1 trends and issues

This is an excellent simple overview of what the voluntary and community sector is. It is from the New Zealand government.
The Free Management Library is a fantastic entry point to many issues about nonprofit sector and organisations. You can easily get overview or very detailed information here related to staff roles in voluntary community organisations, governance, finances and more.
The UK Voluntary Sector Almanac 2006 summary is a NCVO publication which provides a neat summary of movement in the VCS based on data from Guidestar uk. (pdf file 536Kb)
This document, written for consultants working with San Fransisco based organisations, is an excellent overview of the characteristis of non-prifits (pdf file 274Kb) and is required reading for anyone taking this competency.
For London learners, LVSC is a good place to start. They have information about London’s VCS and key facts.
General links with local CVS’s will help the learner understand local delivery of third sector ICT services. See NAVCA for local CVS contact details.

Voluntary but not Amateur – A essential book giving guidance to the law for voluntary organisations and community groups – a Directory of Social Change publication. A major resource for the sector for many years, it is regularly updated to stay current with the changes in the law.
The (US based) idealist.org Nonprofit FAQ is an indexed collection of answers to Frequently Asked Questions about nonprofit organizations. Started in 1994, the Q&A in the FAQ is continually updated using new materials from many sources including online discussions. The range of resources in the FAQ is accessed through five topical indexes: Organisation, Management, Regulation, Resources, Development

Lasa's ICT Learning Programme