A project charter is a document that sets out the purpose of the project and is therefore both a common reference point throughout the lifecycle of the project and an aid to communication.
The aim of the charter is to act as an approval point for the project and remain a focus point throught the lifecycle of the project to ensure the project does not have scope creep. At a high level the charter contains the reason for doing the project, the scope, stakeholders and a communication plan. Often it is a written document with a set layout. It is a good idea to have all of an organisation’s projects in the same format. This aids executives when it comes to agreeing the outcomes of the project as they know what to expect. It is therefore a good idea to use a standard template for all projects. I have found a number of free project charter templates which you can download and use. Just follow the links below. After the links to the free templates I have also included further information which may help you produce a really good charter.
Project Charter Templates
Project Charter (single page) by projectmanagementdocs.com
Project Charter (multiple pages) by projectmanagementdocs.com
Project Charter in word by Microsoft
Project Charter by consulting.ky
Project Charter by theicpm.com
Project Charter Snapshot by Cornell University
Project Charter by Cornell University
Project Charter by entrepreneur.com
Further Resources
A really good article on the questions to ask when developing a charter by webstyleguide.com
How to write a charter by wikihow.com
A great article on how to write a better charter by projecttimes.com
How to write a charter by ehow.com
What is a charter by brighthub.com
The benefits of writing a charter by Saverio Losito
Charter explained on Wikipedia.org
Another Project Charter Template to add, this one is a 1 Pager: http://www.hitdocs.com/one-page-project-charter-pptx/