1909, in response to a Royal Commission on the Poor Laws, the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, H. Chaloner Dowdall, called a meeting of the city's vast network of charities to discuss creating a 'voluntary aid council' as a co-ordinating body for the sector. The result was the organisation known today as Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services.
Dowdall shared the concerns of the Commission that thousands of charitable agencies, helping people in need, were working in isolation from each other, from the Poor Law Guardians who had statutory responsibility for administering relief, and from their local authorities who, increasingly, were taking it on themselves to supply social services. This was particularly true of Liverpool, where a unique blend of the very rich and great numbers of the very poor had prompted a tremendous amount of philanthropic activity, both public and private.
Dowdall's draft constitution was adopted on 5th November 1909 and the Council was born. The job of the new organisation was very clearly defined. It would acquire information that charities needed and disseminate it, provide facilities for co-operation, promote developments that would strengthen existing work and benefit the city. It would also watch all legislation affecting charities and exercise influence in safeguarding their interests.
What the Council would not do was interfere with the funds or the internal management of individual charities. Any influence it might have on the policy and activities of the city's charities would be by persuasion, not compulsion. Today, Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services adheres to these founding principles.