Useful resources for London’s charitable and social enterprise sectors
Free resources and guidance for charities, social enterprises, community groups, and other not-for-profit organisations
As a funder, we often get asked about additional free resources and guidance to support the organisations we work with. We’ve pulled together a selection of links and training materials which we hope will be useful for them and the wider sector.
Key support areas
Business plans, strategy and governance
Cranfield Trust
Includes a recorded webinar, templates, a free telephone advice line, and information about Cranfield’s free management consultancy.
The Social Change Nest
A slide deck covering the fundamentals of running an organisation, with links to further resources.
NCVO
Two hubs covering governance and strategic planning, with practical tools and worked examples.
Charity Commission guidance
Bite-sized, plain English guidance on key aspects of running a charity.
Marketing and communications
CharityComms
Focus on small charities & capacity building. Provide mentoring and peer learning. Practical guides, toolkits, case studies etc.
Bury VCFA
Digital Boost – free 1–1 mentoring with digital/​marketing experts, webinars & practical support
Digital Candle – free short consultations with digital professionals
DataKind UK – free support from data scientists, help with data strategy, analysis & impact measurement
Good Things Foundation
Practical support on digital skills, inclusion, emerging tech, and AI literacy
Lloyd’s Bank Foundation
Free toolkit guides & comms resources
Practical comms skills & content creation
AbilityNet
Free factsheets, webinars and accessibility guidance; consultancy for inclusive digital services
Solve IT Support
Specialists offering no-cost help with website development, data management, and communications systems.
Impact and evaluation
NCVO
NCVO’s free guidance and consultancy support to help voluntary organisations build theory of change, design evaluation frameworks, and measure and communicate their impact effectively.
NCVO
Step-by-step guidance for building a Theory of Change that links your activities to outcomes
NPC
New Philanthropy Capital’s practical guide walks you through the full process of creating your Theory of Change, from mapping outcomes to identifying assumptions.
Community and Voluntary Organisation Evaluation Toolkit
A free, interactive online toolkit built specifically for VCSEs to collect data, measure outcomes, and demonstrate impact. Designed to address resource constraints in smaller organisations.
intrac for civil society
Explore 120 short, free papers on a wide variety of monitoring and evaluation topics, and enhance your knowledge
Social Value Lab
Free guides on proportionate evaluation, turning data into insights, combining numbers with stories, and writing one-page impact summaries.
BetterEvaluation
An international collaboration providing a comprehensive reference resource on planning and conducting evaluations, including methods, approaches, and case examples.
Digital, IT, systems and AI
CAST (Centre for Acceleration of Social Technology)
A charity offering entirely free programmes and resources to help social sector organisations build digital and AI knowledge, confidence, and capability, including toolkits, guides, and direct support
Charity Digital
Articles, webinars, and training covering digital skills, AI, cyber security, and data for charities, including a free Digital Fundraising Summit held annually
CAST (Centre for Acceleration of Social Technology)
A charity offering entirely free programmes and resources to help social sector organisations build digital and AI knowledge, confidence, and capability, including toolkits, guides, and direct support
ÌÇÐÄVlog
ÌÇÐÄVlog’s latest Spotlight Talk focussed on AI (artificial intelligence). On this page we’re sharing the useful AI resources which we discussed during the session.
Digital Candle
A free one-hour phone consultation with a digital expert, matched to your charity’s specific digital question or challenge
Charity Excellence
A downloadable template to help charities create their own AI governance and ethics policy, including sections on fairness, accountability, transparency, and data protection
ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office)
Free guidance on GDPR, data protection, and AI decision-making specifically relevant to charities
Finance strategy, financial management and fundraising
Charity Finance Group
Bite-sized, plain English guides to charity finance essentials. Guides include checklists and templates.
Charities Aid Foundation
Series of blog posts with guidance on charity finance and banking topics.
NCVO
Practical tips and step-by-step guides on how to find the money you need for your community group, organisation or charity
The Social Change Nest
Fundraising strategies for Community Groups and Grassroots Movements webinar
Remedy
Ten-minute quiz that helps you assess what to focus on for fundraising success
Organisations facing hostile environments/​online violence
The Charity Commission
Updated guidance (late 2025) with practical steps for charities facing threats, abuse, or intimidation — including risk assessments, staff safety, social media monitoring, and reporting to regulators.
NEON (New Economy Organisers Network)
Practical guidance on messaging, framing, and communications strategy to help organisations working for social and economic change respond effectively to opposition, hostility, and the far right.
NEON (New Economy Organisers Network)
Comprehensive advice on messaging and framing communications for organisations targeted by far-right activity. Developed in direct response to the 2024 riots and ongoing hostility.
HOPE not hate
Building strong communities requires practical skills. This page has resources to help you respond to the far-right threat.
Migration Exchange
Access resources to strengthen safety, security, resilience, and wellbeing across the sector, following the 2024 racist riots.
Stop Hate UK
A helpline for anyone experiencing Hate Crime and discrimination, based on any aspect of an individual’s identity
IMIX
This practical guide brings together ten years of IMIX knowledge to help grassroots groups and small charities communicate with confidence, care, and strategy. Whether you’re preparing for a media interview, responding to a crisis, growing your presence online, or just trying to tell your story safely, you’ll find tools, templates, and real-world examples to help.
IMIX
Templates and guides to help you plan, prepare and respond during challenging moments
General resources
NCVO
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations’ free guidance library covering strategy, governance, finance, impact, HR, and digital
Lloyds Bank Foundation
Toolkits developed in partnership with Lloyds Banking Group and other experts to provide practical support and guidelines on best practice for community-led organisations.
Useful ÌÇÐÄVlog resources
ÌÇÐÄVlog monthly newsletter sign-up
Sign up for news of open funding opportunities and offers of free support for London’s charitable and social investment sector.
Spotlight Talk: Recruiting and retaining volunteers
Key lessons included:
- Be ambitious and seek to recruit volunteers with diverse skills through platforms like Reach Volunteering
- Break down tasks into smaller chunks to make volunteering more approachable for volunteers and impactful
- Create communication pack with all the key information which volunteers can share with others who are interested in volunteering
- Retain volunteers by integrating them into team culture and offering support and training
- Seek regular feedback from volunteers to ensure they feel supported and engaged
Spotlight Talk: Approaching AI
We share a brief presentation on how AI works. As well as the ethical and environmental considerations, and resources to get started using AI. The panellists shared their motivations for using AI, how it’s supporting their work and how they have overcame AI-related challenges