Acevo is restructuring ahead of its move into the NCVO building at King’s Cross this summer, and making three staff redundant.

It is not the first round of job cuts at the membership body in recent years – in January 2011 six jobs were cut in anticipation of several grant-funded programmes coming to an end on 31 March 2011.  These included several from Capacitybuilders totalling nearly £800,000 and a Big Lottery Fund Basis grant of £176,809.

Another major funding stream, a three-year Department of Health programme that funded Acevo to help its members understand changes in commissioning and departmental policy, drew to a close at the end of March 2012.  It had been worth £200,000 to Acevo in each of the three years.

In 2010/11, the latest period for which accounts are available, the charity’s income, excluding revenue from its trading subsidiary Acevo Solutions, was £2.97m, just lower than the previous year’s £3.18m, and it posted a surplus of £38,543, which repaired the previous year’s deficit of £11,135.

That report also shows that member numbers were declining. In the year to March 2011, the number of full members fell from 1,702 in 2010 to 1,586, meaning it missed its target for the year by 224 members. It recruited 442 new members, making a member retention rate of 67 per cent. It admitted these membership numbers were “slightly disappointing,” and attributed the drop primarily to the “tough economic climate”.

Its target for the following year, to March 2012, was to increase membership retention to 75 per cent and also to recruit at least 25 new members each month. If it hit these targets, member numbers would still be 6 per cent lower than in 2011. Figures for the latest year are not yet publicly available.

The accounts also show that the highest-paid employee, chief executive Sir Stephen Bubb (pictured), earned between £100,000 and £110,000 in the year to March 2011. This was a rise from £80,000-£90,000 the previous year and from £70,000-£80,000 in 2009.  Meanwhile the average number of full-time employees fell from 33.1 in 2010 to 31.9 in 2011, according to the annual reports.

However, the organisation’s attempt at earning more of its income to compensate for the loss of grant funding seemed to start well. Acevo Solutions, which comprises Acevo Event Management and Acevo Consulting, began trading on 1 April 2010 and during its first year turned over £295,591, with a pre-tax profit of £112,192 which was returned to the parent company. The biggest source of revenue was ‘sponsorship income’, which generated £142,600.

Three redundancies but new roles too

Asked about the latest restructure, deputy CEO Peter Kyle confirmed that three people are being made redundant, but said new roles would be created.
 
He said: “We have restructured our membership, marketing and events team to form a new member services team, in order to improve the services we offer our members and create new efficiencies. One of the new roles we are recruiting for will be at director level, and will harmonise our events and membership offerings to offer a more focused and joined-up service to Acevo members.
 
“Over the coming year this restructure will enable us to improve and build our offer, making greater use of technology and catering to demand on our helplines, which has rocketed in recent months.

“Organisational restructures are tough on everyone involved, which is why we only embarked on this certain in our belief that it was in the very best interests of our members.”

Details about income, staff and membership numbers for the most recent financial year, to 31 March 2012, are not due to be published until the end of January 2013, though the organisation normally files well before the deadline.
 
Acevo is moving into the NCVO building at King's Cross this summer.