Charity analysis
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What makes a good charity? How can I tell if a charity will achieve its aim? Will my donation make a difference? How can my charity be more effective?
At NPC we believe it takes both head and heart to change lives. Charities, funders and trustees must be passionate about a cause, but you also need clear-headed charity analysis to make smart choices.
Our tried and tested approach centres around the integral features common to all effective charities. If you’re looking for funding advice or if you’re a charity seeking strategy support, we can help.
We want to help you translate your passion for change into tangible impact. To do this, we analyse four vital areas of effectiveness:
- Purpose: Is the charity needed? Does the charity have a good strategy? Do the charity’s activities match its strategy? Does the charity achieve results?
- Impact practice: Does the charity use information to learn and improve? Does the charity know what it is achieving? Does the charity have the right approach to evaluation? Is the charity open about its findings?
- People: Does the charity have good leadership and governance? Does the charity recruit talented people? Do people using the charity help shape its work? Does the charity have a healthy organisational culture?
- Finance and operations: Is the charity financially secure? Is the charity managed well? Is the charity efficient?
To learn more about our approach, read our guide: What makes a good charity?
We’d love to see you at one of our training days. We also offer tailored consulting support to help you do good, better.
Featured resources for charity analysis
Resources
What makes a good charity? NPC’s guide to charity analysis
NPC's charity analysis guide, outlines our tried and tested approach which focuses on the key characteristics we believe are common to all effective charities.
Blog
How I’d analyse a charity in two hours
'There’s a lot to do if a funder wants to analyse a charity. What if the funder only has two hours to make a decision? Or a day at most?’
Blog
How I’d analyse a charity in two hours: Part 2
Last week I talked about part 1: focusing on the first hour of desk research. This week, I'm talking about the phone call with the chief executive.
Recent updates
Blog
State of the Sector 2023
State of the Sector is a survey of charity leaders, which NPC has run every three years since 2017.
Blog
How will the environmental crises impact ethnic minority groups in the UK?
NPC shares our conclusions from roundtable discussions with various charities on the effects of the climate crises on BAME communities.
Resources
Briefing: Britain’s largest charities still face income hole
Even with the furlough scheme, redundancies, costs savings, fundraising drives and government support, big charities still face a worrying financial hole.
Find out how we can help you
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