ACEVO Connect

Joining ACEVO Connect means joining a network of civil society leaders who understand exactly what you’re facing — because they’re facing it too. Whether you want to ask a question, share a challenge, or just spend time with people who get it, here’s how Connect members stay in touch.

ACEVO Community
Members get access to our online Community — a space to ask and offer advice, and start conversations on the topics that matter to you. It’s the perfect place to post an introduction, or see what others are already discussing.

The ACEVO Community is an incredible resource — a real community in action, with CEOs helping each other solve all kinds of strategic, policy and operational questions. Worth the membership fee for this alone, but there are so many other benefits too.
Martin Pollard, CEO, Primary Science Teaching Trust

Member directory
Not sure who you’re looking for? That’s the point. Members can search the directory by region, cause area, or skills to connect someone doing similar work in a different part of the country, or someone with the expertise they need — without having to already know their name.

Member meetings, webinars and networking events
Connect members get invitations to regular member meetings, webinars, and networking events — held both online and in person. These are informal, low-pressure spaces to meet other members, share what’s on your mind, and hear from people who understand the realities of leadership in the sector.

I found the ACEVO networking meeting very supportive. It made me feel that I was not on my own with my struggles and that my concerns and worries are shared by many CEOs in the charity sector.
Nicola Burgess, CEO, Bromley Experts by Experience

Join ACEVO Connect and get free access to a growing library of resources designed to support you whether you’re leading day-to-day or figuring out your next move.

Guides, tools and templates
Practical, downloadable resources covering governance, operations, wellbeing and leadership development — built to help with the real, day-to-day questions of running a small charity.

Free reports and discounted publications
Stay on top of sector thinking and best practice with our free research reports, plus discounted rates on publications — with no extra cost as a member.

Blogs
Regular blogs from the ACEVO team and members across the network, sharing insight and lived experience on the issues affecting civil society leaders.

Leader to Leader podcast
Conversations with civil society leaders on the realities of the role — good listening for the commute, or whenever you need a reminder you’re not the only one facing these challenges.

Member emails
As a member, you’ll receive:

• Leader to Leader — a weekly email from our CEO, Jane Ide
• Events email — bi-weekly, highlighting free member meetings, discounted training and programmes
• Membership newsletter — spotlighting member benefits and how to make the most of them
• Corporate partner email — monthly, with links to businesses offering member support and discounts

Join ACEVO and you become part of a network whose voice carries weight. As a member, you’re one of the leaders we represent when we speak up for civil society — and you’ll hear how that work is going as it happens.

Policy and influencing
ACEVO champions the voices of civil society leaders in the places that matter — shaping the agenda, encouraging debate, and pursuing the reforms our sector needs. You don’t need to do anything to be part of this; simply by becoming a member, you’re part of the collective voice we bring to policymakers.

ACEVO is a distinctive voice for leaders in the third sector. It’s important to me that there is a voice for sector leaders which is separate and distinct from the sector organisations. We have different things to say and we need to be able to say them, ACEVO is very effective at putting that voice across to whoever needs to hear it, whether that’s to government, the media or to other sector bodies.
Paul Parker, Recording Clerk, Quakers in Britain

Staying in the loop
Once you’re a member, your membership newsletter and Leader to Leader emails will keep you updated on the issues ACEVO is working on — from the climate crisis to equity and inclusion to parliamentary matters — so you’ll always know what’s being said on your behalf.