WCVA values voluntary sector contribution at £3.8bn

31 Jul 2014 News

The Welsh voluntary sector contributed £3.8bn to Wales’ economy last year, which is 8 per cent of the country's gross domestic product, according to WCVA’s annual statistical resource.

The Welsh voluntary sector contributed £3.8bn to Wales’ economy last year, which is 8 per cent of the country's gross domestic product, according to WCVA’s annual statistical resource.

The umbrella body estimates that the voluntary sector contributed £2.2bn worth of volunteering hours and £1.6bn in cash last year. 

Total sector income from the Welsh government was down by £28m, from £334m in 2012 to £304m last year, a drop from from 19 per cent to 18 per cent.

WCVA estimates that there are more than 33,000 voluntary organisations in Wales, the same as the previous year. The number of registered charities in Wales has fallen from 9,221 in 2012 to 8,963 in the most recent report.

Other legal forms have seen their numbers increase. So far 57 charitable incorporated organisations have been registered in Wales.  The number of industrial and provident societies has gone up from 167 to 491 and the number of community interest companies has increased from 76 to 220.

The number of organisations providing services has gone up from 3,500 in 2012 to 4,300.

The voluntary sector in Wales employs 52,786, up from 50,960 in 2009. The estimated number of trustees rose from 229,900 to 277,300, meaning the average number of trustees per organisation has gone up from seven to nine.