The best resources to help charities with their services

Charities face a variety of challenges when delivering their services, with funding and time constraints being uniting themes. Meanwhile, unrelenting demands come from multiple directions, adding more and more pressure.

 

Regardless, charity teams strive to meet demand. They work hard to achieve their missions for the betterment for society. Many try to work in ways that empower the charity’s service users.

 

To help make the process easier, we have created this simple list of resources to help with charity service delivery. Use these resources to make services go further, handle complex problems, and put service users at the centre of charity work.

 

Skip to: Service delivery news, research, and tools

Skip to: Using digital in service delivery

Skip to: Dealing with complexity in service delivery

Skip to: Service users at the centre of service delivery

Skip to: Wellbeing of service delivery staff and volunteers

Skip to: Working with government and policymakers on service delivery

Skip to: Managing service delivery funding and fundraising

 

 

Service delivery news, research, and tools

 

Staying up to date with tools, research, and current events in charity services can help charities make the most of opportunities and avoid risks. See the list below as a starting point to learn from other charities, as well as the broader conditions of the sector.

• BBC – Charities
• Charities Aid Foundation – Charity Resilience Index
• Reclaim – Missing Experts
• Sheila McKechnie Foundation –  Changemakers’ Toolkit
• Small Charities Data
• The Guardian – Voluntary sector
• The Times – Charity

 

 

Using digital in service delivery

 

According to the Charity Digital Skills Report 2024, 81% of charities are using digital tools in service delivery, either behind the scenes, in a supportive role, or in an integral role. Digital tools can help communicate with service users, measure impact, identify who might be in need of services, and more.

 

This section lists helpful resources for charities to make the most of digital technology for service delivery.

• Amnesty International – Amnesty Tech
• CAST – Shared digital guides
• Charity Digital Exchange – Donations and Discounts for Nonprofits
• Charity Digital Skills Report
• Eu3Digital – Toolkit on Digital Skills
• OECD – Human rights in the digital age
• Pollicy – Digital Advocacy Toolkit
• Promising Trouble – Networked communities for turbulent times
• SCVO – Guide to generative AI for Scotland’s voluntary sector
• Zoe Amar Digital – AI Checklist for charity trustees and leaders

 

 

Cause-specific resources to support the use of digital in service delivery

 

• Arts Council England – Making Digital Work: Digital Toolkit for Arts and Culture
• Centre for Ageing Better – Digital inclusion
• Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue – A Social Media Analysis Toolkit for Mediators and Peacebuilders
• Health for Animals – Report: Digital Revolution in Animal Health
• National Youth Agency – Digital Youth Work
• Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities – Report: How is digital technology being used by the third sector in Scotland to support people with learning disabilities and their families?
• The Human Rights, Big Data and Technology Project – Report: Outlining a Human-Rights Based Approach to Digital Open Source Investigations: A guide for human rights organisations and open source researchers
• The Space (arts, culture, and heritage) – Digital toolkits: A resource hub
• United Nations Environment Programme – How digital technology and innovation can help protect the planet

 

 

Dealing with complexity in service delivery

 

When charities try to make change happen, there is rarely a one-size-fits-all solution. Many confront complex situations daily. In this section, we share resources to help you reduce and handle complexity to help charity resources go further.

 

• CIPD – Creating Learning Cultures: Assessing the evidence
• New Philanthropy Capital – Systems change: A guide to what it is and how to do it
• New Philanthropy Capital – Systems mapping
• The Happy Manager – Teamwork resources for all stages of development
• The Open University – Free Course: Managing Complexity: A systems approach

 

 

Networks and alliances

 

• Cultural Learning Alliance
• Fair Education Alliance
• Good Things Foundation – National Digital Inclusion Network
• In Kind Direct – Get the products you need to help others
• Just Fair – Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Network
• National Council of Voluntary Organisations
• National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance
• Rewilding Britain Network
• Sport and Recreation Alliance
• The Centre for Social Justice Alliance
• Wildlife and Countryside Link

 

 

Service users at the centre of service delivery

 

What is the relationship between a charity and the people who use its services? This section lists resources to help you consider this question and begin to put service users at the heart of charity operations.

• Bond – The people in the pictures
• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – The danger of a single story
• Homeless Link – Meeting diverse needs
• JMB Consulting – Resources
• London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames: Project Toolkit: How to bring a community project to life
• Third Sector – The End of Charity podcast

 

 

Coproduction and beneficiary feedback

 

• Homeless Link – Co-Production Toolkit
• KIT Institute – Beneficiary Feedback Mechanism Toolkit: Guides and Tools
• Mind – The Influence and Participation Toolkit
• National Youth Agency – Youth Participation Framework – Hear by Right
• Single Homelessness Project – Co-production toolkits
• South Yorkshire Housing Association – Stronger Together – A Co-production Toolkit from Ageing Better
• The APLE Collective – Taking Voice Seriously
• The Centre for Loneliness Studies – Coproduction: A time to shine toolkit
• Turn2Us – Co-production and Involvement at Turn2us: The Framework
• UK Aid – Beneficiary feedback mechanisms

 

 

Wellbeing of service delivery staff and volunteers

 

Unmanageable workloads and excessive pressure can impact the wellbeing of frontline charity workers. Here, we list some resources to help manage your own and others’ wellbeing at work, helping you defend charity services in the process.

• British Red Cross – Blogs on Mental health
• Homeless Link - Spotlight on: frontline worker wellbeing
• Mental Health Foundation – How to support mental health at work publication
• Mind – Mental health at work
• NCVO – Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of your team
• Pro Bono Economics – Staff burnt out and services halted due to charity recruitment crisis, survey finds
• The Anti-Burnout Club – Supporting Charity Workers’ Wellbeing – The Ultimate Guide

 

 

Working with government and policymakers on service delivery

 

Charities have a multi-faceted relationship with government and policymakers, including advocacy, helping to design policy, and delivering public services. Here we list some resources to help charities make the most of the relationship.

• Bond – Advocacy toolkit
• NCVO – Political campaigning as a charity
• NCVO and ACEVO – The Voluntary Sector Manifesto
• Pro Bono Economics – Free Resource: MPs and their experience in the charity sector
• The Charity Commission – Political activity and campaigning by charities

 

 

Public service delivery

 

• NCVO – Delivering public services
• NCVO – Report: The true cost of delivering public services
• Small Charities Data – Public services and small charities
• Social Enterprise UK – Public Service Hub
• The Charity Commission – Charities and public service delivery: an introduction and overview
• The Charity Commission – Public service delivery: rules for charities

 

 

Managing service delivery funding and fundraising

 

How charities fundraise can impact the extent and quality of services. For example, how you frame the charity’s services and represent service users to funders can make a big difference. This section includes resources to help you manage fundraising for service delivery.

• Homeless Link – Partnership self-assessment framework
• Nesta – Partnership toolkit
• WaterAid – Partnership toolkit
• WWF – The Partnership Toolbox

 

Note: This is a growing list of resources. Please comment to inform us of useful links, and we will share them above.