Membership benefits

Being a CEO can sometimes be a lonely and difficult experience. We’re here to support you by providing confidential advice and helplines.

• Our bespoke one-to-one member advice will support you in any point in your CEO role, answer your queries, point you in the right direction or put you in touch with a colleague or peer who has relevant experience.
• Our members have access to the ACEVO Community, an online hub, where they ask and offer advice as well as start and engage in conversations on any relevant topics. It’s our own social media, a safety net you can rely on.
• Benefit from the expertise of our corporate partners through free business advice lines. 
• Good governance is a vital part of how civil society organisations operate and are held accountable. Our free governance advice and support service can help you tackle issues such as improving communication, defining responsibilities and managing problems with your board.
• We offer a wide range of governance resources which you will find useful when considering your relationship with your board.
• Access our confidential CEO in Crisis service for practical, emotional and legal support when times get really tough.
• TCM Group offers ACEVO members a discounted workplace mediation service to resolve complex and challenging disputes between CEOs, staff teams and boards.
• Be supported by an experienced charity CEO through our peer mentoring matching service.

Read more about the support we offer members. 

Wherever you are in your career, talk to us and we can help. Our leadership courses, coaching, mentoring and programmes will support you with your personal development.

• Developed with our members for our members, our set of leadership competencies support CEOs in adapting to the challenges of running civil society organisations the 21st century.
• My Coaching Place offers free coaching to ACEVO members who may meet their coach for up to nine 90 minute sessions.
• First Position Performance Development has designed a one to one Coaching for Excellence programme only available to ACEVO members. Tailor made to boost individual performance and address specific barriers which are holding you back, these focused sessions are completed at your own pace, over either a six or 12 month period.
• Develop your own leadership development plan using the tools we have created which can be used on your own, with a mentor, coach or supported by ACEVO’s director of leadership and governance.
• For anyone wanting to develop their leadership skills, the benefits of feedback from colleagues are almost universally acknowledged. ACEVO members can access discounted  360◦ assessments to help them improve their performance. 

Find out more about skills development. 

We understand how vital connecting with your peers is. We provide you with opportunities to come together and build key relationships, as well as a space to learn.

• Our digital member meetings are a great opportunity for you to virtually meet peers from across the country to exchange ideas, issues, challenges and experiences in an informal way.
• Our member directory allows members to find and connect with each other based on their region, area of activity, or the skills they have.
• Our series of leadership learning workshops are designed to strengthen your leadership skills and expertise and cover all aspects of the CEO role.  
• Our webinars are dynamic one-hour presentations by experts in their fields, from resilience to mindfulness and governance to finance.
• Our annual conference brings together leaders from across civil society and from around the UK for a day of peer learning and connecting.

Read more about our events.

Our range of online and printed resources aid sector leaders in both their organisational and personal development. Topics range from board governance to well-being and from finance to career development and everything in between.

• Blog from members and sector experts
• In our Leadership Worth Sharing podcast, ACEVO CEO Jane Ide has lively conversations with other charity CEOs about their personal leadership experiences.
• Publications, reports and member briefings
• Guides, tools and templates that help you streamline your workload and make time-consuming tasks easier to manage.
• Our Leader to Leader newsletter summarises what you need to know on a weekly basis.
• Free copy of Charity Times magazine delivered quarterly to your organisational address (If you’d like this delivered to your home address, please email [email protected])
• Discounted subscription to Third Sector magazine
• 15% off on the publications available on the Directory for Social Change website (discount code ACEVO15)

We provide an inspiring, collective influencing voice for our members. We represent our members’ interests and influence our members in areas of key importance to civil society.

ACEVO helps to shape the agenda and is a conduit for civil society leaders’ voices in the places that matter. By encouraging and providing a space for discussion, we lead the improvement of the sector and stronger leadership and achieve political change by influencing and pursuing reforms.

• Civil society covenant: ACEVO is working closely with  NCVO and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to develop a framework for a Civil Society Covenant to reset the relationship between civil society and government to create lasting, positive change.
• Home Truths 2: a programme of work from ACEVO and Voice4Change England designed to challenge and support mainstream UK civil society to take serious practical action on anti-racism and race equity.
• Climate emergency: we not only want to inspire and work alongside our members but also improve our internal procedures to tackle the climate crisis.
• Campaigning & advocacy: civil society leaders should have the confidence and freedom to campaign to meet their organisation’s charitable objectives.
• Diversity in the charity sector: we are constantly working to break down the barriers and bias that exist in our sector and create unequal workplaces.
• Regulation of civil society: we believe that good regulation is enabling, inclusive and transparent, and balance enforcement and support. Their leadership teams include people with voluntary sector expertise.

Find out more about our influencing work.

We are proud to partner with a range of corporate organisations which share our vision of encouraging effective and inspiring civil society leadership.

• Save money and time through our discounted DBS and pre-employment checks.
• ACEVO’s Utility Scheme has been specifically designed to be used by all organisations, regardless of size. Run by Energycentric, it achieves significant savings through a group buying utility contract.
• Discounted advertising on ACEVO jobs, the leading job site for civil society chief executives and senior leaders.
• Many of our corporate partners supply goods and services to charities and social enterprises and are pleased to offer our members preferential rates and discounts.

Find out more about the services we offer members.