On this page:
Planning and evaluation
These resources can help you develop or clarify your charity's plans, and support your planning process. They can help you guide the direction of your organisation, identify necessary resources and the people you need to get there - and also help you measure and evaluate your performance.
This can help your charity to:
- more effectively achieve your purpose
- demonstrate your purpose and direction to your stakeholders
- make better day-to-day decisions
- make more effective use of resources
- improve outcomes
Five years from now…
These resources can help you create a strategic direction for your charity.
- I need a template
Information and templates for strategic, business and operational planning. Written for sports clubs but useful for small charities or those starting out, this resource is produced by SPARC in New Zealand - Qualities of an Effective Charity
The Charities Commission has produced "The Qualities of an Effective Charity". - Performance
A combination of tools, news and resources made available to improve the performace management aspect of your charity organisation to better enable you to achieve your mission and outcomes.
Day-to-day
These resources can help you with the day-to-day management of your charity – and in particular, how to run effective meetings and record the decisions made at them.
- How to Guides
This section covers meetings, focussing on organising and running formal meetings such as Annual General Meetings and Hui Māori. - Effective Meetings
A guide to planning, facilitating and evaluating meetings in your workplace. - Strategic Planning
Indepth articles outlining the elements involved in strategic planning for a non-profit (and for-profit) organisation. - Day-to-Day Operations
Series of steps and diagrams relating to the daily operations of your nonprofit organisation, with a good collection of internal links on the subject. - How to run a Meeting
Guidelines on applying for funding and includes how to run meetings, plan projects, write marketing plans.
Making sure it's working
Research indicates that donors and supporters are influenced by charities' transparency about their use of funds, and what they have done to "make a difference" for their cause or the people they are helping. Here are some resources that provide ideas about how to measure the impact and effectiveness of your work, and evaluate your organisational performance.
- Performance Indicators
What to consider when setting performance indicators for your organisation. - Performance Indicators for your not-for-profit organisation
A straight forward breakdown of what the not-for-profit sector should be looking at in terms of performance indicators. - Evaluation Activities in Organizations
Extensive collaboration of articles, guides and resources on the subject of evaluation (closely related to performance management). - Monitoring and Evaluation
Complete guide to monitoring and evaluation in your charity; including reasons, resources and guides, and recommended tools. - Measuring Impact
A guide to measuring and evaluating your work, including recommended areas to concentrate on.
What else do we need to know?
Here are some resources that can help you carry out research to better understand the environment in which your charity is operating, and identify possible opportunities.
- Research
NCVO Research supports voluntary and community organisations by developing a strong evidence base on voluntary sector issues. - Marketing information and research
Different ways to gather data about what your customers want. - How to Research an Issue
Extensive collection of resource based information about researching your intended not-for-profit subject. - Basic Business Research Methods
Various methods and resources on the subject of research, plus expansive articles on the subject of planning and evaluation. - Research Drivers
Basic introudction to research, and the areas to explore.
Managing risk
These resources will help you identify and limit or address risks in the strategic and day-to-day running of your organisation.
- Managing risk
This section contains guidance on managing potential risks to a charity and how charities can protect themselves and vulnerable beneficiaries from harm. - How-to Guides - Risk Management
Expanisve resource of all aspects of risk management within your community organisation and projects. - Managing ICT risks
An extensive look at the risks involved with ICT (information and communication technology) systems; in particular, identifying, evaluating, analysing and managing risk in this area. - Insurance as a risk management tool
This fact sheet takes a look at the different types of liability insurance policies that are available and what they cover. - Insurance & Risk Management Help Sheets - All you need to know
A series of practical, no-nonsense Help Sheets for community groups, taking you through the main stages of understanding insurance and implementing risk management.