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Help and guidance

Our help and guidance content includes step-by-step guides, downloadable templates and interactive tools to help you run your voluntary organisation

Setting up

Learn about the practical steps you need to take to set up your own organisation

  • Setting up

Deciding to set up a new charitable organisation

Access our guidance to help you decide if you should set up a new charity, voluntary organisation or community group

  • Setting up

Choosing your legal structure

What you need to consider when choosing your legal structure and the main characteristics of different legal structures

  • Setting up

Understanding charity status and registration

Find out what charity status is and if you need to register as a charity

  • Setting up

Understanding social enterprise

Find out about social enterprises and their associated legal structures

  • Setting up

A charity's governing document: What it should include

Find out what information should be included in your charity's governing document

  • Setting up

Running a charity

Guidance and tools to help you run your charity or voluntary organisation

  • Employing and managing staff
  • Setting up
  • Closing down

Employing and managing staff

Practical guidance to help you recruit, manage and develop paid members of staff, including a useful introduction to employment law

  • Employing and managing staff

Employing staff essentials

Familiarise yourself with the essential aspects of employing paid members of staff

  • Employing and managing staff

The FSI to transfer key small charity assets to NCVO on closure

The Foundation for Social Improvement and NCVO have reached an agreement to transfer the FSI’s key charity assets to NCVO when the organisation ceases activity on 3 May 2023

  • Inside NCVO

Small charity support: 5 key points for insfrastructure organisations

  • Collaboration

How to join the Big Help Out

We share stories from people taking part in the Big Help Out and explain how you can get involved and make a difference in your community

  • Involving volunteers

Governance round-up: May 2023

This month we share reflections from our Governance Forum and introduce our new governance consultant

  • Governance

Practical support bulletin: May 2023

Amy Walton, small charity support manager, shares resources, free events, support and information on the big issues affecting small charities.

  • Financial management
  • Funding and income
  • Responding to crises

Raise your voice: Help NCVO and ACEVO develop a manifesto

Share your experiences and views with decision makers ahead of the next general election

  • Government and politics

Exploring new routes into charity employment for over 50s

New Charity Interns project will be hosted by NCVO and offer paid internships to people aged over 50

  • Employing and managing staff
  • Inside NCVO

Impact round-up: Spring 2023

Evaluation consultant Lucy Lernelius takes a deep dive into measuring the impact of volunteering

  • Impact and evaluation

Volunteers’ Week 2023: Building on the legacy of The Big Help Out

Director of strategic communications and insight, Saskia Konynenburg, shares ways to get involved in Volunteers' Week 2023

  • Involving volunteers

Volunteers’ Week 2023: Making volunteering accessible with the Alternative Futures Group

How to make volunteering accessible for people with learning disabilities and mental health conditions

  • Equity, diversity and inclusion

About mergers

Information on the types of charity mergers and the different reasons for merging

  • Collaboration

Deciding to merge

This page highlights key questions to think about before making the decision to merge

  • Collaboration

Due diligence

Actions to ensure a planned merger is in the best interests of your organisations and beneficiaries

  • Collaboration

Pre-merger: Areas of focus

Things to consider in the run-up to a formal merger

  • Collaboration

Merger process

Planning the process with stakeholders and making sure you are clear about the role of your organisation’s regulator is key

  • Collaboration

Actions post-merger

What to consider once your merger has completed

  • Collaboration

Working with local Compacts

A guide to implementing local Compact agreements between voluntary organisations and local authorities, health services, and government departments

  • Collaboration

Coproduction and service user involvement

How to involve people who use services in the design and delivery of services

  • Collaboration

Joint working agreements explained

What to consider when setting up a joint working agreement

  • Collaboration

Joint working agreement checklist

A checklist to help you develop a joint working agreement

Charity trustee induction and refresher (2 x 0.5 days)

This course will give trustees an overview and understanding of charity governance, regulation and best practice

NCVO/Zurich webinar: Developing and embedding effective risk assessments for volunteers

Join us for an essential webinar on creating and embedding effective risk assessments to protect your volunteers and those they support

Financial governance for trustees (0.5 day)

This course will revisit the core financial duties of a charity trustee and explore what it means to practice good financial governance

Strategic leadership (1 day)

This practical one-day course for aspiring and existing charity leaders will elevate your strategic leadership skills, so you can create lasting impact for your organisations and the communities you serve.

Safeguarding essentials in charities (1 day)

All voluntary organisations have a duty to keep the people they work with safe from harm. This course introduces the basics of safeguarding within a charity context in England and highlights effective safeguarding practice

Tools and methods for measuring outcomes (1 day)

Get an introduction to data collection methods and practical guidance for evaluating your work

Better impact reporting (0.5 day)

This practical session will build your awareness of different types of reporting and support you to tell a compelling story through your reporting

Recruiting volunteers (0.5 day)

This course will develop your skills and help you use a marketing approach to recruit volunteers

Advanced project management (1 day)

Are you confident in your general project management skills but looking to strengthen your expertise? This course moves beyond the basics of project management to better understand techniques, activities and principles within a charity context.

Leading change and transformation (2 days)

This practical two-day course for aspiring and existing charity leaders will teach you how to adapt to an ever-changing environment. Learn how to successfully deliver meaningful change to improve your team or organisation