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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

National service and volunteering: A guide to the Conservative party’s policy announcement

  • Government and politics

Introducing NCVO’s new president and ambassador

Learn more about our new president, Baroness Delyth Morgan, and ambassador, Lord Simon Woolley

  • Inside NCVO

The Voluntary Sector Manifesto: Raising our voice

  • Government and politics

What the general election manifestos mean for the voluntary sector

  • Government and politics

Civil society hustings highlights

A round-up of the key talking points from the only national hustings dedicated to the voluntary sector

  • Government and politics
  • Campaigning

General election 2024: What charities can expect from a Labour government

Our analysis of the election result and what it means for the voluntary sector

  • Government and politics

An open letter to Keir Starmer

Our chief executive, Sarah Elliott, shares our vision for the sector on behalf of our members

  • Government and politics

Labour’s priorities ‒ our guide for the charity sector

Our analysis of Labour's first few days in government and what their announcements could mean for the charity sector

  • Government and politics

AI and small charities: Be part of our collective learning journey

NCVO and Microsoft UK share findings from our recent artificial intelligence (AI) event – along with opportunities for ongoing learning

  • Collaboration
  • Digital and technology

King's speech 2024: What do charities need to know?

The King's speech sets out the new Labour government's priorities for the months ahead, following the party's general election victory.

  • Government and politics

Examples of monitoring and evaluation frameworks

View what some monitoring and evaluation frameworks look like for different organisations

  • Impact and evaluation

Choosing your evaluation methods

Learn about which evaluation method will be best for the type of evaluation work you're doing

  • Impact and evaluation

Choosing your method

Find out about the process of choosing evaluation methods, and what some of those common evaluation methods are

  • Impact and evaluation

Using interviews

Learn about what types of interviews there are and what to consider when running interviews

  • Impact and evaluation

Planning and running focus groups

Learn about how to plan for and run focus groups

  • Impact and evaluation

Designing questionnaires

Learn about the basics of questionnaire design

  • Impact and evaluation

Using creative data collection methods

Learn about different creative data collection methods and when they can be used

  • Impact and evaluation

Using secondary data

Learn what secondary data is and how to find it

  • Impact and evaluation

Analysis and reporting

Learn about how to generate evaluation findings and to report clearly in an appropriate format

  • Impact and evaluation

Analysing quantitative data for evaluation

Learn about how to analyse quantitative data

  • Impact and evaluation

Successful funding applications (0.5 day)

Learn Practical tips to ensure you are successful in your funding bid applications.

Mentoring and coaching skills (0.5 days)

This course provides an introduction to the key differences between mentoring and coaching. You’ll learn how to use both skills effectively to develop and support staff, volunteers and clients

Theory of change for strategic planning and evaluation (1 day)

Learn how to create your own theory of change and narrative. This course will challenge you to think critically about what you're doing and why

Charity finance skills (1 day)

This course will help people with little or no financial background to feel confident in managing day-to-day charity finance

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

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.

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

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