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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

ACEVO and NCVO joint statement on announcement of Orlando Fraser as preferred candidate for next Charity Commission chair

ACEVO and NCVO today release a joint statement following announcement of Orlando Fraser as preferred candidate for the next chair of the Charity Commission.

  • Government and politics

NCVO announce Sarah Vibert as CEO

  • Inside NCVO

FSI and NCVO partnership becomes new home of small charities coalition helpdesk

Today the Small Charities Coalition (SCC) announced that the FSI (the Foundation for Social Improvement) and NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations) have come together to secure the SCC Helpdesk and other key services.

  • Collaboration

Respond, recover, reset: 18 months of real-time research reveals how the charity sector changed through the pandemic

Two years ago the UK went into its first national lockdown, the final report of the Charity Covid-19 Impact Barometer survey project, led by Nottingham Trent University, with Sheffield Hallam University and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations

  • Responding to crises
  • Coronavirus

NCVO and centre for ageing better partner to increase age-friendly inclusive volunteering in england

NCVO has announced today that it will partner with the Centre for Ageing Better to support its efforts to increase age-friendly inclusive volunteering in England.

  • Collaboration

#VounteersWeek 2022: A time to say thanks

With just two months to go until Volunteers’ Week 2022, taking place 1-7 June, the organisers have shared the news that the theme for this year’s week-long celebration is ‘A time to say thanks’.

  • Involving volunteers

NCVO hosting new initiative examining how understanding power can enable voluntsary organisations to embody integrity

NCVO has announced that it is hosting a new initiative called Power & Integrity (PI) – launching today – which aims to enable more coherent, integrated and impactful approaches to organisational integrity in the voluntary sector.

Funding Central has closed

NCVO’s funding database, Funding Central, is now closed. Browse alternative resources and guidance

  • Funding and income

Transfer of Trusted Charity standard delivery to the Growth Company

NCVO has transferred the delivery of the Trusted Charity standard to our Trusted Supplier the Growth Company

  • Involving volunteers

VCQA update in 2022 and beyond

Following a strategic review, NCVO has taken the difficult decision to stop providing VCQA. We are delighted to announce that we will transfer ownership rights of VCQA to the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA) from 1 January.

  • Involving volunteers

Help and support with requesting DBS checks

How to request and process DBS checks

  • Safeguarding

Checks for people working overseas

Guidance on what checks you need to complete for people working overseas

  • Safeguarding

Checks for trustees

Guidance on additional information you need to consider when carrying out DBS checks for trustees

  • Safeguarding

Keeping information safe

Steps you need to take to keep data safe once DBS checks have been carried out

  • Safeguarding

When someone has a criminal record

Guidance on what to do if a staff member or volunteer has a criminal record

  • Safeguarding

What you need to know about whistleblowing

Find out about whistleblowing, and the policies your organisation should have in place.

  • Safeguarding

Deciding to whistleblow

Questions you might ask yourself if you're thinking of raising a concern.

  • Safeguarding

Challenges and issues in whistleblowing

Find out about different types of concerns and ways they can be reported.

  • Safeguarding

Why does language matter?

Find out why it's useful to stay up to date with safeguarding terminology

  • Safeguarding

Common terminology

Find definitions of some of the most common safeguarding terminology

  • Safeguarding

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

Good practice in volunteer management (1 day)

This course provides an introduction to the key principles of good volunteer management and how to apply them in your organisation

Advanced data protection (2 x 0.5 days)

This advanced course is specifically for data protection leads or officers in charitable organisations.

Managing people in the charity sector (2 days)

This course will equip managers in the voluntary sector with the skills and techniques they need to effectively manage paid members of staff

Governance Forum

Our Governance Forum is a space for charity governance professionals and those who support good governance to come together, learn and network

Boost your personal influence and impact (0.5 day)

Learn practical tools and techniques to increase your capability, confidence and impact when seeking to influence others – both within and outside your organisation

Charity finance strategy (1 day)

This course will give you an overview of how to build a simple finance strategy. We’ll introduce tools to help you build the financial resilience of your charity

Data protection essentials (2 x 0.5 days)

This essentials course is suitable for anyone within an organisation that handles the personal data of staff, service users, beneficiaries, volunteers, customers, members or supporters, and needs to know the basics of data protection for voluntary organisations.

Safeguarding essentials for trustees (0.5 day)

This introductory course explains the key trustee responsibilities for safeguarding, following guidance from the Charity Commission