of 2028. On 14 October, the Directory of Social Change (DSC) announced it was entering insolvency. The chair of the Charity Commission has described a “gradual impoverishment” of sector infrastructure.
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The authors say the Reach rescue buys time but does not explain how a widely relied-on body came close to closing, or how infrastructure will be sustained. They point to other recent closures, including Children England, the Foundation for Social Improvement, the Small Charities Coalition, Getting On Board and several local infrastructure bodies and volunteer centres.
Pressure from several directions
Membership fees, training budgets and event income are declining, commercial income is strained and statutory funding has shrunk. The authors cite 2023 analysis by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, which found that infrastructure funding had not grown in real terms over a decade, and that very few trusts and foundations fund it.
They also accept that infrastructure bodies share responsibility. The sector’s support organisations have grown one by one, leading to fragmentation, overlapping remits, competition for the same members and funders, and confusion for small charities and statutory bodies. Some, they say, have proved more fragile than the groups they support.
What the review would examine
The four organisations propose an independent review led by an independent chair, seeking views from small community groups, large charities, national and local government, and funders. It would start from the functions the sector needs, rather than from funding or from existing organisations.
The review would look at the links between local, national and specialist infrastructure, and at the groups that infrastructure serves least. It would also ask whether infrastructure is needed at all and, if so, how it should be delivered, measured and funded.
There are no predetermined outcomes. Any organisation, including the four signatories, could be shared, merged, handed on or stopped. They commit to being open about conflicts of interest, keeping the review independent, publishing its findings, including uncomfortable ones, and seriously considering recommendations even where these cost them.
What it means for fundraisers
Many fundraisers rely on infrastructure bodies for training, advice, networking and data, so the fate of those services matters well beyond the organisations themselves. Falling income for training and events is also a reminder that these bodies compete for the same budgets as the charities they serve.
The authors want funders to coordinate their support rather than back organisations in isolation, say government has a role, and ask the sector to be candid about what it needs. They are in early talks with funders and will later set out how people can contribute.
- Directory of Social Change to close after 50 years (15 October 2026)
- Reach Volunteering reverses closure after nine funders and donors unite to fund it to 2028 (23 September 2026)
- Reach Volunteering to close after 45 years (1 September 2026)
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.