Welcome to ACO

The Association of Charitable Organisations (formerly Association of Charity Officers) is the national UK umbrella body for Trusts and Foundations that give grants and welfare support to individuals in need. ACO was founded in 1946.

The funds managed by ACO members are discretionary and seek to complement and enhance welfare support provided by local and central government. Our members operate in the UK and across the globe. In recent years many funds have reviewed their operations, researching patterns of need and developing more strategic programmes of assistance.

ACO provides support to its members through:

Networking: building peer networks providing opportunities for members to share and get advice and support
Raising standards: promoting good practice, tackling problems together and offering solutions
Lobbying and campaigning: giving our members a voice by responding to government consultations and raising awareness about the work of our member organisations
Information: providing members with up-to-date information tailored to their specific interests through our monthly newsletter "Charity News Review" and policy briefings
Online services: our website and member forums provide opportunities to seek and share advice and experience

ACO Network Events in 2018

ACO Grant Making Forum South and Under Fives meetings

Thursday 14 June 2018 - Safeguarding

Our recent meeting was packed out. Expert presentations from Dr Sarah Carlick from The Athena Programme, Chris Rowse and Jane Klauber, both Partners at Russell-Cooke LLP.

Members can access speaker presentations and videos of the meeting here

We are grateful to BDABF for supporting these events

ACO Autumn Summit 2018

ACO's Autumn Summit 2018 will be held on Thursday 18th October at Barclay’s HQ at Canary Wharf in London.

Apply, Award, Assess. Repeat?

Modern grantmaking is changing and charities are leading the way in meeting changing needs. ACO members have tremendous power and influence to do good and improve people’s lives, but face choices in how to help best. This event aims to pick up what issues need assessing and present innovation in providing support to beneficiaries. Join us for the best networking event in a sector that is rapidly moving to meet the many challenges of today and the future.

For further information and booking details please click here

Save the Dates!

Grant Making Forum and Under Fives 2018

12th September
26th November

Latest News

GMF - 14 June 2018

June 2018

Two presentations on the subject of safeguarding. The first, presented by Chris Rowse and Jane Klauber, outline the legal requirements for serious incident reporting, frameworks for governance for trustees, chief executive and operations staff, and how and when to use the disclosure and barring service. The second, from Sarah Carlick, provides details about the need for change, legislative requirements, types of abuse, and how to establish and build upon safeguarding frameworks within your own organisation.

Thank you from Claire

May 2018

Claire Bardner, our Network Development Officer since October 2017, is leaving us. She writes to thank ACO members for their support and say goodbye.

GDPR working group resources

May 2018

The ACO-led working group on GDPR was set up to pool the knowledge of ACO members on implementing the legislation within smaller charities, and they have been busy creating GDPR documents and templates to share with members.

For the latest news via e-mail please Register

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