The 2018 Civil Society Almanac from NCVO provides findings on the changing landscape of civil society in the UK. It finds that the voluntary sector is characterized by diversity, with most organizations being small and local. While the largest organizations generate half of sector income, they make up only a small percentage of organizations. Individual donations remain the largest source of income for the sector, though income from government is decreasing both in real terms and as a proportion of overall income. The almanac raises questions around how to best support small to medium organizations and the changing relationship between the voluntary sector and government.

1. CIVIL SOCIETY:
THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE
FINDINGS FROM THE 2018
CIVIL SOCIETY ALMANAC
9TH MAY 2018
#NCVOALMANAC

2. WELCOME
KATE ROGERS
CAZENOVE

3. PETER KELLNER
CHAIR
NCVO

4. KARL WILDING
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC POLICY
AND VOLUNTEERING
NCVO

5. THAT WAS THE YEAR THAT WAS…

11. THE CHANGING SHAPE OF THE
SECTOR

12. THE UK VOLUNTARY SECTOR IS
AT THE HEART OF CIVIL SOCIETY
166,000
voluntary organisations,
based on the ONS
definition

13. OUR SECTOR IS CHARACTERISED BY DIVERSITY
Children and young people (98k)
Older people (49k)
People with disabilities (46k)

14. #NCVOAlmanac
65%
0% 2% 1…
4%
7%
-2%
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
Percentage change in population by
income bands
Orgs are
small and
local
MOST OF THE SECTOR IS SMALL AND LOCAL DESPITE
THE GROWTH IN LARGE ORGANISATIONS

16. SMALLER = MORE LIKELY TO BE LOCAL
LARGER = MORE LIKELY TO BE (INTER) NATIONAL
79%
69% 60%
37%
21%
31%
40%
63%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Micro & Small Medium Large Major & Super-
major
Local National or overseas

17. FINANCIAL HEALTH

18. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
2000/01 2003/04 2006/07 2009/10 2012/13 2015/16
Income
Expenditure
INCREASES IN INCOME AND SPENDING HAVE CONTINUED

19. 0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Small &
Medium
Large
Major & Super-
major
HALF THE SECTOR’S INCOME IS GENERATED BY THE
LARGEST ORGANISATIONS…
£24.8b
n
£13.8b
n
£9.2b
n
£11.9b
n
£8.8bn
£10.9b
n

20. …BUT THE LARGEST VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS ARE
FEW IN NUMBER
#NCVOAlmanac
82%
with income <
£100k
81%
of the sector’s
income
5%
of the
sector’s
income
3%
with
income
> £1m

22. THE LARGEST PROPORTION OF THE SECTOR’S INCOME
COMES FROM INDIVIDUALS…
47%
32%
1%
9%
4%
7%
Government
£15.3bn
National
Lottery
£0.7bn
Voluntary sector
£4.1bn
Private
sector
£2.0bn
Investment
£3.4bn
Individuals
£22.3bn

23. 0
5
10
15
20
25
2000/01 2003/04 2006/07 2009/10 2012/13 2015/16
Individual Government
INCOME FROM INDIVIDUAL HAS BEEN DRIVING THE
INCOME INCREASE FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS

24. -
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
2000/01 2003/04 2006/07 2009/10 2012/13 2015/16
Voluntary
Earned
EARNED INCOME IS GROWING FASTER THAN VOLUNTARY
INCOME FROM INDIVIDUALS

25. 3%
-8% -9%
9% 10%
(0.15)
(0.10)
(0.05)
-
0.05
0.10
0.15
MEDIUM AND LARGE ORGANISATIONS EXPERIENCED THE
LARGEST DECREASE IN INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS
Micro &
Small
Major
Super
-
major
Mediu
m Large
£142
m
£219
m
£-200m£-101m
£16m

27. 1.2
3.2
6.5
7.1
4.2
0.3
1.9
4.4
6.1
2.5
0.6
1.9
2.9
2.2
2.7
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Micro & Small
Medium
Large
Major
Super-major
Individual
s
Governmen
t
Other
SMALLER ORGANISATIONS RELY MORE ON INCOME
FROM THE PUBLIC

28. £15.3
32%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
0
5
10
15
20
Government income As % of total income
INCOME FROM GOVERNMENT IS DECREASING BOTH IN
REAL TERMS AND AS A PROPORTION OF INCOME

29. 8.6
6.9
4.4
5.4
2.2
3.4
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
2015/16
2007/08
Major & Super-Major Large Small & Medium
0.4%
of the
organisations
96.5%
of the
organisations
LARGER ORGANISATIONS RECEIVE A GROWING
SHARE OF GOVERNMENT INCOME

31. 0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Contracts
Grants
MOST INCOME FROM GOVERNMENT IS GIVEN IN FORMS
OF CONTRACTS
£3.8bn
£11.5b
n

33. 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
2004/05 2006/07 2008/09 2010/11 2012/13 2014/15
Central Government
Local Government
CENTRAL GOVERNMENT INCOME IS DECREASING, LOCAL
GOVERNMENT INCOME IS INCREASING

35. THE SECTOR’S NET WORTH IS BACK TO ITS PRE-
RECESSION PEAK LEVEL…
87%
3%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
% of total net assets % of total number of charities
Income above £1m
Income below £1m
Income above £1m
Income below £1m

37. AND SMALL TO MEDIUM ORGANISATIONS HAVE NOT
SHARED IN THE RECOVERY OF ASSETS SINCE 2011/12
-0.25
0.00
0.25
0.50
0.75
Tangible fixed assets Investments Net total assets
Small
Major
Super-
major
Medium
Large
Total

38. THEMES & QUESTIONS
• The shape of the sector continues to
change
• Resilience as a characteristic
• Public trust & donor behaviour
• Changing relationship with
government
• How should we support
small/medium charities?

39. 39
Thank you!
http://data.ncvo.org.uk
#ncvoalmanac