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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

Five insights about the state of the voluntary sector

Key insights about the state of the voluntary sector from our Civil Society Almanac 2022

  • Equity, diversity and inclusion
  • Responding to crises
  • Funding and income

Volunteering round-up: October 2022

  • Involving volunteers

17,000 members milestone reached in tough financial climate for voluntary sector

Today we publish our annual report and financial accounts for the year ending 31 March 2022.

  • Governance
  • Membership
  • Inside NCVO

Two new directors join NCVO as organisation announces leadership team

Two new directors join NCVO as organisation announces leadership team

  • Inside NCVO

Five reasons why understanding the law helps build safer organisations

  • Governance
  • Safeguarding

Impact round-up: Autumn 2022

In this edition, Sandy Chidley, senior consultant, spotlights opportunities in impact and evaluation and shares useful evaluation resources and training opportunities

  • Impact and evaluation

Ensuring good governance for NCVO and the voluntary sector

How NCVO's independent governance review is helping us live up to our values and the Charity Governance Code we helped create

  • Governance
  • Inside NCVO

Governance round-up: November 2022

  • Governance

Government’s economic plans will widen inequalities in communities

Sarah Vibert, NCVO CEO, responds to the Autumn Statement

  • Government and politics
  • Responding to crises

Two appointments to NCVO’s board of trustees and three key ambitions for the future

Highlights from our 2022 annual general meeting

  • Inside NCVO

Segregation of duties

A basic building block of internal control

  • Governance

Exercising budgetary control and monitoring

Putting together a properly costed plan, and then using it to monitor progress

  • Governance

Controls on income

The Charity Commission expects organisations to know that their money is coming from somewhere reputable. This guidance explains what you can take.

  • Governance

Controls on expenditure

Guidance for using NCVO's control on expenditure manual templates

  • Governance

Investment and borrowing

Guidance for using NCVO's financial procedures manual templates - investment and borrowing section

  • Governance

Controls on financial assets and record keeping

Guidance for using NCVO's financial procedures manual templates - controls on financial assets

  • Governance

Controls on human resource costs

Guidance for using NCVO's financial procedures manual templates - human resources

  • Governance

Controls on physical assets

Guidance for using NCVO's financial procedures manual templates - controls on physical assets

  • Governance

Templates

Downloadable financial procedures manual templates for charities and voluntary organisations.

Trustees' Week webinar series

New to trusteeship or looking to hone your skills? Sign in to access our Trustees' Week webinar series

Outcomes and impact measurement (1 day)

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

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

Authentic leadership (1 day)

This practical one-day course for aspiring and existing charity leaders will strengthen your understanding of authentic leadership, so you can lead with integrity and impact

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

Member forum: The Civil Society Covenant

Learn more about the Civil Society Covenant, and the steps to implement it, in this free event.

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.

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

Supporting good governance (4 x 0.5 days)

This course will help you implement structures and processes to support trustees, and ensure systems are aligned with your organisation’s purpose and objectives