Category Community and Voluntary Sector

As part of Volunteers’ Week, we’re celebrating Volunteering Your Way by showcasing organisations that are making volunteering more flexible and accessible. We spoke to the Moira Anderson Foundation about why they started offering flexible volunteering opportunities, the barriers they hoped…

We are holding the first meeting of the North Lanarkshire’s Chief Officers Network on Tuesday 26th May at 10.00am in the YMCA, 294 Main Street, Bellshill ML4 1AB. This meeting is open to all Chief Officers within the Community and…

We’re continuing our sector health check survey to build a clearer, more accurate picture of the current state of the North Lanarkshire Community and Voluntary Sector. If your organisation hasn’t taken part yet, we’d really appreciate 15–25 minutes of your…

Are you a social enterprise? Do you trade goods or services and reinvest income into a social or environmental purpose? Are you looking to grow your income and build long-term sustainability? Or are you new to social enterprise and keen…

🌟 We’re running another round of North Lanarkshire CVS Locality Network events to bring together community groups, third‑sector organisations, volunteers and partners from across North Lanarkshire. These Locality Network sessions are a chance for community groups, volunteers and partners to…

We’re delighted to announce this year’s North Lanarkshire Community and Voluntary Sector Conference, taking place on Thursday 30th April, 10am–3pm, at Cairnlea Parish Church, Airdrie. This year’s theme is “The Health of the Sector”, the format of the day will…

Community Anchor Organisations are absolute pillars of the community and voluntary sector on the 2nd of February, VANL launched the Community Anchor Organisation Development Fund. Through this fund, VANL wished to support the development and growth of, and increased recognition…

In line with the collective desire to reduce the overall levels of administration and maximise funding for the sector, VANL took the decision last year to coordinate the locality work in house and manage the locality consortia and LAF funding…

18 March 2026 | Forgewood Community Centre We’re delighted to launch the Volunteer Organisers Network, a new NL-wide network bringing together volunteer co-ordinators, volunteer managers, and anyone working with volunteers. This network is all about connection, shared learning, and peer…

Community Solutions has launched the new three-year Community Anchor Organisation Development Fund. VANL defines a Community Anchor Organisation as an organisation who are embedded in their local community with a focus on partnership working and being led by community needs.…

Join us for our AGM and the launch of our “How healthy is the North Lanarkshire Voluntary Sector?” survey, followed by a networking lunch. This event brings together members and stakeholders to reflect on the past year, hear key updates…

The recorded briefing session for the NL Local Employability Partnership Grants Programmes for 2026/27 can now be viewed at the above YouTube link, this session took place 23/01/2026 1.00PM over Zoom. Event Details: Presentation and discussion on NLLEP 2026/27 funding…

In 2025 VANL reviewed and relaunched the Community Solutions Thematic Fund, taking on feedback from consultation events with partner organisation across the local community and voluntary sector shaping how the fund would look. A key piece of feedback received consistently…

Upcoming Change – Effective from 1 January 2026 This change does not apply to accounts covering a financial year that begins before 1 January 2026. The Scottish Government has amended the regulations so that for accounting periods beginning on or after 1…

VANL is currently recruiting two Consortium Leads to help support and strengthen community and voluntary sector networks across North Lanarkshire. These roles play a key part in enabling local collaboration and community-led activity. Responsibilities include: We are recruiting for the…

VANL’s office will close for the festive period at 12pm, 19th December 2025 and will re-open 9AM, Monday 5th January 2026. 🕛📅 For any enquiries during this time, please contact info@VANL.co.uk and we will respond upon our office re-opening.

🎅 Daily £100 donations in December! It’s the season of giving, and funding website easyfundraising are spreading some festive cheer with their Christmas Crackers competition, running 8–21 December. Each day, your organisation could unwrap a £100 or £200 donation –…

Hochtief are delighted to introduce Connecting Communities, an initiative designed to support community groups, voluntary organisations, and social enterprises across North Lanarkshire. This programme reflects their strong partnership with North Lanarkshire Council through their Roads and Infrastructure contract, and their shared…

The Community Solutions locality hosts, both current and previous have done an outstanding job in the planning and distribution of consortia funding and coordination of consortia activities. As we approach the end of the current three-year commissioning cycle for the…

It is with great sadness that VANL announces the passing of our former colleague, Jean Thomson, who died on 29th October 2025. Jean started with Volunteer Centre North Lanarkshire in 2002 and was an active and hard-working member of the…

We are pleased to share a valuable opportunity for community organisations seeking sustainable, unrestricted funding. Through easyfundraising, your organisation can receive financial support generated from routine online purchases made by your staff, volunteers, supporters, and wider community. What is easyfundraising?…

Young people make up a large part of the population but they hold less than 3% of charity trustee roles. According to the Young Trustees Movement, that’s not just a gap, it’s a huge missed opportunity. Charity boards are missing…

Join us for a collaborative briefing session hosted by the North Lanarkshire Partnership, aimed at community organisations and groups across the area. As the current Local Outcomes Improvement Plans (LOIPs) are set to conclude in 2027, we are beginning the…

After a gap of several years, VANL is relaunching the Third Sector Community Justice Network to bring together organisations delivering any form of community justice work in North Lanarkshire. First Meeting Details Join us for the very first meeting to…

We are delighted to share the details and booking links for the upcoming North Lanarkshire Community and Voluntary Sector Locality Network Events taking place soon!  These sessions are aimed at volunteers, voluntary sector organisations, and other partners across the North Lanarkshire CVS. It’s a great…

Throughout the last year the Community Solutions Programme has funded over 201 projects between:  VANL would like to showcase the incredible work these projects have delivered and as a result, we would like to invite you to the Celebrating Community…

We are thrilled to welcome Aileen Webster as VANL’s new Community and Organisational Development Lead. With a rich background in project management and development, Aileen brings a wealth of experience to the role. Her journey in the third sector began…

We are delighted to announce the relaunch of the North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Network – this network will provide a space for enterprising organisations and individuals to connect, work together and share knowledge. Whether you are an established social enterprise, a new…

We are thrilled to welcome Tony O’Neill as VANL’s new Social Enterprise Lead. With a rich background in both social enterprise and community development, Tony brings a wealth of experience to the role. His journey in social enterprise began in…

We are reaching out to invite you to take part in our Employability and Volunteering Survey, designed to gather valuable insights from organisations like you who are providing services and activities in North Lanarkshire. We are aiming to find those…

Update 06/08/2025: This programme is now full and is no longer accepting new enquiries. Thank you for your interest. North Lanarkshire Council’s Working for Families Programme is seeking support from partners in the third sector to create work placements within…

HOCHTIEF, the contractor delivering the Roads & Infrastructure Maintenance & Improvement Services for North Lanarkshire Council, has officially launched Connecting Communities. Connecting Communities is a brand-new initiative created to support community organisations across North Lanarkshire. Through this programme, HOCHTIEF is offering practical, financial, and professional support to…

The Locality Activity Fund (LAF) is a small grants programme that supports local Community and Voluntary Sector (CVS) organisations in each of the six North Lanarkshire Community Solutions Localities. This funding supports organisations to provide local services / activities to…

We would like to thank everyone that came along to the Autumn 2024 round of Locality Network Events! Please see below, the master presentation slides in .PDF format for you to download and read at your own convenience! Airdrie and…

We’re excited to announce that the Annual North Lanarkshire Community & Voluntary Sector Conference is taking place on Tuesday, 10th December 2024 at Freedom City Church, Cumbernauld! ✨ This FREE event includes a buffet lunch and will feature workshops, discussions,…

VANL is currently reviewing how we can improve and develop our services. As someone who has previously used VANL’s services, we would be grateful if you could share feedback on your experience of receiving support from us: VANL Feedback Survey …

Following the sudden and unexpected passing of Christine McNally on Tuesday 3rd September 2024, VANL would like to pay tribute to the remarkable and valued contribution she made to the Voluntary Sector in North Lanarkshire. Christine worked closely with VANL…

We are delighted to share the details and booking links for these events in October and November 2024. There are four events taking place with an opportunity to hear from organisations and network with others attending. Wishaw & Shotts NL…

Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire (VANL) is delighted to announce that Phase Four of this fund is open for applications.  VANL has received £955K of funding from the Scottish Government to support community and voluntary sector groups to contribute to the fund’s purpose…

Introducing North Lanarkshire Volunteering – Your new Volunteering platform! Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire is thrilled to launch our brand new Volunteering platform: North Lanarkshire Volunteering (Kinetic NL), designed to enhance the volunteering experience for people seeking new volunteering opportunities. With…

We’re thrilled to invite you to join the brand new North Lanarkshire Community Climate Action network, following the launch of our Climate and Green Wellbeing project earlier this year! From the feedback we received during the pilot project, training sessions, and…

 Today we are delighted to welcome David Wood to VANL as our new CEO. David comes to us with an excellent track record of leading voluntary sector organisations in both Scotland and England and is well placed to lead VANL…

North Lanarkshire Council’s Working for Families Programme is seeking support from partners in the third sector to create work placements within their organisation for Working for Families registered clients. Working for Families has a caseload of clients who would benefit from six months work experience to…

VANL would like to invite you to join and sign up for our new FREE volunteer management software –  Registration is simple and fast and it only takes 7 quick steps to register and create your profile page. Once you…

It’s Volunteer’s week!  This Volunteer’s week VANL are looking into the benefits to wellbeing of what we like to call ‘Green Health’ projects, these are projects that connect us to nature and get us into the great outdoors. These projects…

The Chief Executive of Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire (VANL) will retire in June. MaddyHalliday has led the organisation for the past five and a half years, capping off a long andillustrious career in the Community and Voluntary sector. Ryan Currie,…