Guidance on scoping and planning before you set up a voluntary-sector consortium
How to form the initial working group that will help partners set up a consortium
An outline of how much funding is required to establish a voluntary sector consortium, and some of the potential funding sources
Why you need to engage stakeholders such as commissioners and local organisations in your consortium development, and how to involve them
An overview of the key policies and procedures that will support the operational running of a consortium
A guide to becoming an incorporated company
How to formally launch your consortium and invite organisations to join
How to set up the central hub that will run the consortium business, scope for contracts, network with commissioners and bring in contracts
How consortium members can work together to bid for, and hopefully win, contracts
This section explains the types of charity mergers and the different reasons for merging
Learn about what budgets and cashflow forecasts are and how to write a budget
Learn about who to involve in writing your budget, how to assess it and dealing with uncertainty
Learn about how to build a cashflow forecast and how the cashflow process works
Guidance on budgeting for projects and recovering costs
Learn about direct costs and support costs for single and multiple projects
Learn about what cost allocation and apportionment mean and how it works in practice
Learn about what full cost recovery means and what the limitations are
How to prepare annual accounts and a Trustees’ Annual Report and make them available on request
Creating financial information that helps managers and trustees
What to consider when deciding on investments