Online Guidance and Advice

Welcome to our On Line Guidance and Advice Service (formerly the Reference Manual incorporating our information sheets).  Here at the click of a mouse you can find all you need to know about starting up and running a community organisation.

We are delighted to announce that members and users of OnLine Guidance and Advice can now download individual documents.

If you have any questions, or cannot find the relevant information you need, contact our advice service by email or call the advice line 0845 847 4253 Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 9.30 -1.00. 

1. Setting up a Community Organisation

Includes information about: how to research and profile your community organisation’s neighbourhood with sample surveys

2. Legal Structures and Charitable Status

Includes information about: the various legal structures available to organisations together with their pros and cons plus the benefits of charitable status and how to register as a charity.

3. Trustee Roles and Responsibilities

Includes information about: the roles and responsibilities of individual officers, the committee or board and committee procedures

4A. Managing Your Organisation

Includes information about: such aspects of managing as business planning, annual general meetings, contracts, procurement, making the organisation sustainable, insurance and much more.

4B. Managing Your Organisation - Policy Matters

Includes information about: the various policies organisations should have from a code of conduct to Equal Opportunities together with some specimen documents.

5. Marketing and Networking

Includes information about: publicity, partnerships, writing press releases and newsletters.

6. Finance and Funding

Includes information about: such aspects of financial management as budgets, balance sheets and accounting requirements as well as preparing funding applications and some sources of funding for village halls and community centres.

7. Activities and Trading

Includes information about: how to develop activities, which licences and permissions are needed and when including music licences and bingo and copyright as well as how to trade legally.

8. Building Management

Includes information about: maintenance, building regulations and hire agreements.

9. Health and Safety

Includes information about: risk assessments, food hygiene, fire and building regulations.

10. Volunteers and Volunteering

Includes information about: how to recruit and manage volunteers, when to pay them and specimen volunteering statement

11. Employment

Includes information about: contracts of employment, individual rights of employees, how to manage employees and specimen documents.

12. Children and Young People in Community Centres

Includes information about: Starting up an Out of School Club, Safeguarding Young People and Parent and Toddler Groups.

Model Documents:

A set of essential model documents that can be downloaded individually:

• Model Memorandum & Articles of Association
• Model Constitution for a Community Association
  
• Articles of Association for a Local Federation
• Model Memorandum & Articles of Association for a Local Federation
• Model Constitution for a Local Federation
  
• Constitution for a Residents' or Tenants' Association
• Constitution for a Small Non-charitable Community Organisation
  
• Model Lease - Incorporated Community Association
• Model Lease - Unincorporated Community Association