Throughout the last financial year ACEVO continued with determination and intent to support members through challenging times, working to inspire, imagine and improve the leadership of the civil society sector.
The decision of the board in March 2023 to invest a proportion of surplus reserves in capacity and new skills began to bear fruit over the 2023/4 financial year as the ACEVO team expanded and benefitted from new thinking, even greater focus and the ability to respond with agility to the ongoing challenges faced by members.
That strategic decision led to ACEVO starting the year with a budgeted deficit of £175,000, but due to the ongoing efforts of the team the year closed with a final deficit of only £24,649 while still delivering its spending plans and its membership support.
Membership of ACEVO continued to grow. Member engagement remained high at 77% and retention reached 84%. 80 members were individually supported through the CEO in Crisis service, an increase of over 12% on the previous year.
Mark Norbury, incoming chair of ACEVO, commented, “ACEVO is a strong and successful organisation, enhancing its support of its members while positively influencing the ecosystem for civil society leaders. Our investment in capacity and skills to even better serve our members is well worthwhile. I’m delighted in the team’s outstanding efforts and I’m excited about how we are building our work to inspire and support our sector’s leaders.”
Jane Ide, CEO of ACEVO, said, “There is no doubt that our sector has been through a deeply challenging time and continues to do so, operating in a very volatile and continuing financially restrained environment. That ACEVO’s membership continues to be highly engaged and that demand for ACEVO’s offer continues to grow is evidence of the value and trust that members place in ACEVO and the continuing need for tailored leadership support to enable leaders to make the biggest possible difference.”
Notes to editors
ACEVO’s Annual Report 2023/4 is published on the website: https://www.acevo.org.uk/about/annual-reports/