In the run-up to this general election, it matters what your charity says, and how much it spends on saying it. The Electoral Commission chose the day after Theresa May called our snap 2017 general election to announce fines on Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace for breaking campaigning rules during the 2015 General Election. They were fined for exceeding the spending limits on their joint 'Coastal Champions' boat tour and on an anti-fracking poster campaign. They are the first …

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You may not have been waiting with bated breath for the House of Lords to produce its report “Stronger Charities for a Stronger Society”, but here it is, all 156 pages, published for weekend reading on Sunday 26th March 2017 - and usefully summarised for you here. Is this of any real practical use to you and your trustees? - Answer “YES.” Even is yours is (almost) the smallest of small charities? - Answer “YES.” The report is …

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If so, you may not be alone! A charity CEO complains of being driven out of the third sector by “Victorian attitudes” among charity trustees - just as the draft of a new Charity Governance Code is published. Co-incidence or serendipity? Everyone starts out with the best of intentions, but... Are your trustee boards like those the CEO describes, “wracked by internal politics, conflicts, power struggles and competing agendas” with “a general lack of professionalism that is staggering”? Is yours …

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You could be forgiven for thinking that recruiting a new trustee for your charity is a pretty straight-forward process. Happily you would be largely correct!  But do watch out for some legal pitfalls. Take time and be careful, as illegal or unconstitutional trustees will cause your charity serious problems. Getting it right in the first place Your starting point must be your charity’s governing document.  Check:

• any maximum and minimum number of trustees
• who can appoint them and how - …

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Troublesome trustees cross my desk only too often.

Maybe there would be fewer troublesome trustees if more charity trustee boards adopted a Trustees’ Code of Conduct. How about yours?

Clarity and accountability

With a Code of Conduct, your trustees could spend less time and energy in trying to resolve trustee issues or even in removing  troublesome trustees. So you can get on with your primary function of safeguarding and directing the future of your charity.

Your Trustee Code of Conduct …

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Are you back at your desk now after your holidays?

Well it may not be spring, but this is still the perfect time to tidy up all those pesky loose ends at your charity.

Post-holiday dynamism

The only time many of us clear our in-tray is the day before we go holiday.

But a good time to shift those tasks that haven’t even made it to your in-tray is on your return to work after a long hot summer, full …

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Are you doing a good job as a charity trustee?  Well then, you'll surely have these seven critical ingredients of charity governance in place already!

1. Evaluating your trustee board

Appraisals for staff are common-place and need no justification.

Individual trustees and trustee boards are no different. Objective evaluation of a board of trustees should happen once a year.

Anyone arguing to the contrary is either complacent or reluctant to face the truth! An essential of strong governance.

2. Limiting …

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What would you think of a profession - doctors, lawyers, accountants, therapists, beauticians whatever -  that had no requirement for Continuing Professional Development (CPD)? 

Even more, what would you think if that profession had absolutely no entry qualifications whatsoever ?

Not much of a profession, more likely to be a shambles?

Taking trusteeship seriously

Nowadays charity trustees are expected to act as professionals.

Whether you realise it or not,  by becoming a charity trustee you immediately and  personally become subject …

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