Welcome to the Academy

The digital training Academy for Charities, Groups and Voluntary Organisations is built by the voluntary sector, for the voluntary sector.

Created by Dorset Community Action, our Training Academy combines live and pre-recorded talks, workshops and networking. Containing a variety of free and premium training modules from short “top tips” to longer conversations with experts, the Academy covers a wide range of subjects to benefit your Organisation, all accessible at a time that suits you. Creating a free account will allow you to access content.

Events, masterclasses, consultancy bookings and more

Your one-stop shop

6 Modules: 11 topic areas to choose from

Here are the collections of resources by topic

Meet the team

Community Training Consultant

Caro Hart

Caro is an experienced third-sector trainer, manager and Trustee. She has been working with DCA since May 2021. Caro has been involved in VCSE organisations from grass-roots groups to large international charities - and has run her own social enterprise. She has been a trainer, mentor and coach for most of that time. Her specialisms are planning and governance, although she can turn her hand to anything. She has lead on the development of the Academy. For more information, please see her Linkedin profile at https://www.linkedin.com/in/carohartmbafrsa/

Community Advisor (Projects & Engagement)

Julie Johns

Julie Johns MBE joined the DCA team as a Community Advisor for Projects and Engagements in December 2022. Julie has worked in the charitable sector for 20 years, first as a charity Co-founder and CEO setting up an arts-based charity supporting those affected by domestic abuse to overcome trauma through the arts. Through this, Julie gained extensive experience of the challenges of the voluntary sector, managing a charity and fundraising. After 10 years Julie felt it was time to take a step back, whilst volunteering for a local art therapy charity. This led to working part-time as a project manager and fundraiser. Simultaneously Julie set up a sole-trading business, Safe Space Consultancy, to continue her work to raise awareness of domestic abuse through offering CPD accredited training provision to all sectors on awareness of domestic abuse and related topics such as stalking and harassment. In 2019 Julie was awarded an MBE for her work over the years supporting people suffering from domestic abuse and to charity. See more about Julie at her Linkedin profile; https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-johns-mbe-5362aab8/

Operations Manager

Paula Bennetts

FAQ

Your questions answered

  • How do I use the Academy?

    You will have to do a short sign-up process using your name and email to access the Academy. This is free and we keep your data safe (You can download our privacy policy below.) All of the courses and resources have been divided into 11 subject areas or module, which you can see above. These gather the relevant courses in a handy folder. You can also search or browse All of the courses and resources or look at just the Live events and courses. Once you have found an interesting course, you can click on it to see the details. Each course page will also suggest other linked material so that you can see what's next.

  • How do I take a course?

    If you like what you see, you click on the "purchase now" or "sign up now" button to register for the course. Once you have done that, the courses will appear on your dashboard (which you can access from the top bar) and you can access the details at anytime.

  • How do I find what I need?

    You can search within each module or All of the courses and resources. The search is done by the title of the course, so you may have to think of other ways of describing what you need. Alternatively on the left is a navigation bar which presents the courses by topic area, level, price and so on to make it easier to find what you need.

  • What are some common search terms?

    - Funding, also known as income generation, raising money, bids - Trustee, use governance, board, meetings, leading, oversight, roles and responsibilities - Financial is linked to auditor, budget, core cost - Policies you might also search for risk, safeguarding, governance - Marketing includes stakeholders, communications, social media, stories - Business plans can also be planning, strategic, management

  • What will it cost?

    The courses on the Academy are competitively priced ranging from just £5 for a Top Tip to £32 for a longer course. There are templates and models cost from £2 to £25. Masterclasses, some events and interactive workshops are priced individually.

  • How can I reduce the cost?

    If you were to buy all the courses on the Academy, it would cost more than £800. You have the option to take an Individual subscription which is £9 pcm for unlimited access to all courses - there are cheaper options if this is purchased in a lump sum. We also have an organisational subscription where you pay for your people to have access. If you look at the top of each page, there are links to both of these.

  • How long are the courses?

    The pre-recorded courses range from about 5 minutes to an hour. The live events may be longer, but we try to keep the online courses compact. In-person courses or events booked through the Academy may be longer.

  • What level are the courses?

    The courses start at an introductory level - introducing key concepts. This includes "Taster" courses which are suitable for all and give a flavour of a subject and then there are intermediate and expert level courses. Each course will tell you who it is suitable for.

  • How do I sign on for the live courses and events?

    Live online courses are delivered via Zoom. You do not need to download anything to use a Zoom link as it is web-based. For live events, you can go to your dashboard, pick the courses and click on the Zoom link that is there. We will usually send you an email (to the address you used to sign up) with the Zoom link on the morning of a live course.

DCA Membership

Membership costs just £45 per year for most organisations, unless you operate out of County or are a Statutory Body. Members get free ACRE factsheets, extra FUNDING bulletins and access to our exclusive ‘Members Area’, so why not sign up today and start benefiting your organisation!

Click here to read more about our Membership offering on the DCA website