Resources
A library for every hard part of running a charity.
Plain-English guides, templates and checklists, organized by the thirteen things charities most often need help with. Every page is dated and checked against official sources.
Filter by stage, size and type
43 resources
Guide · Finance
Audits, reviews and compilations
The difference between an audit, a review and a compilation, when a state or federal funder requires one, and how to get ready without panic.
Template · Governance
Board meeting minutes
Minutes for your first organizational board meeting, plus a simple template for every regular meeting after that.
Guide · Design
Brand basics for small charities
Choosing a name, a simple logo and colors, staying consistent, checking contrast so everyone can read you, and free tools that help.
Guide · Fundraising
Building a donor base
How to find your first 50 donors, ask with confidence, keep people giving year after year, and grow toward monthly giving with a simple donor list.
Guide · Fundraising
Building a grant budget
How to build a grant budget and budget narrative that a funder trusts: direct and indirect costs, in-kind gifts, and matching requirements.
Template · Governance
Bylaws for a small nonprofit
Starter bylaws for a small US public charity with a volunteer board and no members. Edit the blanks, then have a lawyer in your state review them.
Template · Governance
Conflict of interest policy
A conflict of interest policy based on the IRS sample in the Form 1023 instructions, with an annual statement for board members to sign.
Guide · Marketing
Crisis communications: when something goes wrong
What to do in the first 24 hours after a problem becomes public: one spokesperson, honest facts, care for the people affected, and steady updates.
Guide · Technology
Cybersecurity basics for small charities
Simple steps that stop most attacks: two-step login, a password manager, spotting phishing and gift-card scams, backups, and tidy account access.
Guide · Technology
Data privacy basics for small charities
Collect less, ask for consent, protect donor and client information, never sell it, and know that state privacy laws differ.
Template · Governance
Document retention and destruction policy
A plain policy for what records your charity keeps, for how long, and how it destroys them safely, with a starter schedule.
Template · Fundraising
Donor thank-you letter and receipt
A warm thank-you letter that also works as the written acknowledgment the IRS requires for gifts of $250 or more.
Guide · Fundraising
Earned income: fees, social enterprise and UBIT
How charities earn money by selling services or goods, when that income can be taxed, and the $1,000 gross income line for filing Form 990-T.
Guide · Marketing
Email newsletters: build a list and send your first one
Grow an email list with real consent, follow the basic CAN-SPAM rules, and write a short first newsletter people will want to open.
Guide · People
Employee, contractor or volunteer? Getting it right
The difference between employees and independent contractors in plain words, why misclassification is risky, and why volunteers can't be paid wages.
Guide · Finance
Financial controls for small teams
Simple habits that protect your charity's money, even with two volunteers: split duties, two approvals, monthly bank checks, and a clear report to the board.
Guide · Fundraising
Finding funders that fit
Where to find foundations and government grants that match your work, and how to read a foundation's tax return to see who it really funds.
Template · Finance
First-year budget
A starter budget for a new charity's first year, laid out line by line, with a spreadsheet version you can download and edit.
Guide · Technology
Free and discounted tech for charities
How nonprofit tech discount programs work, how validation partners check you are eligible, and what Google, Microsoft and Canva say they offer.
Template · Fundraising
Gift acceptance policy
A simple policy for which gifts your charity accepts, which need a closer look, which it turns down, and who decides.
Guide · Fundraising
Grant writing basics
How a grant application fits together, how to read a funder's guidelines, when to send a letter of inquiry, and what to do when the answer is no.
Guide · Operations
Insurance basics for small charities
The main types of insurance a small charity may need, from general liability and D&O to volunteer accident and cyber, and how to shop for them.
Guide · Leadership
Leading when you are tired
Practical, kind ideas for small charity leaders who are running on empty: noticing burnout, delegating, saying no, and how boards can help.
Guide · Legal
Legal basics for small charities
Contracts, protecting your name and logo, who owns the work volunteers create, when to call a lawyer, and where to find free or low-cost legal help.
Guide · Operations
Logistics for small charities: donated goods, storage and food safety
Managing donated goods, storage, transport and simple inventory, plus food safety basics and the Good Samaritan food donation law.
Guide · Programs
Measuring impact without a research team
The difference between outputs and outcomes, a one-page logic model, simple surveys, and how to report results honestly, including what didn't work.
Template · Starting up
One-page plan
Fit your whole charity on one page: the problem, the people, your approach, outcomes, team, money and first-year milestones.
Guide · Fundraising
Planning a first fundraising event
Do the honest math before you plan a gala, check your state's rules on raffles and games, and give donors the IRS disclosure for tickets over $75.
Guide · Legal
Politics and lobbying: what charities can and can't do
Charities can never support or oppose candidates, but they can lobby on laws within limits. Here's the difference, and the 501(h) election in plain words.
Guide · Programs
Program design: build with the people you serve
Design programs with the people they are for, write a simple theory of change, pilot small, learn fast, and grow only what works.
Guide · Governance
Recruiting and onboarding board members
Use a skills matrix to see what your board is missing, find good people beyond your circle, welcome them well, and use term limits to keep it fresh.
Guide · Finance
Restricted and unrestricted gifts
What a donor restriction is, how to track restricted money in simple books, how and when a restriction is released, and why getting it right builds trust.
Guide · Events
Running a useful workshop or webinar
Plan an online or in-person session people are glad they attended: a clear goal, a simple agenda, captions and accessible slides, and recording consent.
Guide · Marketing
Social media for small charities
Choose one or two channels, post useful things on a simple weekly schedule, and measure the few numbers that actually matter.
Guide · Leadership
Succession planning: if you were gone tomorrow
An emergency succession plan, a simple how-we-run-things binder, and safe shared access to passwords and the bank, so your charity can carry on.
Guide · Marketing
Telling your story: a simple communications plan
Pick one clear message, tell true stories with dignity and consent, and keep a steady monthly rhythm that a busy volunteer can manage.
Template · People
Volunteer agreement
A friendly one-to-two page agreement that sets out a volunteer's role, what you both expect, confidentiality, safeguarding, and how the role ends.
Guide · People
Volunteer management: recruit, welcome and keep good people
Clear roles, a warm welcome, real thanks and kind goodbyes: a practical guide to recruiting and keeping volunteers in a small charity.
Guide · People
Volunteer screening and safeguarding
How to screen volunteers fairly, follow FTC rules when you use a background check company, protect children and vulnerable adults, and report concerns.
Guide · Governance
What a charity board does
The duties of care, loyalty and obedience in plain words, what a good board meeting looks like, and where the board's job ends and the staff's begins.
Template · Governance
Whistleblower policy
A short policy that tells staff, volunteers and board members how to report wrongdoing safely, and promises they won't be punished for it.
Guide · Fundraising
Working with businesses: sponsorships, matching gifts and more
Donations versus sponsorships, how matching gifts and volunteer grants work, and where thanking a sponsor turns into taxable advertising.
Guide · Technology
Your first charity website
What a small charity website needs, how domains work, simple accessibility rules in plain words, and how to keep the site up to date.