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.

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

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7 resources found

  • Search: ngo safeguarding
  • 11.2C147

    The International Child Safeguarding Standards

    A set of 4 standards that describe what an organisation needs in place to protect children from harm caused by its staff, activities, operations and partners. The standards cover policy, people, procedures and accountability, and list requirements under each. 5 guiding principles frame them, including shared responsibility and the best interests of the child. Organisations, donors and auditors use them to build and check safeguarding policies.

    CurrentKey manual or guideFree
  • 5.4C074

    Understanding effective safeguarding culture

    A discussion tool from Bond, the UK network for international development organisations, for talking about what a positive safeguarding culture looks like. It describes behaviours that show whether a culture follows good safeguarding practice across 6 areas: policies and procedures, safer programming, a survivor-centred approach, awareness raising, safer recruitment and reporting. Staff at all levels use it in workshops, alongside a separate Bond tool for leaders.

    CurrentTool or templateFree
  • 11.3C154

    Risk Appetite Statements: A guide for NGOs

    A guide that explains what a risk appetite statement is, why it is useful and how an NGO can develop one. It focuses on security risk and shows how security risk management fits into organisation-wide enterprise risk management. Chapters cover the strategic value of a statement, its role in governance and accountability, and practical steps for putting it in place. It is written for security practitioners, senior leaders and boards.

    EmergingKey manual or guideFree
  • 9.2C119

    Dóchas Guide to Ethical Communications

    A guide from Dóchas, the Irish network of international development and humanitarian NGOs, for anyone who produces images and stories about the people NGOs work with. It updates the 2006 Dóchas Code of Conduct on Images and Messages. It sets out 3 core values and 4 commitments: authentic representation, contributor-led stories, informed consent, and doing no harm. Each commitment has practical steps, reality-check questions and a final checklist. Signatories follow 10 minimum requirements.

    Start hereCurrentKey manual or guideFree
  • 11.1C144

    Good Practice Review 8: Humanitarian Security Risk Management

    The 3rd edition of a widely used reference on security risk management for humanitarian organisations. Practitioner experts revised it over 3 years. Its 7 chapters cover foundations, ecosystems, organisational and operational elements, people, technology, and specific threats. The 2025 edition adds a person-centred approach, the security burden on national and local actors, partnership security, access and deconfliction, and digital risks such as disinformation and surveillance. Security managers use it to design policies and plans.

    CurrentKey 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
  • 11.2C148

    Misconduct Disclosure Scheme

    An inter-agency scheme that lets aid employers share information on past substantiated cases of sexual exploitation, abuse or harassment when they check job candidates. It covers people with completed or ongoing disciplinary processes, beyond police records. Launched in 2019, it had more than 260 member organisations by March 2024, from INGOs and national NGOs to UN agencies. Between 2019 and 2023, over 137,000 checks led to 385 applications being rejected.

    CurrentKey online resourceFree

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