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Strategy and business planning

  • Business planning and strategy

Getting started with strategy and business planning

Learn about what you need to know to get started with your organisation's strategy and business planning

  • Business planning and strategy

What is strategy?

Use this page to learn about what strategy is and how it can help your organisation

  • Business planning and strategy

Involving people in developing your strategy

Use this page to learn who to involve in developing your strategy and how best to engage them

  • Business planning and strategy

Creating the right strategy process for your organisation

Learn about how to create the right strategy process for your organisation.

  • Business planning and strategy

Theory of Change

Learn about Theory of Change as a process and a tool

  • Business planning and strategy

Setting the direction of your organisation

Find out what's involved in setting the direction of your charity

  • Business planning and strategy

Understanding your landscape and conditions

Learn about understanding your organisation's landscape and conditions and the tools that can help with this

  • Business planning and strategy

Gathering knowledge to assess your situation

Use this section to select the right tools to help you understand your landscape and conditions.

  • Business planning and strategy

SWOT

A guide to help your organisation with your SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis

Governance round-up: September 2023

The latest guidance from the Charity Commission, new governance resources and upcoming training

  • Governance

National Inclusion Week: Why the language we use matters in building belonging

NCVO shares changes we’re making to our use of language along with reflections for the wider sector

  • Inside NCVO
  • Equity, diversity and inclusion

UK Civil Society Almanac 2023

The UK Civil Society Almanac, published annually by NCVO, is the definitive publication on the state of the voluntary sector. Widely cited by the media, it is used extensively by sector leaders, policy makers, journalists and academics

  • Government and politics
  • Involving volunteers

Narrowing the voluntary sector’s gender pay gap

Our policy and influencing manager Catherine Goodall talks about our work to address the gender pay gap – and explores what you can do to support change across the sector

  • Equity, diversity and inclusion

5 ways to embody the spirit of pride all year round

For National Inclusion Week, the NCVO Rainbow Network shares their thoughts on how to provide opportunities for making organisations more inclusive for the LGBTQIA+ community.

  • Equity, diversity and inclusion

Three key insights from this year’s NCVO Almanac

Following the release of our UK Civil Society Almanac 2023, our research and insight manager, Nayyara Tabassum, explores some of the report’s key takeaways

Volunteering round-up: October 2023

The latest volunteering news, resources and dates for your diary

  • Involving volunteers

NCVO AGM 2023: New trustees and priorities for the future

Highlights and key talking points from our annual general meeting

  • Inside NCVO

Governance round-up: October 2023

The latest guidance, resources and training for governance professionals

  • Governance

Meeting the challenges of a Cost of Giving Crisis this winter

NCVO's CEO Sarah Vibert launches our campaign to support charities and voluntary organisations this winter

  • Cost of living

Defining budgets and cashflow forecasts and writing a budget

Learn about what budgets and cashflow forecasts are and how to write a budget

  • Financial management

Budgeting: Who to involve, how to assess it and dealing with uncertainty

Learn about who to involve in writing your budget, how to assess it and dealing with uncertainty

  • Financial management

Building a cashflow forecast and understanding the cashflow process

Learn about how to build a cashflow forecast and how the cashflow process works

  • Financial management

Project budgeting and full cost recovery

Guidance on budgeting for projects and recovering costs

  • Financial management

Direct costs and support costs

Learn about direct costs and support costs for single and multiple projects

  • Financial management

Cost allocation and apportionment

Learn about what cost allocation and apportionment mean and how it works in practice

  • Financial management

Full cost recovery

Learn about what full cost recovery means and what the limitations are

  • Financial management

External reporting

How to prepare annual accounts and a Trustees’ Annual Report and make them available on request

  • Financial management

Management accounts

Creating financial information that helps managers and trustees

  • Financial management

Investment

What to consider when deciding on investments

  • Financial management

Influencing parliament and government (2 x 0.5 days)

Gain a clear understanding of the UK political system, the points of access and influence. Get top tips about what works and what to avoid.

Good practice in volunteer management (1 day)

This course provides an introduction to the key principles of good volunteer management and how to apply them in your organisation

Tools and methods for measuring outcomes (1 day)

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

Strategic leadership (1 day)

This practical one-day course for aspiring and existing charity leaders will elevate your strategic leadership skills, so you can create lasting impact for your organisations and the communities you serve.

Advanced data protection (2 x 0.5 days)

This advanced course is specifically for data protection leads or officers in charitable organisations.

Project management in the voluntary sector (2 days)

This practical course is specifically tailored to the voluntary sector. It’s designed to give you all the principles and practical tools you need to plan, deliver and evaluate your project successfully

How to handle volunteer concerns and complaints

Learn how to respond effectively and constructively to concerns and complaints raised by volunteers in this free webinar.

Charity finance strategy (1 day)

This course will give you an overview of how to build a simple finance strategy. We’ll introduce tools to help you build the financial resilience of your charity

Successful funding applications (0.5 day)

Learn Practical tips to ensure you are successful in your funding bid applications.

Data protection essentials (2 x 0.5 days)

This course will take you through the essentials of lawful data processing for charities and help improve your compliance with the law