Charity Funding and Free Resources and Templates

Free charity resources and templates, including 40+ policy templates, set up checklists, free help and 100+ charity funding lists

Charity Funding and Free Resources and Templates

Our index of charity funding and free charity resources, templates, policies, checklist - Online Charity Policy Templates, 40+ Downloadable Charity Policy Templates, Finance, 3 Finder Directories, 100+ Funding Lists & Grants Directory, Charity Set Up Checklists, AI and ChatGPT Tools, Fundraising Resources & Templates, Trustee Governance Checklists and lots more.

Charity Resources - Online Policy Templates

Common policies many charities should have, or are required by UK law or are a Charity Commission policy requirement.   Online policy templates, which can be copied but not downloaded.  To download policies, see the next section.

Charity Policies & Procedures Required - what policies a charity needs to have to meet Charity Commission requirements
Charity Safeguarding Policy - template, guidance and safeguarding resources
Charity Reserves Policy - a guide and template
Charity Risk Management Policy - 3 step process & template for your policy & risk register
Charity Due Diligence Checklist - donation, donors and partners checks and policies
Fundraising Due Diligence Policy and donor compliance checklist.
Conflict of Interest Policy - a policy template, guidance and resources
Volunteer Management Policy - volunteering policy and agreement templates
Charity Social Media Policy
Charity Investment Policy Template
Ethical Fundraising Policy - template and links to regulatory guidance
Grant Making Policy - a simple template to use
Staff & Volunteer Code of Conduct
Charity Trustee Code of Conduct
Environmental Policy - a template and 50+ ideas
Charity AI policy - a simple policy for small charities
Workplace Sexual Harassment policy

The Charity Excellence Ethics and Complaints policy - our policy on how and why we do what we do and the way in which we do it.

Charity Resources - 50+ Free UK Policy Templates To Download

You can download any of the policy templates for charities below in Word format by registering (it's free) and then logging in. Once logged in, click the in-system AI bunny icon, then his Policies button and tell him which charity policy template you want.  Watch this 3 min demo video. You can also ask him for a list of all the policy templates. The system will automatically make relevant policies available, as you score questionnaires.

  • Keeping People Safe.  Safeguarding policy, bullying and harassment and whistleblowing policy templates.
  • Finance Policy.  Reserves, risk management and risk register, internal financial controls, cash handling, due diligence, expenses, investment, anti-bribery and anti-money laundering policies.
  • HR Policies. Charity code of conduct, dress code, expenses, pay & remuneration and volunteer recruitment selection.
    • There is also a download that lists and includes links to a wide range of HR policies, letters and templates produced by others that you can download for free.
    • Or ask the AI tech bunnies and they'll connect you directly to each one.
  • Governance.  Conflicts of interest, board code of conduct, board reserved powers, board skills and experience, and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
  • Fundraising.  Ethical fundraising, acceptance & refusal of donations, crypto fundraising, donation refunds, due diligence, fundraising (volunteers), grant making, grant agreement and pro bono company agreement.
  • Social Media. Social media group guidelines and social media policy.
  • International.  Staying safe overseas and staying safe overseas (high risk areas),
  • Other Policy Templates. Artificial Intelligence (AI),  Animal welfare, campaigning, complaints, data protection, environmental, food safety, H&SW, and project & programme assessment.

Charity Finance Resources - Policy, Templates & Checklists

You can download far more charity finance policy and other templates from the Finance and Resources Health Check questionnaire.

Finance Policy

Finance Templates And Checklists

Free UK Charity, Community & Club Bank And Savings Accounts and how to set yours up
Charity Commission Annual Returns - how to prepare and submit yours
Charity Commission Accounts - audit and independent examination, including thresholds
Charity Project & Fundraising Event - evaluation checklist.
Finance Planning Template -  checklist - financial planning for charities
Finance Planning Template - simple checklist - financial planning for small charities
Expenses Checklist - how to reduce costs & manage cash flow in a crisis
Finance Planning Template - how to create your income budget
30+ Charity & Community Energy Saving Ideas And Energy Efficiency Grants
How To Reduce Charity Expenses Without Cost Cutting
How to Deal With Charity Bank Account Problems - advice, resources & people who can help

Charity Tax Reliefs

Finder Directories

  • Funding Finder - with categories for Core Funding and Small Charities & Community Groups and links to other free grants directories.
  • Help Finder – including finding raffle prizes and companies that make donations.
  • Data Finder – for fundraising bids & research, impact reporting, planning and campaigning.

Find Funding, Free Help & Resources - Everything Is Free.

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Fundraising Resources - 100+ Funding Lists

Here are some funding lists I've put online but you must register, then login to access and download all 100+ lists from the income questionnaire.

Charity Excellence – Free Funding Finder Directory
Index of all 100+ trust and foundation grant funding lists. Download from the Income questionnaire.
Funding List - Cost of Living Crisis Grant Funding
Funding List - Core Cost (Unrestricted) Funding - to fund staff, running and overhead costs.
Charity IT Tech For Good - Funding, Free IT Support, Software Computers & Laptops
Funding List - Small Charities & Community Groups
Funding List - International NGOs, incl Africa
Funding List – Churches
Funding List - Animals, Including Welfare, Shelters, Rescues, Wildlife
Funding List – for NGOs in India, Pakistan & Bangladesh
Funding List – Arts, Including Community, Performing Arts, Theatres, Music etc
Funding List - New Grant Making Trusts England & Wales
Funding List - Disability Funders
Funding List - Mental Health, Wellbeing
Funding List - Sports
Help Ukraine - 50 grant makers, fundraising appeal resources and charities to donate to
Funding List - Grants for Women's Projects.
Funding List - Company Grants for Women & Girls Charities.
Funding List - for infrastructure charities
Funding List - 100+ onshore and offshore wind farm funds for local communities
Scottish Common Good Funds - Little know funds valued at £300m.
The Secret Funding List for Smalls - niche funders bigger charities can't apply to and many don't know about.

CIC and Charity Set Up Checklists & Resources

Our charity and CIC set up toolbox gives you everything you need to decide the best option for you and to set-up your non-profit yourself, at no cost.  Or use the set up checklists below.

Set Up A Social Enterprise Or a Charity?  How To Choose The Best Option
Constitutions & Governing Documents - how to choose and download the right one
How To Register A Charity - what you need to know to set up a charity
Charity Commission Complaints Procedures - the procedures and free templates
What is a CIC?  A step by step guide on everything you need to know about CICs.
How To Register A Community Interest Company (CIC) - what you need to know to set up a CIC - step-by-step toolkit and checklist.
Charity & Company Names - ideas and how to check and register a name.
How To Register With HMRC For Gift Aid - what you need to know and a step-by-step toolkit and checklist.
Unincorporated Associations, what an unregistered charity is and how to set up a community group or micro charity
Gift Aid Rules And How To Claim Yours - a checklist of all the different types and support to help you claim yours.
How To Open A Charity Bank Account And Which Are Best
Free Fundraising Help & Training Courses - just asking for funding doesn't work so get the help and training you need to secure income.
Charity Insurance Made Simple - liability, indemnity and other types of charity insurance explained, how to choose a broker and links to the well known ones.
Company, CIC and Charity Conversion made simple.  What it is and how to do it.
How To Use Social Media For Fundraising - what you need to know and how to do it

Fundraising Resources, Templates & Checklists

How To Write Successful Funding Bids

Fundraising Tools And Templates

Free Online Fundraising Training Courses & Support - why pay when you don't have to?
How To Create A Fundraising Strategy - a practical toolkit to do it yourself
Give as You Earn (GAYE) - how to set up payroll giving and why you should
Charity Fundraising Trends 2024 - plus what you can do and what the future holds
How To Create Your Income Budget - practical techniques to do it well
Charity Fundraising Code of Practice, Regulators and Law - what you need to know and do
20+ Fundraising Ideas for Trustees - make it easy for them to help
Google Ads Grant - What it is, how to claim it and find ads management support
100+ Fundraising Websites And Platforms - how to choose the best, and free and low cost options
Charity Event Planning Checklist for fundraising and community events
Charity Project & Fundraising Event - evaluation checklist.
How To Fundraise Using Facebook, Instagram And Other Social Media Platforms
Crypto fundraising Guide - how to get started
Fundraising Due Diligence Checklist - and donor compliance checklists
100+ Christmas Fundraising Ideas
Fundraising And The UK Muslim Community
How to Write a Donation Thank You Letter - Template.
How to Donate Safely and Avoid Charity Scams.
Grant making lessons learned from Covid - who got it, who didn't and lessons for the sector

Charity Governance Resources, Checklists & Support

Use these as part of your trustee induction and/or training.  You'll find video versions on the Governance playlist on the You Tube channel.  These are in the Governance section of the Resources Hub.

20 Ways To Be A Good Trustee
Charity Trustee Code of Conduct
How To Increase Trustee Board Engagement
20 Easy Fundraising Ideas For Trustees - simple ideas and something for everyone
What Is Good Governance & How To Do It Well? - the Charity Governance Code explained
Charity Policies & Procedures Required - what policies a charity needs
Charity Chair, Committee And Trustee Roles And Responsibilities
Charity Committees - Roles and Responsibilities - the 9 most common ones
Charity Commission CC29 Conflict of Interest - a policy template, guidance and resources
How To Tackle The Lack Of Charity Trustee Board Diversity
How To Recruit Trustees For Your Board - including organisations who will help you for free
How To Create A Great Charity Business Plan - a simple process, checklist, template & examples
Charity Commission Annual Return Guide - Annual Return and Accounting and Report
Charity Insurance Made Simple - public liability, trustee indemnity and other insurance.
How To Make Reports More Effective & Less Work
Charity Meetings - agenda, minutes, FAQS & how to run these well.
Charity AGMs - Charity Commission rules, legal requirements, agenda, minutes & FAQS

Charity AI Services

In addition to the 6 systems within Charity Excellence, we provide a range of free Artificial Intelligence (AI) services.

  • Enabling you to find funding, help, resources and data.
  • Ask Me Anything – answering almost any question about running your charity.
  • Funding Bid Writer Service.
  • Welfare support and funding for individuals.
  • Charity & non-profit facts and popular questions, for the public and media.

Just click the AI tech bunny icon in the bottom right of any web page or in-system and tell it what you need.  Ask as many questions as you wish to, they're free, available 24/7 and will not collect any personal information.

Insight Briefings - the impact of AI on....

  • The Charity Sector - what are AI and ChatGPT, the problems and the impact, including what the future may look like very soon.
  • Fundraising - how fundraising jobs and the sector will change, with ideas on how to exploit the innovation offered, and who the winners and losers might be.
  • Charity Jobs - which will go, what changes we might expect, new roles that will be created and what charities need to think about and do.

AI And ChatGPT Tools & Guides

Tools that work for anyone and every charity

Managing Charity AI
ChatGPT for Charities

Choose a level to get started with and then move on to the next.

Or try the ChatGPT Funding Finder toolkit.

AI Training

  • Introduction to AI - what it is, the key risks, how to manage these and exploit the opportunities, and what AI can and cannot do.
  • Using ChatGPT - what it is, what it can and cannot do, and how to begin using it immediately.
  • What AI Means for You and Your Charity.  Where the sector is now, the key risks for us and what that future may look like, how work will change and the jobs and skills of the future.

The 'instant experts' are now jumping on the AI bandwagon but we've been building and deploying AI services and support since 2022.  Our usual non nonsense practical webinars.  They do not require any AI knowledge.

Charity Impact - Resources & Tools

Charity Impact Reporting -  a practical step-by-step guide to charity impact reporting. Why have an impact report, what impact is and how to measure it, reporting purpose and PB3 requirements, what to include, how to make impact reporting really effective and how to create and publish a great charity impact report.

Maximising Impact Health Check - click the Maximising Impact score on your dashboard and the system will analyse your results  to identify opportunities for you to achieve even more and link you to a huge number of impact resources.

Free Fundraising Resources For Charities

Why pay, when you can get it for free?  From pro bono consultancy, mentoring, legal and HR to free laptops, meeting rooms/property, fundraising & marketing and media & PR.  That's just a few.  The CEF has links to 900+ organisations.  Here are examples from 2 of the 20 search categories in the Help Finder online directory.

Charity Strategy Templates & Resources

To access these resources, click the Strategy button on the Resources page.  For How To Do A SWOT Analysis Really Well, watch this video (3 mins).

Charity Strategy Template - including PESTLE and SWOT analysis
Fundraising Strategy Template - including fundraising strategy tools and checklists.
How To Create Vision & Mission Statements (Quickly and without arguing)
Strategy For People Who Don't Have The Time To Do Strategy - a very simple, quick toolkit to create your strategy, or a checklist to check it, if you already have one
How To Make Strategy Effective - too many strategic plans don't work - the key barriers and how to make sure your strategy is a success
Theory of Change - what it is, how it works, how to do it and key points

Charity HR Resources - Guides & Policy Templates

Charity Safeguarding - policy template, guidance and safeguarding resources
Volunteer Management Policy Template - and volunteer agreement
30 Volunteer Job Descriptions - roles, skills and experience.
Make Your Voice Heard 2024 - Salary & Motivation Benchmarking Report 
Developing Resilience - 12 Ways To Be More Effective & Happier
Micro-Volunteering - What It Is & How To Do It Well

Free charity training:

Charity Communications Resources & Checklists

A checklist to design and improve your charity website to increase visitors & income
50+ Charity Social Media Networking Groups
How to use Facebook, Instagram & Other Platforms For Fundraising.
How To Find Tech Grant Funding & Free Support, Software And Computers/Laptops.

The UK Charity Sector

Charity Networks and Membership Charities - a list of 100+
Federated UK Charities - a list of 30.
How Many UK Charities Are There?  The numbers by type, income and country.

Funding and Free Charity Resources and Help

A registered charity ourselves, the CEF works for any non profit, not just charities.

Plus, 100+downloadable funder lists, 40+ policies, 8 online health checks and the huge resource base.

Quick, simple and very effective.

Find Funding, Free Help & Resources - Everything Is Free.

Register Now!

To access help and resources on anything to do with running a charity, including funding, click the AI Bunny icon in the bottom right of your screen and ask it short questions, including key words.  Register, then login and the in-system AI Bunny is able to write funding bids and download 40+ charity policy templates as well.

Register Now
We are very grateful to the organisations below for the funding and pro bono support they generously provide.

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