The CEF enables non-profits to increase impact, financial resources and overall performance, in every area. They rate its ease of use and low workload as 9/10. The 8 questionnaites take 30 mins each, there's an interactive dashboard, 4000+ links to free resources and a quality mark; all free.

1. HOW IT HELPS YOU
AND HOW TO USE IT
www.charityexcellence.co.uk

2. Impact on Every Area - users
reported a real impact for every
one of the 27 criteria that they
assessed, including improved
governance, and increased
organisational impact and
management team effectiveness.
Increasing Financial Resources
- links to 200+ organisations that
provide free services & goods,
improve income generation,
minimise financial inefficiency,
maximise tax reliefs and funder
assurance.
Easy to Use and Low Workload
- Users rated both ease of use
and the CEF’s low workload 9/10
and that using it actually reduced
their workload.
“SIMPLE, EASY TO ANSWER AND
UNDERSTAND QUESTIONS THAT
MAKE YOU SIT UP AND THINK!”
The Sunlight Trust

3. Initial Set-up – takes 2 mins and
each questionnaire 30.
Scoring questionnaires –
strategy, governance, income,
people, operations, risk, finance
& resources and communications.
In-system support – makes it
incredibly easy to use.
Interactive dashboard –
the key issues, at a glance - 2
clicks to everything.
Reports – click any dashboard
number to run a report and access
the resources.
Query system – save time
carrying out management checks
and ad hoc queries.
Resources – thousands of links to
resources, free goods/services,
and advice & support.
Action plans – make planning
fast and simple.
Additional users – enables others
to help you and use the system.
Quality Mark – demonstrating
your commitment to excellence,
with no extra workload.
‘Whilst it has created key
focuses for us, the joy of
the system is that it also
give us guidance, templates
and key documents to make
this as smooth and as easy
as possible for us. It is really
easy to use and isn’t overly
onerous (apart from making
you think)’.
Andover & District Mencap
“THE QUESTIONS ARE PHRASED
BRILLIANTLY - CHALLENGING
HOW WE PRIORITISE OUR
MANAGEMENT TIME.”
Ecosystems Knowledge Network
CLICK ON THE LINKS IN THE TITLES BELOW TO GO TO THE RELEVANT SECTION.

4. Creating questionnaires that
meet your specific needs. On 1st
login, complete your My Profile
page - click on the pen symbol
(top right), select everything that
applies and nothing that doesn’t,
then click ‘save’.
That’s all the system needs
to create a unique set of
questionnaires, to meet your
specific needs, based on your
size, activities, sectors and
countries you’re based in.
INITIAL SET-UP
2 MINS
You can upload
your logo, to
be displayed
on your reports
Click for
initial set-up,
or to edit

5. Click on Questionnaires (1) select the
one you want (2), then click on Start
Questionnaire (3).
SCORING QUESTIONNAIRES
30 MINS EACH
1
2
3
CONTINUED ON
THE NEXT PAGE
▼

6. Score how important the activity is
to you (1) and the extent to which
you are achieving it (2), or select Not
Applicable (3). You can save your
scores as a draft (4), at any time.
Click on any Help link for free goods/
services and access to advice/
support, or Resource/External Links
for toolkits, templates, policies and
guidance.
SCORING QUESTIONNAIRES
OPTIMISING FOR YOUR PRIORITIES
4
1
3
2

7. The system works for any non-
profit and anyone can use it, even
if you don’t have expertise in a
particular area.
Statements are in plain English,
with Explanation of Terms for
any technical terms, Resources/
External Links for more information
and Help for advice and support.
Click on a ? symbol anywhere in
the system for an explanation of
what it does, how to use it and
how it will help you.
IN-SYSTEM SUPPORT
ANYONE CAN USE IT
Downloads
from resource
base
Links to external
resources
Help with
technical
terms
Links to advice/
supportClick any ? symbol
for more info

8. Results are displayed in your 3 top
level dials and analysed in the tables
below. The stakeholder assurance
table tracks key funder issues and
provides data for funding bids and
other reports.
Click on any number to create a
detailed report, optimised for your
priorities.
Click on a ? symbol anywhere in the
system for an explanation of what it
does, how to use it and how it will
help you.
USING YOUR
INTERACTIVE DASHBOARD
2 CLICKS TO REACH EVERYTHING
Click any ?
symbol for
more info

9. Make planning simple by clicking
Export to download your report,
as an action plan.
REPORTS
ACTION PLANS & RESOURCES
Click any ‘eye’
symbol to display
resource links.
Use Help for links to
free goods/services
and people to help you.
Download
Action Plan

10. Resources/External Links –
toolkits, templates, checklists,
policies and guides.
Help – pro bono, consultancy,
training, software/hardware,
consumer goods, office/meeting
space, fundraising platforms and
much more.
Help – secondments, mentoring,
advisers & advice lines, charity
social media networking groups
and e-mail alerts.
There are so many, the system
finds the ones you need, so you
don’t have to.
Click on the one you want to bring
it up on screen.
FREE RESOURCES
4000+ LINKS

11. Save time carrying out routine
management checks and answering
ad hoc queries, by creating your
own reports, using the 100 query
criteria, and exporting an action plan.
You can assess not only activities
such as financial management and
data protection, but also ‘soft’
issues, such as decision making and
wellbeing, for one or more groups
of people.
QUERY SYSTEM
SAVING YOU TIME
Use the query
menu to select
multiple criteria
Select ‘Any’ or
‘All’ to filter your
query results
Click to export any
report as an action plan

12. The Quality Mark provides
demonstrable evidence to funders
and others of your commitment
to excellence, and the dashboard
Assurance table, data for funding
bids and reports. There’s no
additional workload.
You can also add additional users to
help you and enable them to benefit
from its capabilities and extensive
resources.
Join our community at
www.charityexcellence.co.uk
It’s free and works for any UK non-
profit, including Scottish, Northern
Irish and UK based international
charities, and CICs.
QUALITY MARK &
ADDITIONAL USERS
ASSURANCE FOR FUNDERS
Quality mark progressAdditional users

13. “The Charity Excellence Framework asks questions that make you think,
.....and, crucially, provides resources to support the charity’s continued
drive for excellence. I recommend it to all charities”.
The Bumblebee Conservation Trust
www.charityexcellence.co.uk