COF Support programme – Voucher Offer

Locality offers peer learning, specialist advice, resources and campaigns to support community organisations across England to run the services their community needs most. Our members run community centres, libraries, parks, swimming pools, cafes, pubs and more. We share the experience of our 2000 strong membership through funded visits, events, online communities and training sessions.

Choose ONE of the below:

• Our annual Essentials membership package includes monthly connection events and workshops with sector experts. You can access peer learning grants and bespoke member-to-member introductions. Whether your organisation is starting out or has been around for years, you’ll fit right in and feel you belong.

or

• A Locality Convention 2025 ticket – 12 and 13 November 2025 in Liverpool. Be part of the biggest community sector event of the year. Connect with inspiring leaders, policy-makers, thinkers, and doers, whose ambitious work transforms our communities. Dates and location coming soon. At Locality Convention you’ll get up to date on best practices and new approaches community organisations are taking to survive, adapt and thrive, and how collectively, we can best influence more support for our sector. Experience thought-provoking plenaries, expert-led workshops, inspiring visits, 1:1 expert surgeries and exhibitions plus celebrate the power of community at our awards ceremony and dinner.

Plunkett UK is a charity that supports people to set up and run a wide range of businesses which are owned by local communities, where members have equal and democratic control. Plunkett represents around 750 community-owned businesses in rural and urban areas throughout the UK, from shops and pubs through to woodlands, farms and fisheries.

• A year’s annual Community Business Membership of Plunkett UK worth £270. See our website for details of Member benefits, including an annual business health-check with a specialist community business adviser.

As the voice of the UK’s co-operative movement, we empower and support co-operative enterprise with specialised knowledge and expertise, to grow the co-operative economy and create a fairer society. CUK hosts the Community Shares Unit, a collaboration with Plunkett and Locality. We provide advice, the community shares handbook, training and access to licensed practitioners and host the Community Shares Standard Mark.

Membership offer:

• CUK membership allows access to exclusive member only content, resources and support, encouraging co-ops to be the best they can be. Members can utilise discounts for events, training and tailored advice and consultancy. CUK continue to lobby government, influence national policy relating to the co-operative sector and secure funding for co-op development. The voucher will cover two year’s membership.

DTAS is an independent, member-led organisation which aims to promote, support and represent development trusts in Scotland. DTAS now has over 350 development trust members building independent, enterprising and resilient communities. DTAS work includes the provision of information, advice and support, facilitation of our development trust network, an annual conference, a wide range of publications and resources, and a suite of training and support interventions.

Choose from:

• Membership (available for eligible organisations) - DTAS membership provides access to one-to-one support and guidance, toolkits, training, specialist support and networking opportunities.
• Facilities Management Offer- Up to five hours direct support and guidance from the DTAS Facilities Management Advisor as well as access to an extensive resource library.

Development Trusts NI (DTNI) was established in 2010 to advance the model of community asset development in Northern Ireland. We support our members and other community-based organisations to articulate a common voice highlighting the value and work they do to sustain and support local economic development in their communities. We support our members in several ways that include navigating the community asset transfer (CAT) process, community planning including introducing our members to officers in both local and central government departments, advocating for community rights and shaping local economic development through applying the principles of community wealth building.

Choose from:

• DTNI membership and consultation (half day) - includes access to a network of community and public sector contacts, networking events, professional consultations, and our online platform for community engagement. You can also access research, cross-border outreach, promotion of your work, and discounted training. Alongside membership, this offer includes a half day one to one consultation with one of our professional services team on community ownership or business planning issues.
• Full day Consultation -designed to provide tailored support and strategic guidance for community-led initiatives across Northern Ireland. With a focus on empowering communities and driving sustainable development, our experienced staff and associates offer one to one professional consultation. Whether it’s funding, legal issues or business planning, we can provide practical insights and actionable recommendations to address your unique challenges and opportunities.

The Development Trusts Association Wales is an independent and not-for-profit membership organisation established in 2003 to support community-led social enterprises, groups and businesses across Wales.

We empower local organisations and initiatives who are driving the change their communities need for a brighter future.

Our Vision: A vibrant Wales made up of empowered and resilient communities.

Our Mission: To support and enable community-led regeneration, growth and sustainability across Wales.

Choose from:

• Membership and Mentoring - We offer a free 1-year membership on our Essentials package which connects you with likeminded organisations across Wales, a 1:1 with our membership team, our online suite of resources and gives you access to free HR and legal support. You can also claim half a day of peer mentor support on a subject of their choice, drawn from our pool of over 100 expert community-based practitioners across Wales. Do you have a question about community growing, governance, collaborative decision making or even electric vehicles, and want to talk to someone who’s been there and done it? We can help!
• Membership and Energy Action Planning - We offer a free 1-year membership on our Essentials package which connects you with likeminded organisations across Wales, a 1:1 with our membership team, our online suite of resources and gives you access to free HR and legal support. Plus you can also claim a 1:1 in depth online consultation with one of our expert energy consultants. We can review your energy consumption and utility tariffs, identify potential issues, and provide detailed recommendations for energy management and efficiency that will help you both save money and reduce your organisational carbon emissions.
• Member Plus (discounted rate) -Receive a discount on a 1-year membership for our Member Plus package, which gives you all the benefits of the Essentials package described above, along with a day of consultancy to use as you wish, and a free ticket to our conference.

We are a think- and- do tank working to create a socially just future through practical projects that build new relationships between people and the land. We work with communities, landowners, researchers and activists to create a world where our relationship to the land is based on stewardship, evidence and justice. Our work is underpinned by social, racial, economic and environmental justice.

Our consultancy work supports the practical creation and application of new business and governance models for land and assets that create shared social, environmental and economic benefits.

Support bundle - A 5-hour consultation or workshop to explore one or two of the following topics:

• Governance and decision making processes: Assessing whether your organisational structure and processes are suitable for the long term viability of your project and fit your unique community aspirations. Where appropriate, we can advise on alternative governance models or changes to processes to better suit your project plan and organisational objectives
• Business planning: A critical friend assessment of your business plan to ensure it will be a practically meaningful roadmap for your project for the medium to long term. Making recommendations for tweaks which might be required to ensure your organisation and project are financially sustainable. Making recommendations for changes which could expand your commercial or community opportunities
• Stakeholder relationship support: Facilitating a discussion or workshop between stakeholders engaged in your project to ensure you have clarity of purpose, a shared sense of roles and responsibilities, and an awareness of how implicit power dynamics may be impacting on your ability to meet your community objectives
• Fundraising: As part of your 5-hours of support, we can also provide light-touch advice on additional appropriate funding options for your project, and review and provide feedback on one or two of your funding applications

We are a mission-led social enterprise working to support, sustain and grow healthy and resilient communities with sport and physical activity at their heart. We specialise in grass roots sport, community activity and finance and have a particular focus on supporting community organisations in securing and developing sports and leisure facilities. Over the past 10 years we have supported over 250 projects with advice or investment, working across the full spectrum of traditional facilities such as sports centres and playing fields, to almost every specialist sporting asset, from BMX tracks to equestrian centres.

• Support bundle - We have developed a health-check tool for sport and leisure organisations, designed to help groups review and reflect on their performance. We will guide your group through a simple process that will identify development areas, leaving you with a plan and the tools to keep tracking your progress and making improvements.