Programme Delivery Framework
A complete set of templates and tools for running a charitable programme from idea to final report; propose, plan, control the money, manage partners, monitor, and report. Every step is a ready-to-use document, joined up so it is accountable and evidenced when a funder asks. For small UK charities that deliver or fund others.
Small charities do real work, often impressive work, but the way it is managed is frequently held together by memory and goodwill. The proposal lives in someone’s inbox, the budget is a spreadsheet rebuilt each time, partners are taken on with a handshake, and the report is written from scratch the week it is due. It mostly works; until a funder asks how their money was spent, a partner lets the charity down, or the Commission wants to see who benefited, and there is no clear record. This framework replaces that with one joined-up system: every stage of a programme has a document, the documents feed each other, and what you need to evidence is captured as you go rather than reconstructed at the end. The result is a delivery you can stand behind; to funders, to trustees, and to the people the work is for.
What’s included
25 ready-to-use templates and tools in Word and Excel, covering the full life of a programme, the partners who help deliver it, and the policies that govern both.
1. Start here
A short guide to how the framework fits together, and a folder map so every document has a place from day one. You are never left wondering where something goes.
2. The programme, end to end
A planning stage. The finance tools to manage money. Then the means to show it worked.
3. Partners
The full partner relationship, for charities that fund others to deliver or are funded themselves.
4. Shared resources
This is a bonus Master templates folder for you and your team to build and keep your own resources in.
Who it’s for
- Small and medium-sized UK charities running their own programmes or projects
- Charities that fund or work through delivery partners, in the UK or overseas
- Charities delivering work funded by grant-makers or larger charities, who have to report and account for it
- Trustees and staff who want delivery to be controlled and evidenced rather than improvised
- CIOs, charitable companies, trusts, and unincorporated associations
FAQ
How is this different from a strategy toolkit?
Strategy sets your direction; this delivers it. Once you know what you are doing and why, the Programme Delivery Framework is how you actually run the work, control the money, manage the people who help, and prove it happened.
Are these templates we fill in, or guides to work through?
Templates and tools you fill in. The Word documents are ready to complete with your own details and the Excel tools. A short guide explains how it all fits together.
We deliver everything ourselves. Do we need the partner documents?
Use what fits. If you don’t work with partners, the partner documents simply sit unused, and the programme set stands on its own. If you later fund someone, or take on a grant with conditions, the documents are there, ready.
We work overseas or through local partners. Does it cover that?
Yes. The partner documents are built for exactly this – due diligence on a partner before any money moves, a binding agreement over how funds are used, in line with the Commission’s expectations for partner and overseas delivery.
Will it fit our charity?
It is built for small and medium UK charities across all legal forms, and it scales. The depth of due diligence and oversight is meant to match the size and risk of what you are doing, so a small local project is not treated like a large overseas one.
Can we edit everything?
Yes. The documents are standard Word and Excel files that you adapt and reuse as often as you like.
Instant templates and tools (Word & Excel) to download
Related Products
Charity Risk Register Template
A structured Excel risk register for small and medium-sized UK charities. Built around Charity Commission CC26 (Charities and Risk Management) and aligned with the Charities SORP 2026 and the 2025 Governance Code. Identifies, assesses, and tracks the risks that matter most - without the complexity of corporate risk management systems that don't fit charity contexts.
Trustees Meeting Minutes Template
Word document + guidance notes · Instant download A structured Word template for recording trustee meetings at small UK charities. Built around Charity Commission CC48 guidance. Captures decisions, conflicts, and actions properly - so your minutes hold up when a funder, auditor, or the Commission asks to see them.