What Hackney CVS does

Hackney CVS is a UK registered charity (no. 1069736) and company limited by guarantee (no. 3365292), founded in 1997 as the umbrella infrastructure body for the voluntary and community sector in the London Borough of Hackney and the City of London. Operating from the Adiaha Antigha Centre at 24-30 Dalston Lane, it convenes and capacity-builds the local Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector — covering a catchment of more than 2,500 VCSE organisations with a combined income of nearly £4.7 billion and over 7,000 employees. The organisation is governed by a board of trustees, led by CEO Bejal Shah, with a senior team covering finance, communities/health/partnerships, training, communications and programme management.

Its core offerings span place-based convening, programme delivery, grant-making and physical infrastructure. The Neighbourhoods programme structures engagement across eight Hackney Neighbourhood areas linking residents with GP practices, social care and VCSE groups to reduce health inequalities; the VCSE Operating Model embeds the VCSE sector in local health and care commissioning with NHS NE London and East London NHS Foundation Trust; Connect Hackney delivered a £5.8 million National Lottery Community Fund Ageing Better programme for residents aged 50+; Hackney Giving distributes local philanthropy to grassroots charities; a training programme covers finance, fundraising, governance, safeguarding and people management; and office and events space at the Adiaha Antigha Centre is available for hire. A wholly-owned trading subsidiary, City & Hackney Together, allows local charities to bid jointly for public sector contracts, with profits gifted back to the parent charity.

The business model is grant-funded and non-trading at its core, with revenue drawn from statutory partners (NHS NE London, Hackney Council, City Bridge Foundation) and lottery/social investors, supplemented by office hire income and joint-bid contract proceeds routed through City & Hackney Together. The organisation's stated 2023-2028 strategy, 'A Fairer Society', focuses on challenging health and social inequalities in Hackney, and the technology footprint is limited to its website (hcvs.org.uk), a weekly Mailchimp newsletter, and digital programme coordination — there are no disclosed AI capabilities, no mobile apps, and no public APIs.

Name

Hackney CVS

Legal name

Hackney CVS

Website

https://hcvs.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hackney CVS is a London-based registered charity, founded in 1997, that acts as the umbrella infrastructure body for the voluntary and community sector in City and Hackney, providing capacity building, training, funding coordination, neighbourhood forums, and joint contract bidding through its City & Hackney Together subsidiary.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: Hackney CVS receives funding from statutory sector partners including NHS NE London, Hackney Council, and City Bridge Foundation to support its operations and community programmes.
2. Office Space Hire: The organisation generates revenue through hiring out office and events space at the Adiaha Antigha Centre.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Hackney CVS operates as an umbrella organisation for the voluntary and community sector in Hackney, London, providing capacity building services, training, grants coordination, representation, advocacy, information, and community engagement. It runs programmes such as Connect Hackney (Ageing Better), VCS Neighbourhood Forums, the VCSE Operating Model, Hackney Giving, and a Training Programme for local charities and community groups.

Product overview

Hackney CVS operates as an umbrella organisation for the voluntary and community sector in Hackney, providing capacity building services, training, grants, representation, advocacy, information, engagement and other services. Its core offerings include Connect Hackney (an Ageing Better programme), VCS Neighbourhood Forums for health inequality reduction, the VCSE Operating Model for health and care transformation, Hackney Giving for local philanthropy, a Training Programme for VCS organisations, and office/events space hire. The organisation serves as a bridge between local charities, community groups, and public sector partners including NHS NE London and Hackney Council.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hackney Giving: Local giving programme in Hackney and the City, distributing funding provided by businesses, residents and the statutory sector to grassroots charities

Products and services

• Connect Hackney (Ageing Better)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2500 VCSE organisations engaged across City and Hackney
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• NHS NE LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNHS NE London is a key statutory sector partner supporting Hackney CVS's health and social care transformation work. They work together on neighbourhood health initiatives and the VCSE Operating Model placing VCS at the heart of health and care transformation.
• Hackney CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHackney Council is a key supporter and partner in implementing neighbourhood health and social care initiatives. They work with Hackney CVS on various community programmes and the 15-year strategy to improve outcomes for young black men.
• City & Hackney Together (SPV)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity & Hackney Together is Hackney CVS's trading arm/special purpose vehicle established so local charities and community groups could bid together for public sector contract opportunities. Hackney CVS trustees are its only member.
• Volunteer Centre HackneysecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerVolunteer Centre Hackney partners with Hackney CVS on the Neighbourhoods programme, supporting resident engagement and collation of local insights and data.
• Healthwatch HackneysecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthwatch Hackney partners with Hackney CVS on the Neighbourhoods programme, supporting resident engagement and collation of local insights and data.
• East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerELFT subcontracts VCSE organisations including Core Arts for service delivery. Hackney CVS coordinates with ELFT as part of the Neighbourhood and Care Alliance.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Tower Hamlets CVS: Voluntary sector infrastructure body for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, providing training, capacity-building, funding coordination, and representation to local VCSE organisations in a similarly diverse, deprived East London borough with comparable demographics and funder relationships.
• Voluntary Action Islington: London borough-level voluntary sector infrastructure body providing similar capacity-building, training, funding coordination, and advocacy services to VCSE organisations in Islington. Operates an almost identical service model to Hackney CVS in a neighbouring borough.
• Community Southwark: South London borough-level VCSE infrastructure body supporting charities and community groups with capacity building, training, funding, and representation — a near-identical operating model to Hackney CVS in a different London borough, with comparable funder relationships and customer segments.
• Camden Voluntary Action: Direct peer operating the CVS/Voluntary Action model in the London Borough of Camden, supporting local charities and community groups with training, funding advice, representation, and sector coordination — closely comparable remit and customer base to Hackney CVS.
• Voluntary Action Lambeth: Voluntary sector infrastructure body supporting VCSE organisations in the London Borough of Lambeth via training, capacity-building, funding advice, and sector representation. Operates the same CVS/Voluntary Action model as Hackney CVS in an adjacent London borough with overlapping funder and partner landscape.

Broad incumbents

• NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations): The UK-wide umbrella body for the voluntary sector, providing research, policy, infrastructure support, and advocacy for voluntary organisations at national scale. Broader and more established than Hackney CVS but serves overlapping VCSE customers and operates in the same funding and policy ecosystem.
• Locality: National membership federation for community-led organisations, social enterprises, and local VCSE infrastructure bodies in England. Provides capacity-building, policy voice, and network support overlapping with Hackney CVS's umbrella/infrastructure role, but at national scale.
• NAVCA (National Association for Voluntary and Community Action): National membership body for local voluntary sector infrastructure organisations (including CVS bodies like Hackney CVS). NAVCA represents and supports the very network Hackney CVS belongs to, making it both a sector trade body and a comparable infrastructure/advocacy provider.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hackney-cvs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Subsidiaries1 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 Hackney CVS