About Us

Cumbria CVS (Cumbria Council for Voluntary Service) offers help, advice, training and support to third sector groups throughout Cumbria.

We bring organisations together to form a powerful voice for our sector.

Graphic with text: Cumbria CVS - supporting thriving communities where people belong and can take action on the things that matter to them: Leaders and advocates; Partnerships and collaborations; Community development; Volunteering.

Local Infrastructure organisations, like us, support over 160,000 local charities and voluntary groups across the country, helping them to thrive and deliver essential services within their communities.

Our Mission

Increased Impact, Influence and Investment in and from Cumbria CVS and the Third Sector.

Our Values

Leadership
Leading by example – encouraging creativity, innovation and best practice and being passionate about what we do.

Excellence
Aiming for and promoting excellence in everything we do.

Equity
Recognising, valuing and being accessible to the Cumbrian community in all its diversity.

Integrity
Treating ourselves and others with respect and dignity, being honest, transparent and accountable to all our stakeholders.

Voluntarism
Championing the principle of not-for-profit contributions to life in Cumbria.

 

Our Strategic Priorities

System Change: Make Cumbria a better place to live by seeking positive system change. Identify & Meet Gaps: Identify and meet identified delivery gaps to add value and contribute positively to the local infrastructure through consistent "good enough" services which achieve planned outcomes, in partnership with others. Effective & Sustainable Organisation: Ensure that Cumbria CVS is an effective, sustainable, well-resourced, and productive organisation with engaged and happy colleagues. Supporting Members: Support our members to respond to changes in environment, demands and aspirations and to achieve their charitable aims by developing and connecting them, to maximise their potential and enable their voice to be heard.

Our Strategic Focus

System improvement and partnership

Cumbria CVS aspires to greater collaborative practice for itself and for our sector. We believe there are savings and efficiencies to be found from de-duplication and that more effective services can be developed with shared knowledge and resources. We champion a partnership approach that welcomes and capitalises on shared skills and experience, joint strategic development and co-production.

Improved representation

Cumbria CVS develops strong, effective leadership and representation amongst the agencies and communities we serve. We will invest to support our members in this shared endeavour and in brokering access to impactful services, resources and projects. We will continue to review and improve our own governance and reporting arrangements as well as those for the networks and constituencies we serve.

Increased capacity-building

We will build sector capacity through two key routes:

Encouraging partnership and collaboration to:

  • identify gaps in service capacity
  • identify solutions which make the best use of available resources
  • add value through a more joined-up approach
  • build stronger research and impact evaluation approaches
  • share learning about “what works”
  • promote and develop quality standards

Delivering services directly when they:

  • contribute to shared learning or increased capacity across the sector
  • can be delivered without competition or duplication with members
  • adopt clear “exit” strategies which benefit the sector
  • and where we either have or can obtain the expertise and skills to provide services of sufficient quality

Increase membership and membership engagement

As an infrastructure organisation, our strength lies firmly in our membership. Our strategy is to:

  • grow our membership across the rich variety of voluntary organisations
  • encourage “member to member” mutual support arrangements: to share ideas, tools and expertise and work towards shared goals
  • increase member representation and self-advocacy

Annual Accounts

Cumbria CVS Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

 

General Data Protection Regulations 2018

You can view our Privacy Notice here

Equality and Diversity Statement

Cumbria CVS is committed to being an Equal Opportunities Organisation. It is our policy to ensure that all employees, associated organisations, service users and job applicants receive the same treatment regardless of their gender, culture, sexual orientation, marital status, age, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, religious belief, disability or background. Nobody should be disadvantaged by any conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justified.

Cumbria CVS is committed to take action to remove any unfair discrimination in all its operations as well as taking positive action to promote equal opportunities.

Click here to read our Equal Opportunities policy

 

Complaints Policy

Cumbria CVS tries to provide the best possible service. However, if you have been disappointed in any way, please let us know by using our Complaints Policy

Third-Party Suppliers

Although Cumbria CVS displays information about third-party suppliers, this does not in any way imply, suggest, or constitute Cumbria CVS’s approval of third-party suppliers.

Cumbria CVS does not endorse or recommend the products or services of any third-party suppliers and is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of information relating to third-party suppliers contained on this website.