What Cumbria CVS does

Cumbria CVS (legal name: Cumbria Council for Voluntary Service) is a registered charity (Charity No: 1119671) and Company Limited by Guarantee (No: 06178269) headquartered in Carlisle, United Kingdom. Founded in 2007, the organisation provides infrastructure support to the third sector across Cumbria, serving voluntary, community, faith, and social enterprise organisations through free CVS Membership and a separate Stakeholder Membership tier for statutory, health, and public-sector partners. Its service portfolio includes 1:1 organisational support, funding advice, bespoke and scheduled training courses, volunteer placement, and a members directory with an interactive map, alongside place-based programmes such as Volunteering for Health, Step Forward, Community Connectors, Furness For You, This Is Us, the Health Partnerships Team, and the Third Sector Referral Coordinator Team.

The organisation's technology stack consists of a CiviCRM-enabled member portal, a WordPress-based public website, a dedicated volunteering portal (volunteering.cumbriacvs.org.uk), and outsourced online learning delivered through partner VSL Learning. No proprietary technology, patents, AI/ML capabilities, APIs, or mobile applications are disclosed. Marketing and distribution rely on a community-led go-to-market: direct membership engagement, monthly e-bulletins, the Focus on Funding update, Facebook, and recurring events such as the Action for Health forum and Best Practice in Volunteer Management sessions.

Revenue is generated primarily through grants and funder relationships rather than direct member fees, consistent with the free membership model. The organisation holds workplace accreditations including Living Wage Employer (£10.90/hour), Disability Confident Committed, Armed Forces Covenant Bronze Award, and Mental Health at Work Commitment, and operates as the regional CVS infrastructure body across Allerdale, Barrow, Carlisle, Copeland, Eden, and South Lakes.

Name

Cumbria CVS

Legal name

Cumbria Council for Voluntary Service

Website

https://cumbriacvs.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cumbria CVS is a Carlisle-based registered charity and membership organisation that supports voluntary, community, faith, and social enterprise organisations across Cumbria with training, funding advice, volunteer placement, governance support, and a network directory.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Carlisle

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Services: Cumbria CVS operates as a registered charity and membership organisation providing services to community, voluntary and not-for-profit groups. The primary membership is free for eligible organisations, with services including training, funding advice, and support. Revenue appears to be derived from membership services, training delivery, and potentially grants/funders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cumbria CVS is a registered charity and membership organisation that helps community, voluntary, and not-for-profit groups in Cumbria develop and improve. It provides 1:1 support, funding advice, bespoke and regular training courses, volunteer placement services, and best-practice guidance for volunteer-involving organisations. It also runs sector projects such as Volunteering for Health, Step Forward, Community Connectors, and Health & Wellbeing initiatives.

Product overview

Cumbria CVS is a registered charity and membership organisation that provides support services to the third sector in Cumbria. The organisation offers a suite of services including training programmes, volunteer placement, funding advice, and bespoke support to community, voluntary, faith, and social enterprise groups. Their service portfolio includes membership programmes (free CVS membership and stakeholder membership), various community projects such as Volunteering for Health, Step Forward, Community Connectors, and Health & Wellbeing initiatives. They also provide a Members Directory and interactive Membership Map, online learning resources through external partner VSL Learning, and regular training courses and events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CVS Membership Free membership programme for voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisations operating in Cumbria, providing early access to e-bulletins, members-only website content, a free learning programme, voting rights at the AGM, free vacancy advertising, and a directory listing.
• Stakeholder Membership Free non-voting membership for Town/Parish Councils, Local Government, NHS, private sector organisations, consultants, funders and public sector support organisations, providing early access to the CVS E-bulletin and sector connection opportunities.
• Training and Events Regular scheduled training courses and events covering volunteering management, governance, business support, safeguarding and sector-specific topics such as the Mental Health Provider Forum and Action for Health events.
• 1:1 Support and Funding Advice Personalised support services delivered directly to member organisations, including funding advice, organisational development guidance, and bespoke training delivery.
• Volunteer Placement Services Service supporting volunteer-involving groups to follow best practice and helping place volunteers with organisations across Cumbria, accessed via the volunteering.cumbriacvs.org.uk portal.
• Online Learning via VSL Learning Self-serve online learning courses in GDPR, Cyber Security, Safeguarding Adults and Safeguarding Children provided through external partner VSL Learning. Free for organisations with income under £100,000; 25% discount available for others.
• Members Directory and Interactive Map Searchable public directory of member organisations with an interactive map, providing networking and visibility for member groups across Cumbria.
• Cumbria Third Sector Network Network and convening body for the Cumbria third sector, anchored by The Cumbria Compact, providing a collective voice and engagement mechanism between voluntary organisations and statutory partners.

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Freemasons of Cumberland & WestmorlandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Cumbria CVS and the Freemasons of Cumberland & Westmorland are working in partnership on the year-long initiative 'Freemasons and Communities: Building Stronger Together'. The programme aims to strengthen the skills, confidence and long-term sustainability of voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise groups across Cumberland and Westmorland.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO): National infrastructure body for Scotland's voluntary sector providing training, funding advice, policy and member services to community organisations. Comparable model and portfolio to Cumbria CVS but operating at Scottish national rather than English regional scale.
• WCVA (Wales Council for Voluntary Action): National umbrella body for voluntary organisations in Wales, providing training, funding advice, volunteering infrastructure and policy support. Closely analogous to a Cumbria-scale CVS but at Welsh national level.
• ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England): England-wide network supporting rural community organisations and community-development charities, including action with communities in Cumbria (one of Cumbria CVS's cited customers). Adjacent peer serving a similar rural third-sector infrastructure role with overlapping customer base.

Broad incumbents

• NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations): National umbrella body for the voluntary sector in England, providing research, policy, training and infrastructure support. A broader incumbent in the same space as Cumbria CVS, with overlapping training and policy functions but operating at national rather than regional scale.
• NAVCA (National Association for Voluntary and Community Action): National membership body for local voluntary-sector infrastructure organisations including CVS bodies. Not a direct service provider to community groups but is the sector umbrella to which Cumbria CVS and similar CVS organisations belong, influencing funding flows and standards.
• Groundwork UK: Federation of regional Groundwork trusts delivering community-environment programmes, volunteering and training across England. Broader incumbent with overlapping training and volunteer-involving functions but a different thematic focus (environment/place) than Cumbria CVS.

Direct peers

• Lancashire Volunteer Partnership: Regional volunteer-involving infrastructure body for Lancashire, operating the same CVS/Volunteer Centre hybrid model of free membership, training and 1:1 support for third-sector organisations and volunteers. Highly comparable in scope, services and customer base to Cumbria CVS in an adjacent UK region.
• York CVS: York-based Council for Voluntary Service offering free membership, training, funding advice and volunteer brokerage to voluntary and community organisations. Closely comparable in mission, freemium model and service mix to Cumbria CVS.
• Support Cambridgeshire: Cambridgeshire-based CVS-type infrastructure organisation delivering free membership, training and 1:1 support to the voluntary sector. Comparable model and customer base to Cumbria CVS, operating in a different English region.
• Community First (Yorkshire): Yorkshire-based infrastructure charity providing training, funding advice, governance support and networks to voluntary and community groups. Directly comparable in service portfolio to Cumbria CVS though at sub-regional scale.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CumbriaCVS
• Xx.com/cumbriacvs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cumbriacvs

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cumbria CVS