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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

The inside track: January 2022

  • Government and politics

Volunteers' Week 2022: a time to say thanks!

  • Involving volunteers

Time well spent: impact of covid-19 on the volunteer experience

  • Coronavirus
  • Involving volunteers
  • Responding to crises

Volunteering round-up: July 2022

  • Involving volunteers

NCVO appoints Sarah Vibert as Director of Policy and Volunteering

  • Inside NCVO

Public sector volunteers less satisfied

  • Involving volunteers

Charities may find more political space to effect change in 2020, says NCVO

  • Government and politics

NCVO begins search for new chair of trustees

  • Inside NCVO

Charities' 'competitive behaviours' in contracting negatively impacting sector

  • Impact and evaluation

Two new trustees appointed to NCVO board

  • Inside NCVO

Managing reputational risks

How to plan ahead for, and manage, safeguarding allegations

  • Safeguarding

Planning for safeguarding in your organisation

Find out about the responsibilities of a volunteer manager and how to plan a safeguarding policy

  • Safeguarding

Recruiting volunteers safely

Guidance for volunteer managers to ensure safeguarding when recruiting volunteers

  • Safeguarding

Safer recruitment principles

Principles for safer recruitment

  • Safeguarding

Creating and advertising the volunteer role

How to create role descriptions and advertise for volunteers

  • Safeguarding

Choosing the right volunteers

Guidance on finding and selecting volunteers

  • Safeguarding

Getting new volunteers started

Guide to welcoming and training new volunteers

  • Safeguarding

Supporting your volunteers

How to provide ongoing support to your volunteers and manage any concerns.

  • Safeguarding

Ending the volunteering relationship

Recognising safeguarding opportunities and risks when a volunteering relationship ends

  • Safeguarding

Managing safeguarding risks

How to manage safeguarding risks at an operational level

  • 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

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

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

Member forum: The Civil Society Covenant

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

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.