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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

Responding to members' concerns

How to respond when a member chooses you to report a safeguarding concern

  • Safeguarding

Additional ways to support your members

Other things you can do to help your members with safeguarding

  • Safeguarding

Planning safeguarding training

How to plan the right safeguarding training for your organisation

  • Safeguarding

What training is required?

Choosing the right safeguarding training for your organisation's needs

  • Safeguarding

Choosing a training provider

How to choose the right safeguarding training provider for your organisation

  • Safeguarding

Researching training

Useful questions you can ask when planning safeguarding training for your organisation

  • Safeguarding

Designing training in-house

How to design training in-house if you have safeguarding and training expertise within your organisation

  • Safeguarding

Introduction to safeguarding for trustees

Key safeguarding questions for trustees to consider

  • Safeguarding

Responsibilities of a lead trustee for safeguarding

Find out about a lead trustee for safeguarding's role and responsibilities

  • Safeguarding

About safeguarding reports

What are safeguarding reports and how can trustees work with them?

  • Safeguarding

Designated safeguarding leads in charities (1 day)

This one-day training course provides an overview of the roles and responsibilities of safeguarding leads in charities in England

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

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 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.

Member forum: The Civil Society Covenant

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