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• Agency A to Z
• The national and local compacts
• The third sector (including the voluntary and community sector and social enterprises)

Background on the third sector

The third sector, including the voluntary and community sector, is a diverse, active and passionate sector.

Organisations within the sector vary enormously in size, from small local groups staffed exclusively by volunteers, to large national charities that are household names with complex infrastructures and many hundreds of staff. Broadly speaking, however, the sector is comprised of organisations that are:

• non-governmental (independent of government and constitutionally self-governing)
• value-driven, in that they exist for the good of the community and their primary purpose is to promote social, environmental or cultural objectives in order to benefit society as a whole or particular groups within it
• not established for financial gain; they principally reinvest any financial surpluses to further social, environment or cultural objectives.

The third sector encompasses voluntary and community organisations, large and small registered charities, foundations, trusts, social enterprises, cooperatives, mutuals and other non-profit organisations such as independent schools and universities.

More information about the third sector can be found on the Office of the Third Sector website.

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Last updated on 23/06/2009