Free Resources

Free Charity Editorial Style Guide Template

Does your charity write 'Trustee' in one document and 'trustee' in the next?
Do different team members refer to the people you support in different ways?
Does every new joiner have to guess at your house style?

A style guide fixes all of that – and this template makes it straightforward to create one, even if you've never written one before.

The template covers everything from tone of voice and capitalisation to how you write numbers, handle social media and refer to beneficiaries. It's an editable Word document with clear prompts throughout, so you can work through it at your own pace and end up with something genuinely useful.

It's completely free. No sign-up, no catch – just click the download button below and make it your own.

If you do use it, I'd love to know – there's a short form below if you'd like to say hello. But no obligation at all.

Found it useful? If your charity needs proofreading, editing or communications support, take a look at how I work or get in touch.

Free Plain English Swap Sheet

Charity communications are full of words that have stopped meaning anything.

'Going forward.' 'Leveraging synergies.' 'Delivering outcomes for beneficiaries.' 'Facilitating co-production with underrepresented stakeholders.' It creeps in gradually – from board reports, from funders, from sector-wide habit – until one day you read back a piece of your own writing and it sounds like it was written by a committee rather than a person.

The Plain English Swap Sheet is a single-page reference you can pin up, share with your team, or keep open while you write. It covers four areas where jargon tends to cluster: corporate speak, charity and sector terminology, verbs and action words, and diversity, equity and inclusion language – with plain English alternatives for each one.

It won't write your communications for you. But it will stop you reaching for the lazy phrase when a better one is right there.

Free to download. No sign-up needed.

And as with all language guidance – particularly in the DEI section – these are starting points, not rules. The people you work with and for should always have the final say on how they're described.

Looking for more than a reference sheet? If your charity's communications need a more thorough overhaul – whether that's a full style guide, a publications edit, or ongoing writing support, take a look at how I work or get in touch.