As of September 2022, the number of voluntary, community and social enterprise sector registered charities in Northern Ireland is:
7,486
Income of Registered Charities in Northern Ireland
In terms of these registered charities, 78.7% had an income of less than £100,000, 18% had an income between £100,000- £1 Million and 3.3% had an income over £1 million.
VCSE Sector Workforce Composition
The voluntary and community sector remains an important employer in Northern Ireland, with an estimated 53,620 employees. This figure represents 7% of the total Northern Ireland workforce.
- 51.5% of staff employed in organisations that responded to NICVA's Workforce and Volunteers Survey 2021 were employed in full-time roles
- A further 48.5% of staff were employed in part time roles
- Women represented 73% of paid staff in organisations that responded to the survey. This shows a small increase from the figure (71.4%) reported in the 2018 survey
- 15.6% of males were employed on full time contracts which marks a decrease from the figure (19.1%) reported in the Workforce and Volunteers Survey 2018
As of September 2022, the top three areas of work identified from the database of registered charities include “The Advancement of Education” (15.7%), “The Advancement of Citizenship” or “Community Development” (11.6%) and “The Advancement of Religion” (7.5%)
| Purpose of charity | Percentage % |
|---|---|
| The advancement of education | 15.760 |
| The advancement of citizenship or community development | 11.610 |
| The advancement of religion | 7.560 |
| Age | 7.310 |
| Disability | 7.310 |
| Ill-health | 7.310 |
| The relief of those in need by reason of youth | 7.310 |
| Financial hardship or other disadvantage | 7.300 |
| The advancement of health or the saving of lives | 4.840 |
| The prevention or relief of poverty | 4.050 |
| Culture | 3.820 |
| Heritage or science | 3.820 |
| The advancement of the arts | 3.820 |
| Other charitable purposes | 1.960 |
| The advancement of human rights | 1.880 |
| Conflict resolution or reconciliation or the promotion of religious or racial harmony or equality and diversity | 1.870 |
| The advancement of amateur sport | 1.210 |
| The advancement of environmental protection or improvement | 1.000 |
| The advancement of animal welfare | 0.250 |
| Urban development | 0.004 |
| Volunteer development | 0.004 |
| Welfare/benevolent | 0.004 |
| Youth development | 0.004 |
As of September 2022, the proportion of the 7,486 charities registered with the CCNI in Northern Ireland which also had a remit outside of Northern Ireland were as follows – Northern Ireland (74.8%), ROI (9.8%), Internationally (9.0%) and UK (6.4%).
Based on data from 3,838 registered charities, Mid and East Antrim council area contained the greatest number of charities (1,017) and Derry and Strabane council area contained the least number of registered charities (3).
| Council Area | Number |
|---|---|
| Mid and East Antrim | 1017 |
| Causeway Coast and Glens | 974 |
| Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon | 931 |
| Mid Ulster | 469 |
| Belfast | 437 |
| Ards and North Down | 375 |
| Lisburn and Castlereagh | 358 |
| Newry, Mourne and Down | 13 |
| Fermanagh and Omagh | 11 |
| Derry and Strabane | 3 |
Source: CCNI 2022- Based on 3,838 registered charities in NI. Some charities are based in more than one council area