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About us

Find out about our services, the way we operate and how we champion voluntary action

Who we are

We’re the membership community for charities, voluntary organisations and community groups in England

Our services

Find out how we can support you, from support for small charities and training to consultancy and corporate relations

Venue hire

Discover our range of rooms available for hire.

Food and drink order form

Complete our quick form to arrange catering for your event

Climate campaign: Putting the environment at the centre of decision-making this Trustees' Week

We launched a new campaign in the summer of 2023 to help trustees and charity leaders consider the environmental impact of their charities’ investments

  • Campaigning

Practical support bulletin: November 2023

Resources, events, support and information on the big issues affecting small charities

  • Funding and income
  • Governance
  • Cost of living

Celebrating Trustees’ Week 2023

Our chief executive Sarah Vibert celebrates the start of Trustees' Week and shares our plans

  • Governance

King’s Speech 2023: Takeaways for the voluntary sector

Our policy and public affairs manager, Chris Walker, summarises the announcements from the King's Speech likely to impact our sector

  • Government and politics

The importance of diversity in your trustee board

Explore why diversity is a key area of reflection for your trustee board and what needs to happen to make a board truly diverse

  • Equity, diversity and inclusion
  • Governance

Open letter to the chancellor on vital funding for public services delivered by charities

Read our open letter calling on the chancellor to ensure charities can continue providing essential services for communities

  • Funding and income
  • Cost of living

What is the true cost of giving support to public services?

Why the government must act to cover the true cost of charities delivering public services

  • Cost of living
  • Funding and income

The inside track: November 2023

An update on what's happening in Westminster. Find out what the King’s Speech and government reshuffle means for charities

  • Government and politics

Volunteering round-up: November 2023

The latest volunteering news, resources and dates for your diary

  • Involving volunteers

Governance round-up: November 2023

Lessons from Trustees’ Week 2023 and upcoming dates for your diary

  • Governance

Top tips for collaboration

Tips to help voluntary organisations collaborate effectively with the right partners

  • Collaboration

The collaboration spectrum

This page explains the different ways that voluntary organisations may collaborate in order to bid for and deliver a commissioned contract

  • Collaboration

Partnerships

Guidance to help you decide whether working in partnership is right for your organisation

  • Collaboration

Campaigning in collaboration

Guidance to help voluntary organisations collaborate on campaigns

  • Collaboration

Structures for consortia delivery of public service delivery

Explore three models of consortia delivery of public services by voluntary and community organisations

  • Collaboration

Working together to achieve your mission

This page looks at how organisations collaborate on the projects that directly contribute to their overall mission

  • Collaboration

Sharing back office services

Advice on how organisations can use collaborative working to share premises and back office services

  • Collaboration

Staffing a collaborative project

Things to consider when staffing a collaborative project

  • Collaboration

National organisations with local groups

How organisations with a national body and local groups can work together

  • Collaboration

Collaborative working to generate income

Guidance on fundraising through the gift economy (public giving, voluntary donations) and the open market (trading)

  • Collaboration

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.

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

Mentoring and coaching (0.5 day)

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

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

Financial governance for trustees (0.5 day)

This course will revisit the core financial duties of a charity trustee and explore what it means to practice good financial governance

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

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

Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in charity governance (2 x 0.5 days)

This course has been created by The Social Justice Collective to help you understand, address and embed equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) into your governance practice

Recruiting volunteers (0.5 day)

This course will develop your skills and help you use a marketing approach to recruit volunteers

Developing a volunteer strategy (1 day)

Get an overview of the key tasks and considerations when creating a volunteer strategy. Learn how to develop a strategy that compliments your business plan and create a framework for building success