Resource library · free toolkits, templates and guides
The practical library for people who build nonprofits
211 really practical toolkits, templates and guides for nonprofit and NGO leaders, and the consultants and funders who support them. A mix of the classics and newer methods.
Suggestions are welcome211 resources · 15 topics · 137 publishers · 197 free to use
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12 resources found
- Search: civil society
- 3.1C031
Effective Board Governance for Civil Society Organisations
An article on how the boards of civil society organisations develop over time in the African context. Drawing on WACSI's work with CSOs, the author looks at the stages of board development, asks whether boards move through them in a fixed order and discusses how to diagnose the health of a board. CSO leaders and board members use it to place their own board on that path and decide what to work on next.
CurrentShort readFree - 9.3C124
Advocacy in restricted spaces
A toolkit from Lifeline, a consortium of 7 NGOs, for civil society groups that want to do advocacy where civic space is closed or shrinking. It uses case studies and concrete examples to show ways of advocating while keeping risk to staff and partners low. CSOs, and the funders and consultants who support them, use it to plan advocacy that weighs safety alongside impact.
CurrentKey manual or guideFree - 12.4C165
Enhancing Digital Security Awareness for CSOs in Africa
A publication on digital security for civil society organisations and journalists in Africa. It describes how these groups have moved over 20 years from print-based activism to digital tools that help them hide their identities and contact sources quickly. It argues that media and civil society groups need to adopt new technologies to stay effective, and sets out to raise awareness of digital security practice among them.
CurrentKey manual or guideFree - 11.2C151
Safeguarding Resource and Support Hub (RSH)
A free online hub that helps humanitarian and development organisations, and smaller civil society organisations in particular, strengthen safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. It lists over 1,300 resources, including tools, guidance, training material and how-to notes, plus 140 consultants. National hubs serve 12 countries in South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe. Content is in 18 languages and follows the CAPSEAH framework.
Start hereCurrentKey online resourceFree - 3.1C033
Board Governance Toolkit
A toolkit for the boards and executive leaders of civil society organisations, from the Board Governance Hub of the Nigeria Network of NGOs. It offers practical guidance, self-assessment tools, checklists, templates and recommended actions for organisations setting up governance structures or improving existing ones, including how to work within Nigeria's regulatory requirements. It is free to download after filling in a short form.
EmergingTool or templateFree with sign-up - 4.3C052
Leadership Transition: Overcoming the Threat of Founders Syndrome
A short INTRAC Praxis paper on leadership transitions in civil society organisations, with a focus on founders stepping down. It describes these transitions as rocky and risky yet normal. Drawing on the experiences of several CSOs in the global South that have been through the process, it suggests how founders, boards and funders can make the handover smoother. It expands on a series of INTRAC blogs from 2016 and is a free PDF.
ClassicKey manual or guideFree - 15.2C193
Business Sustainability Planning and Resource Mobilization Toolkit and Training Curriculum
A toolkit and training curriculum from Pact for local NGOs and civil society groups. It helps organisations plan for financial sustainability, choose a business model suited to their own funding context and mobilise resources beyond donor grants. Capacity builders use the curriculum to run workshops. Organisations use the tools to draft their own sustainability plans. It is free under a Creative Commons BY-SA 3.0 licence.
CurrentTool or templateFree - 12.4C164
Digital Security & Grantcraft Guide
An introductory guide that helps funders judge whether grantees face digital security threats and how to support them. It explains the difference between passive monitoring and remote intrusion and suggests a case-by-case approach in 3 steps: triage, recalibration and reaction. It gives 7 questions for funders to ask about grantees' security systems, encourages short and long term security plans, and adds an annex on travel security.
ClassicKey manual or guideFree - 12.4C166
Security in a Box: Digital Security Tools and Tactics
A free online toolkit on digital security for civil society groups at risk. It has 2 parts. Tactics guides explain basic practices such as strong passwords and protection from malicious software. Tool guides give step by step instructions to install, set up and use security software and services. A global network of activists, trainers and security experts helped build it. Users follow the guides to secure devices, accounts and communications.
Start hereCurrentKey online resourceFree - 9.3C125
Influencing for Impact Guide
An 81-page Oxfam guide for civil society organisations, activists and campaigners who design influencing strategies for programmes or stand-alone campaigns. It gives steps, tools and examples on context analysis, power analysis, setting objectives, building narratives and choosing tactics. Further sections cover research, lobbying, digital and social media, mobilisation, and changing behaviours and social norms. Teams use it to plan, run and learn from influencing work.
CurrentKey manual or guideFree - 10.2C137
Localisation Performance Measurement Framework (LPMF)
A framework from NEAR, a network of local and national civil society organisations, for measuring progress on localisation in humanitarian and development work. Developed between 2017 and 2019, it turns broad commitments, mainly those of the Grand Bargain, into clear areas of change with indicators. Local NGOs, international partners and donors use it to check whether funding, partnerships and decision-making are shifting toward local actors.
CurrentTool or templateFree - 15.3C195
Developing a Financing Strategy
A CIVICUS toolkit for civil society organisations that have not yet written a financing strategy. It explains why one is needed and what must be in place first: planning, budgeting, financial systems, public image and clear values. It then sets out the options: donor funding, earned income, member fees, public fundraising, investments and careful spending. It ends with ideas for writing the strategy document and putting it into practice.
ClassicKey manual or guideFree
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