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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

Time to flex: Embracing flexible working

  • Employing and managing staff
  • Equity, diversity and inclusion

The Road Ahead 2022

  • Coronavirus
  • Responding to crises
  • Government and politics

UK Civil Society Almanac 2021

  • Government and politics
  • Involving volunteers

Levelling up: The role of charities and volunteering

  • Government and politics
  • Involving volunteers

Charities Bill: Lords Second Reading

  • Government and politics

Where power lies: How lived experience is engaged in voluntary sector governance and decision-making

  • Equity, diversity and inclusion
  • Governance

Rebalancing the Relationship: Final report

  • Employing and managing staff
  • Collaboration

Rebalancing the relationship: emerging findings and draft recommendations

  • Employing and managing staff
  • Collaboration

The Road Ahead 2021

  • Funding and income
  • Coronavirus
  • Responding to crises

Time Well Spent: Diversity and volunteering

  • Equity, diversity and inclusion
  • Involving volunteers

Budget, insurance and security

Understanding your safeguarding responsibilities when managing budgets, security and staff safety

  • Safeguarding

Data protection and digital technology

How to make sure your organisation is managing data safely and securely

  • Safeguarding

Working with partners

Find out about starting and checking due diligence when working with others

  • Safeguarding

Further help and guidance

Find more safeguarding resources that may be useful in your role

  • Safeguarding

Safeguarding responsibilities for HR managers

How human resources can play a leading role in safeguarding

  • Safeguarding

Safeguarding from interview to exit

Ensuring good safeguarding practice from interview to exit

  • Safeguarding

Introduction to safer recruitment practices

How to conduct recruitment practices safely

  • Safeguarding

Role risk assessment

How to conduct a safeguarding risk assessment when recruiting to a new role

  • Safeguarding

Advertising and applications

Guidance for advertising roles and processing applications

  • Safeguarding

Shortlisting

Safeguarding considerations when shortlisting for roles

  • Safeguarding

All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Charities and Volunteering

A chance to hear from regulators about their plans for the voluntary sector.

Managing conflict and ending volunteering well (0.5 day)

This course will help you to manage conflict and problem solve with your volunteers, and navigate the process of ending volunteering well.

Outcomes and impact measurement (1 day)

Learn how to create an evaluation plan to better understand and demonstrate the difference your work makes

Strategic planning: tools for decision making (1 day)

This course will introduce processes and tools to help ensure that decision-making is responsive to your environment and focused on the most important issues affecting your organisation

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

NCVO/Zurich webinar: navigating financial risk with confidence (1 day)

Learn how to navigate today’s toughest financial challenges facing small voluntary organisations. Discover the tools, insights, and real-world examples you need to build resilience, manage risk and lead with financial confidence.

Tools and methods for measuring outcomes (1 day)

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

Volunteering network meeting

A network open to all NCVO members working within the volunteering ecosystem. Join us to discuss your volunteering challenges and work with the group to find solutions

Leading external engagement (2 days)

This practical two-day course for aspiring and existing charity leaders will build your confidence and skills to deliver impact for yourself and your organisation. Learn who your key stakeholders are and how to use communication tools to build engagement and partnerships

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