Individual support

Salad Money Benefit Checker – A simple and quick online benefits checker to ensure you are claiming what you are entitled to.

Fundraising

Charity Excellence – An excellent and free resource for charity funding, policies, help and resources.

Benefact Group fundraising resources – Fundraising advice and support, guided by seasoned industry experts offering insight into navigating the current fundraising landscape.

Recruitment

Reach Volunteering – A skills-based volunteering charity in the UK, connecting people, skills and good causes.

Monitoring and evaluation (impact measuring)

NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisation) guidance for organisations on how to develop effective impact and evaluation practices.

The Centre for Charity Effectiveness (Cass Business School) developed ‘Tools for success: doing the right things and doing them right’ for small voluntary and community organisations. The twelve ‘Tools for success’ guides includes an Impact Assessment guide.

Think NPC (New Philanthropy Capital) works with charities and funders to help them to achieve the greatest impact for beneficiaries and society. Publications include:

• Keeping Us Well: How Non-Health Charities Address the Social Determinants of Health
• Towards an Evidence-Led Social Sector
• Focusing on Impact: What do Trustees Need to Know?

Big Society Capital have developed an Outcomes Matrix with outcomes and measures for nine areas and fifteen beneficiary groups. This is a free tool for organisations to use to plan and identify the outcomes that will help them to measure their social impact.

Below are also some tools and resources for particular themes:

Employability Skills

Measuring Employability Skills The NCB (National Children’s Bureau) conducted a review in 2012 of evaluation tools used for projects that aim to enhance young people’s employability skills. This review identifies the range outcomes and indicators in use and reflects on their advantages and limitations.

Loneliness

Loneliness Measurement Guidance The Campaign to End Loneliness has developed guidance on measuring loneliness.

Testing Promising Approaches to Reducing Loneliness Age UK tested the simples of these- the Three-Item Loneliness Scale – and the results can be found in this report.

Wellbeing

The Five Ways to Wellbeing were developed by the New Economics Foundation in 2008 as a set of “evidence-based public mental health messages aimed at improving the mental health and wellbeing of the whole population”.

Measuring National Well-being: Domains and Measures The Office for National Statistics’ Measuring National Wellbeing programme measures national wellbeing in ten areas, using both objective and subjective data.

Community Cohesion

This is no established approach on measuring community cohesion, but work is currently being done on this area.

A report by Goldsmiths College and Praxis Community Projects includes some Community Cohesion indicators taken from Oldham Council’s toolkit.

These organisations offer support in measuring impact:

The Coalition for Efficiency aims to help other social sector organisations to become more efficient and effective. It runs ‘Measuring the Good’, a skills-based volunteering programme which connects skilled volunteers with charities and social enterprises that need help to identify and develop the way they measure and manage their impact.

Pro Bono Economics (PBE) helps charities and social enterprises understand and improve their impact and value. PBE matches highly skilled economist volunteers with charities that need this expertise to measure performance, improve their services and improve outcome measurement. PBE is open to enquiries and applications from charities at the start of each year.

With thanks to Dorset Community Foundation for gathering some very useful tools

Safeguarding

NSPCC safeguarding information – Safeguarding statement policy statement by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

SAFE CIC – SAFE CIC is a not for profit organisation, dedicated to improving safeguarding for everyone. They sell safeguarding courses and expertise commercially and use any surplus to provide subsidised training, audits, services and advice to charities and good causes.

NVCO safeguarding – Safeguarding information by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations.

NVCO safeguarding and volunteers – Safeguarding information about volunteers by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations.

NVCO safeguarding vulnerable clients – Safeguarding information about vulnerable adults the National Council for Voluntary Organisations.

Support for individuals

Rehab 4 Addiction – A wealth of resources and information about addiction and mental health are available on their website.

Training

Gloucestershire VCS Alliance – Information about upcoming events and training courses for the sector.

Trustee development

Getting on Board – Help for people looking to access charity trusteeship, and charities looking to recruit and retain a diverse range of trustees.

Battle of the Board by Debra Allcock Tyler – Debra is the CEO of the Directory of Social Change and an experienced chair and trustee of many charities. Her book about charity governance provides practical advice to charity trustees.