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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

Small charity helpdesk

Ask our practical support team any question about the setting up or running of your charity or voluntary organisation.

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

Approaching board relationship challenges

How to approach board relationship challenges and have constructive conversations

  • Governance

Dealing with problems and disputes between trustees

Use this page to learn about how to broadly encourage positive trustee relationships and manage disputes.

  • Governance

Having challenging conversations

Use this page to understand how to approach challenging conversations with your board.

  • Governance

Carrying out a governance review

What to consider when carrying out a governance review and the different types of review

  • Governance

Annual report and accounts

Information on annual reports and accounts for charities, and sample documents.

Board meeting agenda

A template agenda for a board meeting.

Code of conduct

A sample code of conduct for trustees.

Declaration of interests

Sample declaration of interests form for trustees

Expenses claim form

Sample trustee expenses claim form

Organisational management calendar

A sample management calendar for users to adapt for their own organisations

Better impact reporting (0.5 day)

This practical session will build your awareness of different types of reporting and support you to tell a compelling story through your reporting

Advanced project management (1 day)

Are you confident in your general project management skills but looking to strengthen your expertise? This course moves beyond the basics of project management to better understand techniques, activities and principles within a charity context.

Leading change and transformation (2 days)

This practical two-day course for aspiring and existing charity leaders will teach you how to adapt to an ever-changing environment. Learn how to successfully deliver meaningful change to improve your team or organisation

Managing people in the charity sector (2 days)

This course will equip managers in the voluntary sector with the skills and techniques they need to effectively manage paid members of staff

Advanced data protection (2 x 0.5 days)

This advanced course is specifically for data protection leads in charitable organisations. It will prepare your organisation for new laws and obligations.

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

Governance Forum

Our Governance Forum is a space for charity governance professionals and those who support good governance to come together, learn and network

Boost your personal influence and impact (0.5 day)

Learn practical tools and techniques to increase your capability, confidence and impact when seeking to influence others – both within and outside your organisation

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

Data protection essentials (2 x 0.5 days)

This essentials course is suitable for anyone within an organisation that handles the personal data of staff, service users, beneficiaries, volunteers, customers, members or supporters, and needs to know the basics of data protection for voluntary organisations.