Wirral Council for Voluntary Services

What Wirral Council for Voluntary Services does

Wirral CVS is a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO Number 1196584) operating as the dedicated infrastructure body for the Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector in the Wirral borough of Merseyside. The organisation supports more than 300 local VCFSE organisations and over 1,000 registered volunteers through capacity building, training, governance guidance, funding information dissemination, sector representation, and volunteer coordination, and is a member of NAVCA, NCVO, VSNW, and the VS6 Partnership.

Its core digital product is the Wirral Volunteering Portal (volunteering.wcvs.org.uk), an online hub where volunteers can search and apply for roles across 300+ organisations. Supplementary offerings include a Membership Programme providing early event notification and AGM participation rights, a weekly Funding Bulletin summarising UK grant opportunities, the Shout About Volunteering micro grant programme (£150 awards to VCFSE organisations during Volunteers' Week), the FestiVol festival of volunteering, and broader Support Services covering resources, governance, and organisational development. Technology infrastructure is built on a Wix-hosted public website integrated with the Plinth platform, which Wirral CVS uses for CRM and to administer all its grants, while applicants use Plinth to monitor their applications.

Wirral CVS's revenue model is structured around recurring membership subscriptions from VCFSE member organisations and fee-for-service grant administration, supplemented by co-produced statutory funding programmes (notably the Crisis and Resilience Fund with Wirral Council). The organisation is governed by trustees elected from its VCFSE membership and operates with a small core staff (1-10), supplemented by volunteers and the Office Co-ordinator and Volunteer Co-ordinator roles. Pricing for membership and services is not publicly disclosed, and the organisation does not publish financial accounts in the available source material.

Name

Wirral Council for Voluntary Services

Legal name

Wirral CVS

Website

https://wcvs.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Wirral CVS is a charitable infrastructure organisation supporting Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise organisations in Wirral through a Volunteering Portal linking 300+ groups with 1,000+ volunteers, plus membership services, funding bulletins, and grant administration.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Birkenhead

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 Fees: Membership fees from VCFSE organisations in Wirral
2. Grant Funding Administration: Administering grant programs such as Shout About Volunteering micro grants and co-producing funding programs like the Crisis and Resilience Fund with Wirral Council

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Wirral CVS is a membership-based charitable infrastructure organisation that supports Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) organisations in Wirral. Its core services include operating the Wirral Volunteering Portal (connecting 300+ organisations with 1,000+ volunteers), delivering weekly funding bulletins, administering grant programmes such as Shout About Volunteering micro grants, providing capacity-building and training support, and convening events like Meet the Funder and FestiVol.

Product overview

Wirral CVS operates as a membership-based infrastructure organisation supporting the VCFSE (Voluntary, Community, Faith & Social Enterprise) sector in Wirral. Its core offerings include the Volunteering Portal, which serves as a centralised platform connecting over 300 organisations with volunteers, supplemented by membership services, funding bulletins, and micro grant programmes like Shout About Volunteering. The organisation provides capacity building support, training opportunities, and governance guidance to help local charities and community groups develop and strengthen their operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wirral Volunteering Portal Online portal connecting over 300 VCFSE organisations in Wirral with more than 1,000 registered volunteers, enabling volunteers to search and apply for roles that match their interests and availability.
• Wirral CVS Membership Programme Membership offering for Voluntary, Community, Faith or Social Enterprise organisations based or operating in Wirral, providing access to early event notifications, AGM invitations and broader infrastructure support.
• Weekly Funding Bulletin Weekly bulletin summarising open grant programmes, deadlines and application details from funders across the UK, distributed to VCFSE organisations in Wirral.
• Shout About Volunteering Micro Grants Micro grants of £150 offered to VCFSE organisations across Wirral to celebrate Volunteers' Week and recognise volunteer contributions within their communities.
• VCFSE Support Services Capacity building support offering training opportunities, governance guidance and organisational development for VCFSE organisations across Wirral.
• FestiVol Festival of volunteering event promoting and celebrating volunteer opportunities across Wirral.

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Living Wage FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWirral CVS is accredited as a Living Wage Employer, demonstrating commitment to fair pay for staff.
• Wirral CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-producing Wirral's Crisis and Resilience Fund with the council. Partnership for representation and sector advocacy.
• NAVCA (National Association for Voluntary and Community Action)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational infrastructure body supporting and advocating for charities, community groups and social enterprises.
• NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCVO member (2023), accessing national resources and best practice for VCFSE sector support.
• VS6 PartnershipminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal partnership of VCFSE infrastructure organisations in the voluntary sector.
• Voluntary Sector North West (VSNW)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey infrastructure organisation supporting and advocating for charities, community groups and social enterprises across the North West. Wirral CVS attended VSNW Conference and AGM 2025.
• PlinthcoreTechnology or IntegrationPlatform used by Wirral CVS to administrate all grants. Offers free basic CRM to organisations.
• A Million Acts of HopeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational initiative inviting VCSFE organisations to celebrate and spotlight everyday acts of kindness, care and connection (13th-20th May).
• VOLA (Voluntary Organisations Liverpool Area)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDelivering Liverpool City Region Youth Guarantee Trailblazer community grants programme supporting 18-21 year olds not in employment, education or training.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• NAVCA (National Association for Voluntary and Community Action): National membership body for local CVS and VCFSE infrastructure organisations across England. Directly comparable as Wirral CVS is a core-tier member and is positioned as a local delivery arm within NAVCA's national network.
• NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations): UK-wide umbrella body for the voluntary sector providing advocacy, research and member services. Wirral CVS holds NCVO membership and draws on the same national policy and capacity-building resources for VCFSE organisations.

Direct peers

• Voluntary Sector North West (VSNW): Regional infrastructure body supporting and advocating for VCFSE organisations across the North West of England. Mirrors Wirral CVS at a regional scale, providing sector representation, training and partnership programmes.
• VS6 Partnership: Local partnership of VCFSE infrastructure organisations in the voluntary sector. Comparable to Wirral CVS as a coordinating body for sector support, capacity building and joint working among VCFSE infrastructure providers.
• Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services (LCVS): Local CVS serving the Liverpool area with a near-identical remit: membership services, volunteer coordination, funding information and sector representation for VCFSE organisations. Operates adjacent to Wirral CVS within the Liverpool City Region.
• VOLA (Voluntary Organisations Liverpool Area): Liverpool-based VCFSE infrastructure body that delivers grant programmes (including the Liverpool City Region Youth Guarantee Trailblazer with Wirral CVS). Closest direct collaborator and operational peer.
• Manchester Voluntary Service: Local voluntary-sector infrastructure organisation serving Manchester with membership, volunteering, training and representation services. Highly comparable operating model and customer base to Wirral CVS in a different city-region.

Emerging players

• Groundwork UK: UK-wide federation of community-environment charities delivering place-based programmes, volunteering and capacity building. Comparable as a place-based VCFSE intermediary with similar partnership and capacity-building functions, though with a stronger environmental focus.

Others

• Plinth: Grant administration and CRM platform purpose-built for UK charities and VCFSE infrastructure bodies. Wirral CVS uses Plinth for all grants and membership, making it an enabling technology peer rather than a competitor.
• Wirral Council: Local government authority for the Wirral borough and a core strategic partner. Not a peer in the sectoral sense but the dominant funder/partner for Wirral CVS, co-producing the Crisis and Resilience Fund.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wirral_cvs
• Facebookfacebook.com/wirralcvs.official
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wirral-cvs

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Wirral Council for Voluntary Services