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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

Volunteering in England in 2032

  • Involving volunteers

Mobilising the public response to war in Ukraine through partnership and collaboration

  • Responding to crises
  • Collaboration
  • Involving volunteers

12 things I've learnt about culture change over the last 12 months

  • Governance
  • Equity, diversity and inclusion
  • Inside NCVO

Volunteering round-up: March 2022

  • Involving volunteers

Governance round-up: March 2022

  • Governance
  • Law and regulation

Respond, recover, reset: What the voluntary sector can learn from the past two years

  • Funding and income
  • Impact and evaluation
  • Responding to crises

Sarah Vibert: My vision for NCVO and our membership community

  • Inside NCVO
  • Collaboration
  • Involving volunteers

The inside track: March 2022

  • Law and regulation
  • Government and politics

How charities and civil society can support Ukraine

  • Responding to crises

Volunteering round-up: February 2022

  • Involving volunteers

Writing your application

Learn about how to go about writing your grant application

Preparing your budget

Guidance on preparing your budget

  • Funding and income

After you apply

What happens after you apply for your grant

  • Funding and income

How to find grants

Basic guidance and top tips and tricks for finding grants

  • Funding and income

Local funding advice and support

Find out about the different organisations that can help you

  • Funding and income

Contactless fundraising

  • Funding and income

Corporate fundraising

Learn more about what corporate fundraising is and if you should try it

  • Funding and income

Crowdfunding

Learning about what crowdfunding is

  • Funding and income

Donation buttons

Learning about what donation buttons are

  • Funding and income

Fundraising events

Guidance about fundraising events for your organisation

  • Funding and income

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

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

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.