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 welcome

211 resources · 15 topics · 137 publishers · 197 free to use

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3 resources found

  • Search: governance systems
  • 3.1C028

    Boards of Directors and Governance Systems

    A practical guide to strengthening NGO boards, first written in Spanish for organisations in Latin America, where board development tools adapted to local culture and language were scarce. The English version followed requests from outside the region. It walks through board roles, structures and governance systems in practical steps, with tools that boards and executive directors can apply to their own organisation.

    Start hereClassicKey manual or guideFree
  • 10.1C133

    Impact Networks

    A 216-page book by David Ehrlichman for people who start, lead or fund networks of organisations working on complex problems. It covers how to build connection and trust among members, coordinate action, share governance and support self-organisation. The linked page is an excerpt on self-organisation published by Stanford Social Innovation Review. Network leaders use the book as a practical reference for running a network.

    CurrentKey manual or guideBook
  • 1.5C214

    Nonprofit Lifecycles

    A short book that sets out seven stages a nonprofit can pass through: idea, start-up, growth, maturity, decline, turnaround and terminal. For each stage it describes what programmes, management, governance, resources and systems typically look like. Leaders, boards, funders and consultants use it to place an organisation on the curve, spot the area that lags behind the others and plan capacity work that fits the stage. Copies are sold through the Nonprofit Lifecycles Institute and partners such as SaskCulture.

    Start hereClassicKey manual or guideBook

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