Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action
Encyclopedia
Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action is the national infrastructure body for the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland
. NICVA also hosts and manages several websites for Northern Ireland's voluntary and community sector online.
summer camps and a committee for women.
In 1949, NICSS opened a home for the elderly on the Belmont Road in Belfast
. Pine Lodge marked the Council's growing responsibility for projects tackling community social deprivation.
In 1986, NICSS changed its name to NICVA, the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action, in recognition of the expansion of the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland
.
NICVA works for justice, equality and dignity throughout society by promoting opportunities for community participation in the essential decisions that affect the lives of people in Northern Ireland.
In 2010-2011 NICVA is engaged in a 'Smart Solutions in Tough Times' campaign to ensure that voluntary and community organisations are not seen as an easy target for budget cuts that government departments may have to make.
include:
CommunityNI, A community site which allows networking and the instant addition of news, jobs, opinions, events, by registered users.
GrantTracker: fundraising and funding news, including notice of applications open and closing deadlines, with search by criteria
CommunityBuyer: a directory of organisations offering services and products to the sector, with peer review.
Sector Matters: a social enterprise providing business services to the voluntary and community sector and to small businesses.
Vital Links: Launched in March 2010, to increase interaction and understanding between the key government and public institutions, the voluntary and community sector and foster and promote positive engagement.
Centre for Economic Empowerment: Launched in April 2011, to provide a platform for discussion, analysis and best practice approaches to economic and societal challenges.
CollaborationNI: Launched in January 2011, in partnership with C03 and Stellar Leadership, to deliver a partnerships, collaboration and mergers support programme to the Northern Ireland voluntary and community sector on behalf of the Building Change Trust, supported by the Department for Social Development
, Twitter
and YouTube
.
became honorary president of NICVA in 2001, cementing a relationship of fifteen years.
Supporting NICVA helps it to support more than 5,000 other voluntary and community organisations in Northern Ireland
through essential advice, training, information and policy work.
The Belfast born, Oscar nominated actor, writer and director has demonstrated his support for NICVA many times in the past; offering his new films for charity premieres, making personal visits to boost fundraising, and promoting the work of the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland.
is WCVA
, in Scotland
is the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, SCVO and in England
is NCVO or National Council for Voluntary Organisations.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. NICVA also hosts and manages several websites for Northern Ireland's voluntary and community sector online.
History
NICVA began its life in 1938 as the Northern Ireland Council for Social Services in response to high levels of unemployment in Northern Ireland. It championed a programme of social action through welfare clubs, youth hostel tours, YMCAYMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
summer camps and a committee for women.
In 1949, NICSS opened a home for the elderly on the Belmont Road in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
. Pine Lodge marked the Council's growing responsibility for projects tackling community social deprivation.
In 1986, NICSS changed its name to NICVA, the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action, in recognition of the expansion of the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
Current work
NICVA is a membership organisation which seeks to represent voluntary and community organisations throughout Northern Ireland.NICVA works for justice, equality and dignity throughout society by promoting opportunities for community participation in the essential decisions that affect the lives of people in Northern Ireland.
In 2010-2011 NICVA is engaged in a 'Smart Solutions in Tough Times' campaign to ensure that voluntary and community organisations are not seen as an easy target for budget cuts that government departments may have to make.
Family of Websites
Sites hosted and maintained by NICVA for the voluntary and community sector in Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
include:
CommunityNI, A community site which allows networking and the instant addition of news, jobs, opinions, events, by registered users.
GrantTracker: fundraising and funding news, including notice of applications open and closing deadlines, with search by criteria
CommunityBuyer: a directory of organisations offering services and products to the sector, with peer review.
Sector Matters: a social enterprise providing business services to the voluntary and community sector and to small businesses.
Projects
NICVA runs a number of specific projects:Vital Links: Launched in March 2010, to increase interaction and understanding between the key government and public institutions, the voluntary and community sector and foster and promote positive engagement.
Centre for Economic Empowerment: Launched in April 2011, to provide a platform for discussion, analysis and best practice approaches to economic and societal challenges.
CollaborationNI: Launched in January 2011, in partnership with C03 and Stellar Leadership, to deliver a partnerships, collaboration and mergers support programme to the Northern Ireland voluntary and community sector on behalf of the Building Change Trust, supported by the Department for Social Development
Social Media
NICVA engages in the use of social media to promote its own work and that of the wider voluntary and community sector and has an established presence on sites such as FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
and YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.
NICVA President
Kenneth BranaghKenneth Branagh
Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
became honorary president of NICVA in 2001, cementing a relationship of fifteen years.
Supporting NICVA helps it to support more than 5,000 other voluntary and community organisations in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
through essential advice, training, information and policy work.
The Belfast born, Oscar nominated actor, writer and director has demonstrated his support for NICVA many times in the past; offering his new films for charity premieres, making personal visits to boost fundraising, and promoting the work of the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland.
Sister Councils
The equivalent infrastructure and representative body for voluntary sector organisations in WalesWales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
is WCVA
Wales Council for Voluntary Action
is the national membership organisation for the Third Sector and volunteering in Wales. It aims to make Wales a better place by championing volunteering, voluntary organisations and community groups....
, in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
is the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, SCVO and in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
is NCVO or National Council for Voluntary Organisations.