Charity Strategy Toolkit
Everything a small UK charity needs to set its direction and write it down properly: a one-page strategy that guides day-to-day decisions, and a full strategic plan that funders, partners, and the Charity Commission can read. Built for charities under £500,000, new or established, with step-by-step guidance and worked examples for each.
Most small charities know they should have a strategy. Far fewer have one that works. The plans that exist are often too long, too vague, and written to impress rather than to be used; so they sit in a drawer or folder while real decisions get made on instinct. And when a funder or partner asks about direction, there’s nothing solid to point to. This toolkit fixes both ends of the problem: a sharp one-page strategy that actually guides choices, and a full strategic plan that stands up to outside scrutiny. One is the working tool; the other is the document you hand over. Together they cover everything a charity needs to set its direction and prove it.
What’s included
Two framework guides and four worked examples; a complete set covering both the one-page strategy and the full strategic plan.
1. Charity Strategy Framework
A guide to producing a one-page strategy – the working document that names your priorities, your trade-offs, and how you’ll know it’s working. Six sections, each with what good looks like, what to avoid, and a scaffold to start from. Includes a facilitation guide for running a strategy session with your board, and an assessment tool for an existing strategy.
2. Charity Strategic Plan Framework
A step-by-step guide to producing the full strategic plan – the longer document your team, funders, partners, and the Charity Commission will read. Eleven sections, from evidence of need and charitable objects to governance, risk, and finance, each with a weak-versus-strong worked example. Includes registration-specific guidance for new charities, and guidance that flexes for consolidation, refresh, or reset for established ones.
3. Four worked examples
- Two one-page strategy examples: one for an established charity, one for a new charity.
- A full strategic plan for a new/pre-registration charity working both nationally and internationally: showing how to map charitable objects to programmes and activities, and how to demonstrate trustee oversight of overseas partners.
- A full strategic plan for an established charity refreshing its direction: showing how the same structure reads with a track record, existing programmes, and the common problem of income concentrated in too few funders.
- All worked examples use realistic figures that reconcile across sections, and are clearly marked as illustrative.
Built around the Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance, the 2025 Charity Governance Code, and the Charities Act 2011.
Who it’s for
- Founders preparing to register a new charity with the Charity Commission
- Trustees and CEOs of established charities setting or resetting direction
- Charities applying for funding that requires a credible strategy or strategic plan
- Boards that want a strategy short enough to use and a plan strong enough to share
- Small UK charities; CIOs, charitable companies, trusts, and unincorporated associations
FAQ
What’s the difference between the one-page strategy and the strategic plan?
They do different jobs. The one-page strategy is your working tool – short, sharp, and used to guide day-to-day decisions and keep the board focused. The strategic plan is the longer reference document – the 20-to-30-page plan that your team, funders, partners, and the Charity Commission read. The toolkit includes both and explains how they fit together, so you don’t have to work it out yourself.
Do I need both?
Most charities benefit from both, which is why they’re packaged together. A one-page strategy without a plan can lack the evidence and detail outsiders want; a plan without a one-page strategy can be too long to guide daily decisions. Together, they cover setting your direction and documenting it. You may start with one and build the other when you need it.
Can I use this to register a new charity?
Yes. The Strategic Plan Framework is built so that a new charity can produce the plan that supports a registration application, with specific guidance on the sections that carry the most weight – charitable objects, public benefit, beneficiaries, governance, risk, and finance. It is not legal advice; for anything non-standard, we recommend input from a solicitor experienced in charity law.
We work overseas. Does it cover international charities?
Yes. International work brings extra requirements – trustee oversight of overseas activity, partners, and establishing a UK public benefit. The toolkit covers these, and one of the worked strategic plans is built around a charity working both in the UK and abroad.
Will it fit our charity?
Yes. It’s built for small UK charities, new or established, across all legal forms. The guidance flexes depending on whether you’re forming a new charity or refreshing an existing one.
Can we edit it?
The worked examples are standard Word documents you adapt with your own details. The framework guides are guides to work through, not fill-in templates, and that’s deliberate. The Commission and serious funders can spot generic, copied content, so the toolkit helps you write your own strategy and plan rather than handing you ones to paste.
Two framework guides + four worked examples (Word) · Instant download
Related Products
Charity Growth Diagnostic
A structured self-assessment that walks you through seven common breakdown points in small and medium-sized UK charities. It helps you identify where time, money, or momentum is being lost - and what needs attention first. Built for founders, trustees, and CEOs.
Your First 90 Days as a Trustee
A practical guide for new trustees covering what your role actually means, how to read board papers, what questions to ask, and how decisions really get made. Also useful for chairs and CEOs who want to give new board members a proper induction.