Nicva News

NICVA is the membership and representative body for the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland. We support organisations to do their best work and ensure the sector's voice is heard where it matters. We have recently launched an ambitious new five-year strategy focused on strengthening the sector's resilience, leadership, skills and sustainability in a changing political, economic and social environment.

This collaboration forms part of a wider strategic commitment to strengthening leadership capacity across the Community and Voluntary sector in Fermanagh and Omagh. This programme was developed and coordinated by Fermanagh Trust and facilitated by NICVA, with funding support from Halifax Foundation NI through the EMPOWER Programme.

Recent PSNI statistics have highlighted continuing concerns around sectarianism and hate-related incidents, reinforcing the importance of initiatives that promote understanding and create opportunities for people to connect. Good Relations Week is an important way to bring people together. Running from Monday 12 to Sunday 18 October, this annual event is one of the region’s largest celebrations of peacebuilding, cultural diversity, and community connection.

A practical toolkit to help VCS organisations plan for the departure of critical staff and board members, developed following feedback from our Succession Planning sessions. Succession planning was one of the most requested topics to come out of our Engaging and Retaining Talent Programme, and one of the areas where organisations told us they feel least prepared.

We are incredibly proud to have recruited, coordinated and supported more than 1,300 volunteers who helped deliver Belfast's first-ever Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann. As the largest volunteer programme Volunteer Now has ever delivered, it was a huge undertaking and one that involved months of planning, training and support. But what we're most proud of isn't just the numbers.

Registration open to The InsightLink Project launches on 16 September. Focused on connecting communities through shared knowledge, the InsightLink project will develop a Knowledge Data Hub, establish an All-Island Alliance, and deliver cross-border collaborative engagement events.

This autumn we'll be at: SDLP Party Conference Saturday 12 September 2026 Crowne Plaza Belfast, BT8 7XP Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Conference Saturday 26 September 2026 Crowne Plaza Belfast, BT8 7XP We'll share full details of timings and session formats closer to the events, but for now we're encouraging any voluntary and community organisations planning to attend either conference to note the dates.

NICVA is the membership and representative body for the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland. We support organisations to do their best work and ensure the sector’s voice is heard where it matters. We have recently launched an ambitious new five-year strategy focused on strengthening the sector’s resilience, leadership, skills and sustainability in a changing political, economic and social environment.

The key findings in the report show that the most commonly reported challenges were: Changing the mandate Over half of respondents (53%) reported that changing signatories on their account mandate was a challenge. This compares to 75% of respondents in 2024. While this represents a significant fall, mandate changes continue to be the top issue.

At NICVA Academy, we believe learning has the power to strengthen organisations, develop confident leaders, and support thriving communities. Our training is created with and for the voluntary and community sector. We understand the realities organisations face and design practical, relevant learning opportunities that build confidence, skills and knowledge at every level.