How do I start a voluntary or community group?
More information
Click on the appropriate link below for more information:
Preparation - Questions you should address first
Legal status - Choices to consider about your legal status
Criminal checks - About the Vetting and Barring scheme
Get a committee - Details of committee member roles
Budgeting - What to include in your budget
Planning - What to consider for your project plan
Evaluation - Definitions of evaluation
You can download our guides:
New Groups' Guide to Starting Up - First Steps
(in pdf format)
New Groups' Guide to Starting Up - Project Planning
(in pdf format)
There are many things to consider if you want to set up a voluntary or community group. This includes research, careful planning and setting your budget.
Voluntary Action Wakefield District (VAWD) has also produced two guides for you to download to help you set up your own group. (These guides were produced as part of the Basis programme which was funded by the Big Lottery.) You can view information from these guides in this section of the website.
New Groups' Guide to Starting Up – First Steps
This toolkit covers the basic things you need to do before you move onto developing your group in the planning stage. You will need to:
- carry out initial research
- specify the aims of your group and where it will run
- decide who you want to be a part of your group
- get in touch with other organisations that could work with you and check that no one is doing similar work already
form a Management Committee and adopt an appropriate legal status.
New Groups' Guide to Starting Up – Project Planning
This tookit covers more detailed planning required in the second stage of your development. You will need to:
- perform detailed project planning, an outline of the work and identified need
- establish your outcomes (what you will aim to achieve) and how you will evaluate your project
- determine your budget.
