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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

Training

We offer a range of training courses designed to help you do what you do best

eLearning: Roles and duties of trustees

This flexible, interactive course will help you understand your duties as a trustee and support you to run your charity effectively so you can make a bigger difference

Leading on purpose

A practical four-month programme for emerging charity leaders who are on their way to leading organisations

Our vision for charity leaders

Learn about the mindset, knowledge and connections that emerging leaders need to guide the sector into the 2030s

Support for small charities and voluntary organisations

We know small charities make a big impact with limited resource - that's why we're here to help

A bigger role in building our future

  • Involving volunteers

The links between family and volunteering: A review of the evidence

  • Involving volunteers

Planning for tomorrow's workforce

  • Employing and managing staff
  • Business planning and strategy
  • Impact and evaluation

The inside track: July 2022

  • Government and politics
  • Law and regulation

Volunteering round-up: June 2022

  • Involving volunteers

Governance round-up: June 2022

  • Governance

Government policy and funding round-up: June 2022

  • Funding and income
  • Government and politics
  • Governance

The procurement bill: what does it mean for charities?

  • Government and politics
  • Law and regulation

Governance round-up: May 2022

  • Governance

Volunteering round-up: May 2022

  • Involving volunteers

The stages of consortium development

Step-by-step guidance to help voluntary organisations develop a consortium

  • Collaboration

Pre-start-up scoping and planning

Guidance on scoping and planning before you set up a voluntary-sector consortium

  • Collaboration

Formation of working group

How to form the initial working group that will help partners set up a consortium

  • Collaboration

Development funding

An outline of how much funding is required to establish a voluntary sector consortium, and some of the potential funding sources

  • Collaboration

Stakeholder engagement

Why you need to engage stakeholders such as commissioners and local organisations in your consortium development, and how to involve them

  • Collaboration

Operational development and consortium documents

An overview of the key policies and procedures that will support the operational running of a consortium

  • Collaboration

Incorporation and establishment of interim board

A guide to becoming an incorporated company

  • Collaboration

Membership recruitment and due diligence

How to formally launch your consortium and invite organisations to join

  • Collaboration

Set up central management hub

How to set up the central hub that will run the consortium business, scope for contracts, network with commissioners and bring in contracts

  • Collaboration

Bid for and win contracts

How consortium members can work together to bid for, and hopefully win, contracts

  • Collaboration

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

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.

Supporting good governance (4 x 0.5 days)

This course will help you implement structures and processes to support trustees, and ensure systems are aligned with your organisation’s purpose and objectives

Tools and methods for measuring outcomes (1 day)

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

Introduction to EDI in charities (2 x 0.5 days)

This course introduces the key principles of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and how to apply them to your organisation

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