Manchester Community Central Factsheets
Factsheet 25: Business planning - A business plan helps you think through all aspects of your organisation and plan for the future. It helps you get an overview of your organisation, and is a useful tool for presenting yourself to funders and supporters. A business plan may be for the whole of your organisation, or for a particular project.
Factsheet 29: Managing information - Good information management supports the work of your organisation by making information useful rather than confusing and overwhelming
Factsheet 30: Marketing - This factsheet explains the ways in which you can get your message heard and your name known
Factsheet 31: Marketing campaigns steps - This factsheet explains some points on putting together a successful marketing campaign
Factsheet 32: Marketing strategies and plan - This factsheet covers some of the things it is good to include in a strategy and tips on creating a plan, style guidelines and templates
Factsheet 33: Publicity materials - Publicity materials are a way of getting your name known. What would be the point of having excellent services, if no one knows about them?
Factsheet 34: Holding an event - This factsheet sets out some of the considerations you need to keep in mind when planning any kind of event
Partnership Agreement template
Marketing strategy template - A template marketing strategy with hints on what should be included in your marketing strategy
Marketing and communications plan template - A template marketing and communications plan
BIS Guidelines for Managing Projects - How to organise, plan and control projects
Business Plan Template - A draft policy template with hints and tips on how to write the sections of a business plan
Weekly Activity Matrix - plot your activities on a matrix to help plan your project and put together your budget
VCSE Strength Checker - The Big Lottery Fund have developed a VCSE Strength Checker to enable organisations to analyse their organisation and identify areas that could be developed to improve organisational strength through this diagnostic tool
Guide for organisers of voluntary events - Voluntary and community events are an important aspect of everyday life that help to encourage and enable people to participate, and play a more active part, in society. This guide provides information on how to organise such events
Your guide to organising a Street Party - This step-by-step guide provides practical advice for anyone looking to hold a street party. It addresses some of the popular myths surrounding street parties and sets the record straight on what is actually needed as well as providing links to organisations who offer advice and support to people planning their own street parties
MyCommunitySpace - On this website you can search and promote space for hire for free
Manchester's Intelligence Hub – find out statistics about your local area
Ever wanted to know the level of educational attainment, the crime level or population in a specific ward? All the information you need can now be found in one place. The Intelligence Hub Analysis Tool (IHAT) contains a wide range of statistical information relating to Manchester, which can be displayed on a map, data grid and bar chart. IHAT contains over 100 statistical variables, spanning different themes
Free management support for charities - The Cranfield Trust is a nationally respected charity providing free management consultancy for charities and social enterprise groups involved in issues of poverty, disability or social exclusion. Highly skilled managers from the commercial sector act as Trust volunteers throughout the country. Volunteers donate their time and expertise to support the voluntary sector, providing advice and mentoring on a wide range of issues to improve management effectiveness, such as:
• Business and strategic planning
• Financial management
• Marketing and communications
• Developing IT systems
• Human Resources and staffing
How to measure your impact as a small charity - This guidance by the Guardian’s Voluntary Sector Network discusses how small charities can evaluate their results despite lack of funds
Every Action Counts… for our people management - A guide to smart and sustainable people management
Every Action Counts… changing for good - A guide to sustainable planning
The Lasa Computanews Guide to Project Management - Projects are, more than ever, a fact of life for voluntary organisations. Changing patterns of funding mean that it is becoming ever more common for groups to develop their work and secure funding by developing specific projects
Charities and the Lobbying Act: Frequently asked questions - This NCVO document covers: where and when the new rules apply; which charities need to register; and regulated activities