Working together to build stronger voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations.
Join
You can be part of Northern Ireland’s largest network of voluntary and community organisations.
Now small groups can join the 1,500 of our members who are making a difference in our community for free.
You can get help from our experienced staff who can provide support, advice and information when you need it.
Your voice can be heard as we will use our well-established relationships with decision makers to represent our members’ voices on important issues.
Membership is open to voluntary and community organisations regardless of size, location or purpose.
As a member you can depend on us to keep you up to date and connected. We will support you and represent your interests. The values and ethos of the sector are at the heart of everything we do.
We would love to welcome you on board.
Benefits
We are the only organisation in Northern Ireland with specialist knowledge and expertise for our sector in charity law, governance, human resource and fundraising. We work to provide solutions for groups so they can meet the challenges of working in an ever changing environment and flourish.
- Stronger together
- Be part of the collective voice of the sector
- Influence government together
- Access to decision makers
- Be connected
- List your organisation on NICVA members’ directory helping you connect with groups in your area and providing a publicity platform for your work
- Participate in policy development, influence decision making and hold government to account
- Networking opportunities at regular NICVA member events
- Priority booking for NICVA events
- Keep up to date
- Access to reports, research and surveys
- Special alerts on breaking sector news
- Timely emails from our Chief Executive (to yours)
- Monthly member-only bulletin sent to all your staff with news, training and funding updates
- Get practical help
- Access to a wide range of good practice guides, policies, toolkits and templates
- Priority access to charity advice and fundraising helpdesk services
- Bespoke governance, fundraising and human resource support from subject matter experts
- Develop your skills
- 30% off our training, including accredited training
- 30% off bespoke training designed to meet the needs of your organisation
- Priority access to training courses
- Save money
- 30% off our training including accredited training
- 30% off conference and training facilities
- 30% off drafting of governing documents
- £45 off GrantTracker
Cost
There are two member types:
- Full membership is open to voluntary, community and charitable organisations
- Associate membership is open to statutory, businesses and other institutions
Full membership
We welcome all voluntary and community organisations as full members. You do not need to be a registered charity; as long as your organisation's aims are other than for financial gain and you are a self-governing body who have joined together voluntarily to take action for the benefit of the community, you should be eligible.
Pricing is based on your organisation's annual income:
| Your organisation's annual income | Membership cost |
|---|---|
| up to 20K | Free |
| £20,000 – £50,000 | £55 |
| £50,001 – £100,000 | £109 |
| £100,000 – £250,000 | £149 |
| £250,001– £500,000 | £169 |
| £500,000 – £1m | £249 |
| £1m to £5m | £325 |
| Over £5m | £450 |
Associate Membership
Our associate membership applies to voluntary organisations based outside Northern Ireland, public sector bodies, private sector organisations and professional associations.
Associate members have access to most member benefits but have no voting rights, and are not eligible to stand for election to the NICVA Executive Committee.
Pricing is based on the following rates:
| Company | NICVA Membership |
|---|---|
| Individual | £169 |
| Public sector/statutory agency | £749 |
| Business | £595 |
| Other | £595 |
Membership Criteria
To be eligible for membership of NICVA your organisation must meet the following criteria:
- Your organisation must be a self-governing body of people who have joined together voluntarily to take action for the benefit of the community, and established otherwise than for financial gain.
- While it does not have to be a registered charity, the aims, objectives and methods of working of your organisation must be written down in a publicly available document.
- Your organisation should be open to all members of the community with interests relevant to your publicly stated aims. You should have a stated policy in existence on equal opportunities, or have a commitment to improved practice. We may need to ask you for information about your financial situation and how long you have been operating.
- It must be based in Northern Ireland or if your organisation operates across the UK or Ireland you must have activities taking place in Northern Ireland.
- It should be properly constituted and its existence should not be time limited for a particular purpose.
- Organisations undertaking and/or affiliated to party political activity are not eligible for membership.
- Your organisation must be able to subscribe to NICVA’s Values Statement.
- NICVA reserves the right to refuse membership to any organisation it believes to be ineligible. The decision of the executive committee will be final.
Last reviewed by the NICVA Executive Committee on March 2024.