Toolkit for the Spark Ignite programme
Resources, guidance and useful information to develop stronger skills and management practices and increase charity resilience and effectiveness.
Bespoke resources to support The Triangle Trust Fund 1949 grantee charities
The partnership between The Triangle Trust Fund 1949 and Cranfield Trust brings together two organisations committed to supporting women and girls who are at risk of offending or with experience within the criminal justice sector. As part of this partnership we are pleased to offer you exclusive access to this toolkit of bespoke resources from Cranfield Trust in the following areas:
- Financial management
- Sustainability and investability
- Business planning for charities
- Data and evaluation
- Good governance
Our thanks to The Triangle Trust Fund 1949 for partnering with us and providing the funding to allow us to deliver these resources.
Through the Spark Ignite programme, we're delighted to offer a series of leadership focused learning webinars covering key organisational development and resilience topics. These are open to The Triangle Trust Fund 1949's existing grant recipients, as well as women led charities working with young women and girls who applied to the recent Small Grants Fund.
Navigating the new public sector procurement landscape
Tuesday 20th October, 12-1pm
The public sector in England is undergoing its most significant reorganisation in decades. Across the country, councils are merging, combined authorities are forming, new mayoral positions are being created and NHS commissioning bodies are merging. For charities, these changes bring both uncertainty and opportunity. This webinar will guide you through how to navigate the new landscape and how to get the most out of current procurement processes.
Find out more and book your place
Being fundable: Writing a compelling business case for support
Tuesday 17th November, 12 - 1pm
A well written case for support is a powerful tool for a charity seeking to grow its funding. In this practical webinar, we define what a case for support is, explore how it fits into the fundraising process, examine the key questions that a compelling case must address, discuss pitfalls to be avoided and review an example to embed the key learnings.
Take a look at the details and book your free place now
Financial management essentials
Tuesday 1 December, 12-1pm
This webinar is designed to introduce the main tools and knowledge you will need to manage your organisation’s good financial health. It will cover practical guidance on a range of financial essentials.
During times of economic uncertainty financial management and controlling cash flow can become more difficult, yet more important, than ever. Here we share practical suggestions, as well as ideas and resources to help support you.
On-demand webinar - Cash is King: The importance of cash flow forecasting
This webinar is designed for charity finance managers, bookkeepers and Trustees. It focuses on the importance of cash flow forecasting for small and medium charities during a time of economic uncertainty. Attendees can follow a demo of practical suggestions, basic concepts and ideas that they can implement immediately.
The class is presented by Cranfield Trust's South West Project Manager Marie Langan who is a Chartered Accountant with over 30 years of accounting and auditing experience in a variety of management roles in Big Four and Top 20 firms in the UK and US.
Watch the recording of Cash is King: The importance of cash flow forecasting
On-demand webinar - Talking & walking through numbers - Financial focus, cash flow forecasting, funding
This is a financial session that will include going through what a robust cashflow model looks like, tools, packages that charities could use, tips, etc. It will briefly cover funding in the financial accounting context – where it comes from and mix – contracted, grants, enterprise, etc. Does this mix need to change to ensure sustainabilit
Management accounting for charities
Management accounting is one of the most discussed topics and certainly one of the areas that can cause the most confusion.
In this article, Cranfield Trust Volunteer Stuart Walker takes a look at the issue of management accounting and gives you a guide to what it is and how you should go from a standing start to a regular management accounting pack for your managers and board.
Read the Management accounting for charities article
Stuart has also created a Excel workbook to give you a helping hand to get started. You can download the workbook below.
Download the Management accounts Excel workbook
Resources to download
Below are a range of useful resources to provide support and guidance with cash flow forecasting. These are available for you to download and keep.
Download the Cash flow forecasting PowerPoint presentation and notes
Download the Cash flow forecasting presentation PDF
Download our Cash flow forecasting example spreadsheet
Useful articles and reading on financial management
The following articles provide further information and guidance to support you.
Seven finance questions every charity trustee should ask
Managing a charity's finances in a high inflation environment
Top 10 financial ratios for charities
You will find a wealth of other resources, articles and guidance in the financial management and sustainability section of our resource library.
Other useful links and resources
NCVO has useful guidance documents to help charity leaders preparing a budget including planning and budgeting guidance, preparing your budget and guidance on full cost recovery, direct and support costs.
Charity Excellence also offer a useful budget template as well as a charity reserves policy template which provides practical guidance for managing reserves.
Charity Finance Group offer a useful guide on managing reserves for small charities.
Charity story - Financial planning with Path
The charity PATH – Pembrokeshire Action for the Homeless (formerly known as Pembrokeshire Care Society) was founded in 1979. Having previously been supported by Cranfield Trust with a strategic planning project in 2023, PATH’s Managing Director Malcolm Hooper contacted our Wales Manager early in 2025 to discuss the charity’s needs.
The ongoing cost-of-living crisis, unprecedented demands on PATH’s services, and most of the charity’s services funded by grants or service contracts, had led the charity to recognise they needed to become better equipped to work with funders.
PATH was matched with Cranfield Trust business volunteer Malcolm Anthony, a highly experienced accountant with extensive experience of working with the public sector.
‘Investability’ and sustainability is much more than a funding strategy; it is about how to put your charity at the forefront to attract interest, investment, and impact for your charity.
On-demand webinar - Investability: Why should I invest time or money in your charity?
Aimed at CEO’s, senior managers, fundraisers, and trustees, this webinar explains ‘Investability’, and why it goes way beyond a funding strategy. Packed with practical insights and ‘how to’ steps, learn how to put your charity at the front of this ground-breaking change and discover how to create unbeatable ways of attracting interest, investment, and impact for your charity.
Watch the recording of Investability: Why should I invest time or money in your charity?
On-demand webinar - Sustainable Fundraising - Reducing Grant Reliance and Growing Diverse Income Sources
Grantmakers provide vital funding for many charities. However, over-reliance on grants can lead to financial instability, exposing organisations to risks such as budget shortfalls, programme disruptions, and, in extreme cases, closure. As competition for grants intensifies, it is more important than ever for charities to diversify their voluntary income streams to safeguard their future.
On-demand webinar - Cultivating Support - Engaging Donors and Trustees for Non-Mainstream Causes
For causes outside of the mainstream, charities and non-profits face challenges with cultivating tangible support. Without skin in the game, potential donors or trustees can be hard to reach and engage. This webinar addresses how to drive engagement with sensitive and less mainstream causes. Attracting support for these vital causes requires a more nuanced approach than traditional fundraising strategies.
Watch the recording of Cultivating Support - Engaging Donors and Trustees for Non-Mainstream Causes
Resources to download
Below are a range of useful resources to provide support and guidance around investability. These are available for you to download and keep.
Download the Investability PowerPoint presentation and notes
Download the Investability presentation PDF
Useful articles and reading on investability
The following webinars will provide further information and guidance to support you.
Covering the contract lifecyle
The art of the deal: why bidding and buying are two sides of the same coin
Unrestricted Revenue without Tears
You will also find a wealth of other resources, articles and guidance in the leadership and strategic direction section of our resource library.
Charity story - Strategy for growth with Write Back
Write Back is a charity that helps young people improve their confidence and wellbeing through storytelling skills. By early 2024, Write Back faced an important turning point. Director Sam Norwood was juggling teaching responsibilities and running the charity, mostly as a volunteer. Although Write Back had secured funding from The Mercers' Company, the charity lacked a clear strategy to take advantage of this opportunity for growth.
Regional Manager Nicky Everett took time to understand Write Back's specific needs and challenges and matched them with a Cranfield Trust volunteer.
Our business planning resources will help you to revisit your approach to strategy and scenario planning and help you achieve twice the results with half the effort.
On-demand webinar - Business Planning for Charities
This webinar covers the ‘new realities’ facing the charity sector – what has changed forever and why you need to revisit your approach to strategy and scenario planning. It provides a structured and simple way to gain insights into the future and avoid being ‘blindsided’. You will learn how to develop a punchy strategy that keeps your charity focused on the ‘things that really matter’ and how to use your strategy as a focus for funders, as well as how to do scenario planning and strategy with half the effort for twice the result!
Resources to download
Below are a range of useful resources to provide support and guidance with business planning for charities. These are available for you to download and keep.
Download the Business planning for charities PowerPoint presentation and notes
Download the Business planning for charities presentation PDF
Download our business planning guidance and support notes with sample template
Useful articles and reading on business planning for charities
The following resources will provide further information and guidance to support you.
Six steps to reworking your charity’s strategy
Questions to ask to help you build your charity's business plan
An introduction to lean management
Board papers – A practical guide how to prepare them with impact (and for less effort!)
You will also find a wealth of other resources, articles and guidance in the charity strategy and business planning section of our resource library.
Charity story - business planning with The Juno Project
Sussex-based The Juno Project runs school programs that create a safe space for young women to explore their experiences, behaviours, and core beliefs.
The Juno Project sought expert support to refine its three-year business strategy and create a clear, actionable plan for growth. The CEO, Sanchia Ryan, requested a Cranfield Trust volunteer to offer their commercial expertise to strengthen the organisation’s strategy and ensure long-term sustainability.
Read the full charity story of how we supported The Juno Project with business planning
Best practice guides and useful tools for measuring the impact of your charity.
On-demand webinar - Effective impact reporting: Improve how you collect and report on data
From this session, you will increase your confidence and knowledge in how to collect, manage and report on your data. You will also come away with tips to implement the Impact Wheel within your charity.
Watch the recording of Effective impact reporting: Improve how you collect and report on data
On-demand webinar - Introduction to Problem Tree Analysis & Theory of Change
The problems we seek to address as organisations are usually complex. In order to gain a deeper understanding and choose the approach that is most effective there are a number of different tools to help unpack problems and break them down, making them more manageable as well as helping us prioritise. One of those tools is a problem tree analysis, which will be introduced in this session. The result of this analysis can form the basis of a theory of change.
Watch the recording of Introduction to Problem Tree Analysis & Theory of Change
Resources to download
Measuring the Good Impact Framework
Theory of Change template
Useful articles and further reading on data and evaluation
The following articles provide further information and guidance to support you.
10 ways to improve your charity's impact report and why it matters
Creating your theory of change
Principles of good impact reporting
You will find a wealth of other resources, articles and guidance in the impact and evaluation section of our resource library.
Charity story - Data management review with Mosaic Family Support
Mosaic Family Support came to Cranfield Trust in December 2023 for assistance with data protection and management across their various digital and paper systems to ensure compliance with GDPR and to plan effectively for best practice training of staff going forward.
The deliverable became a Data Management Review with a clear action plan which will complete by the end of 2024. It was particularly helpful for Jo to get outside support with this project because she has been overseeing it until now on top of her very busy day job.
The project was designed to help the charity to improve its data protection policies and procedures and prepare written documents to capture the processes being implemented.
Learn all about good governance; what it is and why it matters, how to improve it and, importantly, how to let your funders know.
On-demand webinar - Good Governance - why it matters
This webinar covers:
- Governance – what it is and why it matters;
- Risk - why it needs to be managed and how it should be managed;
- Splitting strategic governance from day to day management;
- How to evaluate how well your charity is governed and;
- How to improve your governance and most importantly, let your funders know!
Watch the recording of Good Governance - why it matters
On-demand webinar - Getting the most out of your governance review
In this practical webinar, we will draw on real life experience from across the charity sector to explore how to design and deliver a governance review that is focused, proportionate and genuinely effective. Building on our recent webinar on the Charity Governance Code, we will share practical tools, common pitfalls to avoid, and learning from recent Cranfield Trust governance reviews, alongside insight from our Journey to Excellence data on the key governance issues charities face. The session will help you turn review findings into clear actions and lasting improvement.
Watch the recording of Getting the most out of your governance review
Resources to download
Below are a range of useful resources to provide support and guidance with good governance. These are available for you to download and keep.
Download the Good governance PowerPoint presentation and notes
Download the Good governance presentation PDF
Cranfield Trust Skills Audit Checklist
Cranfield Trust's unique Charity Governance Code Diagnostic
The Trust has developed a unique high-level governance diagnostic for small charities that adopt the Charity Governance Code for England and Wales. Download the template to build a shared picture of current governance practice within your organisation, and identify priority areas for improvement.
Cranfield Trust Charity Governance Code Diagnostic Tool
Model risk register template for charities
As part of good governance, identifying and managing risks is a key responsibility for charity trustees. Designed to help trustees identify potential risks and manage them effectively, this resource provides a list of suggested risks, but it’s important to tailor the policy to the specific needs of your charity.
Download the Model Risk Register
Useful articles and reading and watching on good governance
The following resources will provide further information and guidance to support you.
Guest blog: Desert Island Governance
Do your Trustees know their responsibilities and liabilities?
On-demand webinar - What is good governance and why does it matter?
Free charity trustee training from Institute of Chartered Accountants In England and Wales
You will also find a wealth of other resources, articles and guidance in the governance section of our resource library.
You can also visit our Governance video channel where you will find a wealth of information and guidance within the many videos.
Charity story - Carers in Bedfordshire (CiB)
Carers in Bedfordshire (CiB) was founded in 2004 and registered in 2010 with the Charity Commission. Its mission is to support unpaid carers of all ages and backgrounds. It offers emotional support, connection with other carers, information and advice, and support for young carers.
Over 8,000 carers are registered with CiB, with 100 new registrations per quarter. CiB employs around 40 staff, supported by over 100 volunteers and currently has seven trustees. The board has a good mix of business, financial and operations skills and most board members have lived experience of being a carer themselves.
This was the sixth Cranfield Trust consultancy project for Carers in Bedfordshire; Cranfield Trust has been supporting the charity since 2010.
Read the full charity story of how we supported Carers in Bedfordshire with their governance review
Find out more and sign up
To find out more about our pro bono and free services and how we can tailor them to your specific needs, please contact our Projects and Programme Manager, Vanessa by email or call 01794 830338. We're looking forward to hearing from you.
