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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14 resources found
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- 1.5C218
Designing and Filling New Positions
A free Bridgespan toolkit for nonprofits that need new or changed roles to deliver a new strategy or growth plan. It sets out five steps: define what the strategy requires, find the capability gaps, design new and modified positions, assess internal candidates and fill the roles. It includes a position profile template, a skills assessment spreadsheet and a case study of a youth nonprofit that added a deputy director and an expansion manager as it grew.
ClassicTool or templateFree - 14.1C184
Questions to ask before starting an organization
A one-page checklist from Pillar Nonprofit Network in London, Ontario, for people thinking of starting a nonprofit. It asks whether someone already does the work, which structure fits, whether the need is lasting, whether others will help, whether money can be found and whether founders will hand control to a board. It then outlines the steps for incorporation and charitable status in Canada and points to a longer Imagine Canada guide.
Start hereCurrentShort readFree - 2.5C206
A New Look at Strategic Pathways for Solving Social Problems at Scale
The research companion to Bridgespan's "Three Questions" article. The team reviewed the strategies of about 80 organisations in the US, Asia and Africa and interviewed leaders of 11, then grouped what they found into eight main pathways to impact at scale, from expanding direct services to shifting policy and practice. Leaders and funders use it to see which routes exist and which fit their model. It updates Bridgespan's 2014 work with new cases.
CurrentResearch and evidenceFree with sign-up - 7.3C095
Organizational Learning Self-Assessment Tool
An 18-question self-assessment that nonprofits and grantmakers use to gauge their learning culture in 5 to 10 minutes. Items are rated 1 to 5 across 3 areas: organisational habits and behaviours, leadership and strategic direction, and capacity and resources. Each area suggests 5, 15 or 30 minute actions and further resources. Teams use it to start a discussion, and can share it with funders or partners.
CurrentTool or templateFree - 1.5C215
Growth of Youth-Serving Organizations
A free study by Bridgespan, commissioned by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, of 20 US youth-serving nonprofits that grew substantially. It looks at how they grew, what growth did to their finances, how their structures changed, including adding a chief operating officer, more formal systems and new board roles, and what helped or held them back. It comes as a white paper, executive summary and 20 case studies that leaders and funders use to plan for growth.
ClassicResearch and evidenceFree - 4.3C051
Founder Transitions
A guide for founders, long-serving executive directors and boards facing a founder transition. It explains the particular challenges when a founder or long-term leader steps down and how to plan for both planned and unplanned departures. It argues that supporting founders through the exit protects their legacy and the organisation. Boards and executives use it to prepare the handover, the search and the founder's next role. It is part of the Casey Foundation's executive transition series.
ClassicKey manual or guideFree - 11.1C145
Security to go: a risk management toolkit for humanitarian aid agencies
A toolkit for staff who are not security specialists and need to set up basic safety and security systems in a new context or a sudden emergency. Modules are grouped into planning and preparedness, response, and support services. Topics include actor mapping, risk assessment, digital security, security plans, facility security, communications, travel safety, medical evacuation and private security providers. It contains a risk rating matrix, a security plan template, sample SOPs, checklists and a glossary.
CurrentTool or templateFree - 1.4C011
Reinventing Organizations
A book on self-managing organisations based on 3 years of research. Part 1 traces how new organisational models have emerged over history. Part 2 is a practical handbook with case examples, such as the Dutch home care nonprofit Buurtzorg, on structures and daily practices. Part 3 looks at the conditions these organisations need, how to start one and how to change an existing one. Teams read it before trying flatter structures. An illustrated version also exists.
Start hereClassicKey manual or guideBook - 9.4C127
Shifting the dial
A 16-page NPC guide for charities, funders and consultants who run or back policy change campaigns. It covers 3 areas: planning a campaign with impact in mind, choosing the right tools to evaluate it, and learning and improving as the campaign goes on. It draws on examples from several UK organisations. Teams use it to track progress, adjust strategy and respond to changes in the policy environment.
ClassicKey manual or guideFree - 13.3C177
The Effective Exit: Managing the End of a Funding Relationship
A practical guide for grantmakers on ending a funding relationship well. 6 sections cover why exits are normal, communicating clearly with grantees, strengthening grantees' organisational capacity, helping them find new funding, getting the most from the final grant, and exits that are not routine. It includes exit strategies from 4 grantmakers and a sample Healthy Nonprofit Checklist from the New York Foundation.
Start hereClassicKey manual or guideFree - 9.2C121
Putting the people in the pictures first
Guidelines from Bond, the UK network for international development organisations, on gathering and using images and stories ethically. The 2024 update reviews the 2019 original and brings it in line with Bond's core values, including anti-racism, do no harm and locally led development. It addresses colonial legacies and racism in NGO imagery and adds a new resources section. A 1-page Statement of Ethical Practice comes with the full PDF.
CurrentKey manual or guideFree - 10.3C139
Transactions, Transformations, Translations
A report for funders and movement groups on how to measure movement building. It argues for metrics that capture both transactional and transformational change, with a matrix across 10 movement-building strategies. It looks beyond single organisations to whether groups can act together as a larger force, and asks that measures be co-created with the field. Recommendations cover new measures, capacity to use them, leadership development and movement-level metrics.
ClassicKey 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 - 13.1C167
Capacity Building 3.0: How to Strengthen the Social Ecosystem
A paper that proposes a new way to talk about capacity building, drawing on TCC Group's 35 years of designing and evaluating capacity-building work. It has 4 sections: core concepts and definitions of capacity and capacity building; who needs to build capacity; how the idea of capacity has changed, leading to an organisational actualisation framework; and newer methods used in effective capacity building. Funders and consultants use it to frame their approach.
ClassicResearch and evidenceFree
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