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Intermediate · Free · Signed certificate

Running a CSR Foundation: from set-up to impact

Set up, govern and run a company's social wing so its money does real good and stands up to scrutiny.

Free for everyone in the sector

Create an account to save your progress, take the chapter quizzes and earn the certificate.

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The courseFoundations

Chapters
6
Lessons
21
Questions
140
Level
Intermediate
Duration
~3½ hours
Valid as of
September 2026
Signed certificate

What you’ll be able to do

  • Explain when a company should deliver CSR through its own foundation, and what that costs
  • Choose a legal form and plan the registrations a foundation needs, including CSR-1
  • Link the parent's CSR committee and board to the foundation's own board and policies
  • Design focused programmes with a needs assessment, a baseline and a theory of change
  • Run a grant cycle: due diligence, agreements, tranches, monitoring and exit
  • Plan money flows around the rules on unspent CSR, overheads and surplus
  • Report results, prepare for impact assessment and tell stories with consent

Syllabus

Every lesson ends with a quick check. Each chapter ends with a quiz you need 60% to pass, and the course ends with a final assessment (70% to pass).

  1. 1Chapter 1Why companies create foundationsThe ways to deliver CSR, what a foundation adds and what it costs, the three foundation models, and the link with the parent company.
  2. 2Chapter 2Setting it up: legal form and registrationsChoosing between a Section 8 company, a trust and a society, and getting the registrations a CSR foundation needs.
  3. 3Chapter 3Governance: who decides, and howThe parent's CSR committee and board, the foundation's own board, conflicts of interest, core policies and the compliance calendar.
  4. 4Chapter 4Strategy and programme designChoosing focus areas, understanding needs, building a theory of change, and budgeting multi-year programmes.
  5. 5Chapter 5Grant-making and partnershipsThe grant cycle, due diligence, agreements, monitoring, evidence, red flags, exit and capital assets.
  6. 6Chapter 6Money, reporting and peopleFund flows and unspent money, reporting and impact assessment, volunteering, stories and building the team.
  7. Final assessment and certificate20 questions · 70% to pass · unlocks when every chapter is passed