The Toolkit — free, open-access, board-ready
Built for the organizations that need it most.
97% of U.S. charitable nonprofits operate on budgets under $5 million (National Council of Nonprofits, 2019), a scale at which dedicated safeguarding staff is rarely possible. All four tools are free under CC BY 4.0 — adopt them, adapt them to your context, and share them.
New: score the self-assessment in your browser. All 30 indicators, with live domain subtotals and your score band. Nothing is submitted or stored. Open the interactive self-assessment →
Organizational Safeguarding Policy Template
A board-ready policy a small nonprofit can adapt without outside help: a code of conduct adapting all six IASC Core Principles; sections on screening, training, reporting channels, response, partner flow-down, and board accountability; and an appendix mapping every section to published standards. Sections 1–3 are the minimum viable policy for a very small, all-volunteer organization; Sections 4–9 complete the whole-of-organization system.
→ Download the PDF · Word version and citation on the Zenodo record
Safeguarding Self-Assessment
Thirty indicators across six domains, keyed to published standards, with scoring bands that turn a raw count into a starting point. No registration, no data collection — score it internally and keep the results.
→ Complete it in your browser · download the PDF · Word version on the Zenodo record
Adopter Feedback Form
Fifteen to twenty minutes that shape the next published version: what your organization used, what it adopted, what needed adaptation, and what was wrong for your state, size, or population. Complete it in your own copy and email it back — the form can be returned anonymously.
→ Download the PDF · Word version (easier to complete on screen) on the Zenodo record
Safeguarding Training Outlines
Three sessions your own staff deliver — no external facilitator required: a 60-minute orientation for all personnel, a 45-minute annual refresher, and a 90-minute session for those who receive and respond to reports. Timed segment by segment, with the discussion prompts written out.
→ Download the PDF · Word version and citation on the Zenodo record
How to adopt (self-directed)
- Start with the self-assessment — it tells you where to start.
- Establish the Policy Template’s Sections 1–3: one board meeting and one staff orientation, using only the published guides.
- Run the training outlines internally, in your own words, on your own schedule.
- Send structured feedback using Tool 3 — what worked, what broke, what your context required. Feedback from adopting organizations directly informs sector-level research and the next published revision.
Early adopters
Organizations adopting the tools on a self-directed basis are invited to join the project’s early-adopter research cohort by contributing structured feedback. Cohort experience is reflected — in aggregate or with written consent — in published research.
All materials are free. The project does not sell tools, training, or consulting; feedback from adopters informs published, sector-level research.