The Growth Company launches Trusted Charity Mark after winning bid

The Trusted Charity Standard has been provided and delivered by NCVO since 2009 and is a nationally recognised quality standard to charities.  It was formerly known as the PQASSO Quality Mark. NCVO decided to move the standard to a new provider as part of their new strategy, allowing the Standard to be available to a wider audience. 

The Trusted Charity Standard is delivered through both self-assessments and external accreditations.  Currently there are approximately 150 charities in the UK with the accreditation and 50 charities are in the process of achieving the standard.  

We have no plans to significantly change the standard, pricing structure or discount offer NCVO and WCVA members. We have engaged with the existing Trusted Charity assessors and most will be moving to The Growth Company to continue their work.  

We have already received feedback that organisations who are not registered charities would value the opportunity to assess themselves against the Standard and gain external accreditation. In Autumn 2021, we will start to look at how this could be achieved, while maintaining the existing approach.

As strategic sponsor of Trusted Charity, NCVO will work with us to make sure the standard continues to meet the sector’s needs. 

Laura Crandley, the Director of Finance and Services at NCVO, said: “We are delighted to share that we have reached agreement with The Growth Company to deliver the Trusted Charity standard. We made the difficult decision to move the Trusted Charity standard to a new provider as part of our new strategy. However, NCVO will remain as a strategic sponsor for the Trusted Charity standard as we believe in the positive role it and other quality standards have to play within the sector. We believe more organisations can be reached to benefit from engagement with this quality standard and we look forward to working with The Growth Company to achieve this.” 

Chris Jones, Director of Operations at The Growth Company, said: “We are excited to take on the delivery of the Trusted Charity standard. The standard’s quality areas are an excellent framework for supporting charities to operate more effectively and efficiently and we have no plans to significantly change it. Our experience delivering other quality standards, such as the matrix Standard and Investors in People in the North of England, leaves us well placed to meet the needs of the voluntary sector and to ensure the standard retains and builds on its robust reputation. We also look forward to continuing to work with NCVO as a strategic sponsor to reach more organisation who can benefit from this important quality standard.”