Funding and Governance Advice
Voluntary Action Swindon can help your charity or community group seek funding. We provide free support and advice to set up or run your charity.
Funding & Fundraising
Funding surgeries
Are you a charity or community group looking for funding? We can help. From community events to charitable trusts, we can guide you through the fundraising process, improving your chances of securing the funding you need. We can support you with one-to-one advice and guidance, to discuss where you might get income from, work with you on a fundraising plan, and review your funding applications.
Fundraising fact sheets
Project Planning
Before you start fundraising, you need to be really clear what it is you’re raising money for.
Having a clear plan will help funders to see that you are serious about your goals – making them more likely to give you a grant or donation.
DownloadWriting Applications
The language you use when writing grant applications is important. You’re much more likely to get the funding if you’re clear, specific, and positive about the difference you can make.
DownloadUnderstanding Monitoring & Evaluation
Almost as important as Evidence of Need is Monitoring & Evaluation. Funders will want to know that their grant or donation has made a difference – so you need to think about how you will show that it has, before you apply for funding.
DownloadStreet Collections
Street collections are a good way to collect donations from the public, but there are rules around who, how, when and where you may collect.
DownloadPlanning your budget
You’ll need to know how much money is needed to run your project or service before you start asking for funding. Having a budget in place will help to avoid overspend and help you to set fundraising targets, as well as being realistic about what can be achieved.
DownloadMaking an Application Checklist
Not every application process is the same, and different funders will ask for different things. Nevertheless, this list can help to ensure you don’t miss anything.
DownloadFundraising Events Action Plan
There’s a lot to consider when running an event, from raising awareness to health and safety. Here’s a draft action plan you can use to ensure you’ve covered everything when preparing for your event.
DownloadGift Aid
Gift Aid is a way for people to donate to your charity without it costing them anything. You do need to be registered to claim Gift Aid, however – here’s how to do it.
DownloadAll About Grants
Six articles that can help you prepare for your first grant application.
View ArticlesWho Gives Money?
The next thing to do is to decide who you’re going to approach for funding. Charities and community groups can secure funding from a range of sources, including charitable trusts, the Big Lottery Fund, companies, and even the European Union.
DownloadEvidence of Need
It’s really important that you can show evidence that your project or service is needed. It’s not enough that you know how crucial it is – you need to be able to prove it to funders who might have no idea about your cause.
DownloadHolding a Raffle or Lottery
There are rules around running lotteries and raffles, even when the proceeds are going to a good cause. Depending on how much money is involved, you may need to register with the council or Gambling Commission.
DownloadCreative Fundraising
Finally, here are some hints and tips covering best practice in all areas of fundraising.
DownloadGovernance
Setting up a Charity
- Typically, a group of people sets up a charity when they have identified a need that is currently not being met. Often, this will be a cause that they are passionate about, because they have experienced the problem directly, or know someone who has.
- Setting up a charity involves several considerations, right at the start before you do anything. For example, you need to be able to answer the following:
- Is the purpose charitable and for the public benefit? This is a strictly defined term, and not every cause will fall under the legal definition of charitable. See more about charitable purposes on the Charity Commission website.
- What sort of structure should your charity have?
- Should it be steered by a large membership which anyone can join, or by the Trustees alone?
- Do you need to register with the Charity Commission?
- Do you have at least three Trustees, and are they clear on their roles and responsibilities?
- Do you have a Governing Document (also known as a constitution) with clear rules around how your charity should be run?
- VCSE Strength Check- The National Lottery have developed a free diagnostic tool to analyse organisational strengths and look at what could be developed or improved. This is not linked to any National Lottery Community Funding Programmes. VCSE Strength Checker | Support and grants for organisations seeking social investment
For help in setting up your charity, please contact Alana Fiorelli at Alana@vas-swindon.org
Governance fact sheets
Starting a New Group
Starting a new group can be daunting as there is a lot to consider. This document outlines the questions you will need to answer, and what to do next to get your organisation set up.
DownloadManagement Committee (Trustees)
A charity’s Management Committee (its Trustees) are a group of volunteers who have ultimate responsibility for the organisation. They take the major decisions for how the charity is run, on issues such as finance and legal compliance.
DownloadBusiness Planning
Having a Business Plan is not a legal requirement, but is a very good idea as it will help you plan for the future. A business plan should clearly state your aims and objectives, which will help you to draw up a workplan.
DownloadGovernance app
The Governance App is a free and easy way for your board of trustees to review and improve its governance, together.
Register NowExplaining Governance
Use this page to learn about what governance is and how it applies to charities.
DownloadTrustee Roles
Trustees share formal responsibility for the charity and must act in its best interests, regardless of
how they’re elected or appointed. Some trustees may take on specific roles on the board, such as
chair, vice-chair, secretary and treasurer
Reporting
The Charity Commission keeps a register of charities that must always be kept up to date.
Charity trustees are required to report to the Charity Commission on the work and the financial position of their charity annually
Financial procedures - before you start
Use this page to learn about the purpose of financial policies and procedures.
DownloadDeveloping Your Trustees Skills
Use this page to learn about how you can develop trustees skills.
Download
Annual General Meeting (AGM) Guide
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) is where the Trustees report on the charity’s activities and finances in the year. New Trustees and officers may be elected, and resolutions (changes to the Governing Document) proposed and voted on.
DownloadTypical Voluntary Sector Policies
Along with your Governing Document, you will need Policies which go into more detail about specific areas of your organisation’s work, such as Data Protection, Financial Procedures, and Flexible Working. This document lists the most common policies for charitable organisations.
DownloadCharity Essentials
Charity Essentials is an online tool designed especially for charities as a way to do a basic health check on how your organisation is performing, identifying strengths and areas for development.
View ToolDigital Candle
Digital Candle is a free service for charities who want a one hour call with a digital expert. Charities can get advice on any aspect of digital or digital marketing, from digital strategy to Google Ads and from remote service delivery to social media.
Visit WebsiteWhat is a Trustee?
Use this page to learn about what a trustee is, how they are elected and what their role is.
DownloadLegal Duties of a trustee
Use this page to learn about what your boards legal duties are and the considerations required.
DownloadRemoving Trustees
Use this page to learn about the reasons to remove a trustee and the process to go through.
DownloadMaking Decisions as a board
Use this page to learn about the rules around decision-making and how to go about the process of
making decisions effectively.
Reviewing the structure of your board
Use this page to learn about what the structure of the board looks like and what to consider when
reviewing.
Recruiting & Inducting Trustees
Use this page to learn about the process of recruiting and inducting trustees.
DownloadWriting Your Constitution
A charity’s Governing Document (or constitution) is its rulebook. For registered charities, having a Governing Document is a legal requirement. Even if it’s not an obligation for your charity, it’s still a good idea to produce one.
DownloadInsurance
There are many different types of insurance that a charity may be required to have, such as Employers’ Liability Insurance. Others may not be applicable to your organisation, such as Vehicle Insurance. This document outlines the main types of insurance you might be required to have in place.
DownloadIndividual trustee self reflection (Trustee Resources)
Self reflection is an important part of your professional development and will help you to do your role effectively. This document on individual trustee self reflection will assist in carrying out this work.
VAS Trustee NetworkBenefact Group Fundraising Resources
Practical support and guidance to help you fundraise successfully. Whether you are a volunteer, charity CEO, or seasoned professional fundraiser, these resources will help make your charity’s strategy simpler and more successful.
View ResourcesCharity Excellence resource Hub
An index of free charity resources, including downloadable policy templates, grant directories, fundraising resources & templates, trustee governance checklists, plus much more.
View ResourcesEquality, Diversity and Inclusion at Board level
Making sure your charity takes steps towards equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is a core responsibility for any board. Doing so contributes to good governance as set out in the EDI principle as part of the Charity Governance Code
DownloadSafeguarding
This page shows you how to use NCVO's help and guidance content to get started with safeguarding.
It focuses on the things the Charity Commission expect you to do, and tells you which Knowhow pages have guidance to doing them well.
Carrying out a governance review
Use this page to learn about the different types of governance review and what you need to consider
when carrying out a review.
Risk
All charities face risk. It could be the risk of losing money, injuring clients, bad publicity, or losing key staff or volunteers. Risk is not always a bad thing, without risk there's often no reward.
DownloadAdditional Reading from NCVO's Help & Guidance Page
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NCVO's governance experts have written or signposted to model versions of each one. These are some of the most important documents that an organisation needs if it wants to have a healthy, well-run trustee board. |
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NCVO's Guidance and tools to help you run your charity or voluntary organisation. |
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Guidance and advice on processes to ensure your organisation stays within the law. |
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Learn how to develop your organisation's strategy and assess your impact. |
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Keeping people safe is important. We have resources and guides to help your organisation do safeguarding well. |
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Practical and step by step guidance to help you manage volunteers and the process of volunteering well. |
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Practical and step-by-step guidance to make the best use of digital tools and processes to help your charity, organisation or community group. |
Further Reading
The Charity Commission
The Charity Commission is the non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales.
NCVO
Governance – NCVO champions the voluntary sector and volunteering. They provide advice and information on governance through events and online training courses.
Safeguarding – Keeping people safe is important. All organisations need to do safeguarding well. Everyone needs to be involved. These resources will help you make plans and carry them out.
Sandy Adirondack
Sandy Adirondack is a freelance management consultant and trainer working exclusively in the voluntary/not-for-profit sector. Her site includes a legal update service which will help your organisation keep up with changes in the law.
The Charity Governance Code
The Code is a practical tool to help charities and their trustees develop high standards of governance.