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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.

Creating inclusive growth: Local Enterprise Partnerships' engagement with the voluntary sector

  • Collaboration
  • Involving volunteers

Levelling up: The UK Shared Prosperity Fund

  • Government and politics

Volunteering: A family affair? Summary report

  • Involving volunteers

Volunteering: A family affair?

  • Involving volunteers

Beyond charities

  • Equity, diversity and inclusion

The impact of covid-19 on the voluntary sector

  • Coronavirus
  • Involving volunteers

The Road Ahead 2020

A review of the voluntary sector's operating environment.

  • Responding to crises
  • Coronavirus
  • Funding and income

Creating partnerships for success

  • Collaboration
  • Impact and evaluation

Time Well Spent: Volunteering in the public sector

  • Involving volunteers

Risk register

A template risk register is a framework for identifying, assessing and recording the risks that your organisation faces

Role descriptions for trustees

Sample role descriptions for a range of trustee roles

Role description for a chief executive

The management of a charity is delegated to the chief executive. This is a sample role description for a chief executive.

Sub-committee terms of reference

All sub-committees need terms of reference that clearly indicate what's expected of them and who they're accountable to.

CEO report template

It is good practice that the CEO reports to the board on a regular basis, we would recommend this report is written so that trustees have time to digest it and formulate questions.

Sample schemes of delegation

Three samples formats of schemes of delegation for boards. A one stop document for all your delegated duties and ways to monitor them

Charity governance code

This guide explores how to implement a good appraisal process that supports and motivates your CEO to do even better.

Charity governance code guide for micro charities

A guide to applying the principles of the Charity Governance Code, specially adapted for the smallest organisations.

Governance wheel

The governance wheel is a simple tool that helps boards of voluntary organisations quickly get a sense of how well they’re functioning and fulfilling their roles.

Strategic planning

Information and tools on strategic planning.

Recruiting volunteers (0.5 day)

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

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

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.

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

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

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.