An overwhelming majority of Community Matters members at the body's AGM on Saturday (6 October) voted to continue talks with Navca about a possible merger.
Some 30 members of the national umbrella body for community associations met at the Palace Hotel in Manchester to vote on continuing with plans for a proposed merger with the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action. Including proxy votes 40 members took part in the decision. 35 votes were cast in favour of taking talks forward (88 per cent), three voted against and two abstained.
Navca chief executive Joe Irvin was present on Saturday and addressed Community Matters' members about what a merger would mean before leaving the meeting to allow members to debate the matter.
Speaking after the vote, Irvin said: "I'm really encouraged by the commitment of Community Matters' members to this process and am keen to continue our dialogue with my own members about their aspirations and what I believe are shared interests and concerns."
Navca members will have the same opportunity to vote at its AGM at Woburn House Conference Centre in London on 14 November.
The proposed merger was announced in July with a steering group formed of board members and staff from both organisations. Speaking with civilsociety.co.uk in September the respective chief executives, David Tyler (Community Matters) and Irvin, advised that the merged organisation would be a completely new organisation, with a new structure and potentially new leadership:
"What we both said at a very early point is that we’re really keen to work together and we’re very happy to subsume personal interests in the bigger goal. That’s genuinely felt on both parts," Tyler said in an exclusive interview with the pair.
The organisations are anticipating a further resolution for full merger to be brought to members at separate EGMs in spring next year if talks continue in a positive fashion.
Community Matters, established in 1945, has over 1,230 members across Britain. Navca's members (predominantly Councils for Voluntary Action in England) work with over 160,000 charities and community groups. Originally a project of the National Council of Voluntary Organisations it became independent in 1991.
