Our job is to support, represent and advocate for voluntary organisations working with people in the criminal justice system, to support you to do what you do best – transform the lives of people in our prisons and communities. Our deeply embedded connections with voluntary organisations help us to understand and respond to the opportunities and challenges you are grappling with. 

Our priorities are guided by our members. As a membership organisation, voluntary organisations working in criminal justice are at the heart of what we do. The breadth of organisations that are members of Clinks helps to build a legitimacy and credibility for all of us to speak up, represent and advocate for positive change. 

Why do organisations become members of Clinks? 

Our aim is to ensure the sector and those with whom it works are informed and engaged in order to transform the lives of people in the criminal justice system and their communities. We do this by providing specialist information and support, with a particular focus on smaller voluntary sector organisations, to inform them about changes in policy and commissioning, to help them build effective partnerships and provide innovative services that respond directly to the needs of their beneficiaries.

Voluntary organisations become members of Clinks for a wide variety of reasons. Some are driven by the more quantifiable benefits of membership, such as attending member-exclusive events, receiving member-only email bulletins, being able to promote job vacancies for free on our jobs board and getting discounts on events. 

For others, we hear time and time again that the workforce of organisations feel stronger alongside others and enjoy being part of a well-connected network, and they are keen to collaborate and work alongside others. 

The results of our recent survey will help us understand more about the needs of voluntary organisations and how we can best support you, and looking ahead we have a clear commitment to broadening and deepening our membership offer to small and specialist voluntary organisations as well as continuing to be the place where the voluntary sector working in criminal justice can come together and be part of creating change together.

Now is a great time to join Clinks

We've seen the massive financial impact the pandemic has had on the voluntary sector working in criminal justice during Covid-19. So in 2020 we were very pleased to obtain funding to help support the sector with a time-limited free membership offer. With this offer now shortly coming to an end on 31st March, we are delighted to be following through on our commitment to make sure Clinks membership continues to be extremely cost effective – in fact this will be free in many cases – and introduce a simpler pricing structure.

From April 2022, all voluntary organisations with an annual income under £250,000 will benefit from free membership (extended from £30,000 previously). In addition, voluntary organisations with an annual income between £250,000 and £500,000 that have a specialism that aligns with the priority areas set out in Clinks’ strategy will also be eligible for free membership. This includes organisations specialising in supporting women, racially-minoritised people, older people, organisations with people with lived experience in leadership, those supporting families, and arts organisations. 

This means that around 50% of the current membership will benefit from paying nothing at all, reflecting our particular support and commitment to smaller and specialist organisations. If these changes mean you will pay a small fee, this will continue to be proportionate to the size of your organisation, which eases the burden on smaller organisations. We’re in touch with our current members to explain what this will mean in practice.

We’ve also just introduced a new benefit for members who will be able to access support to connect, recognise and support the people you work with during these uncertain times and beyond. Now is a great time to join Clinks.

Find out more

Click here for details on Clinks membership and our new fees

Click here for further details on the benefits you’ll receive as a member of Clinks

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us on membership@clinks.org and we’ll be happy to help.