The Charity Commission has launched a new set of
simple, easy to understand guides to help trustees.
The Charity Commission, the charity regulator for England and
Wales, has launched a new set of simple, easy to understand
guides, designed to help trustees run their charities in line
with the law.
The new guides cover five key aspects of charity management - a
‘core syllabus’ covering the basics that the regulator expects
all trustees to be aware of.
They explain the basics of:
This ‘gateway’ level guidance will make it easier and quicker for
all trustees to check what is expected and to find more detailed
information if needed, which is all the more important as
charities respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Commission’s
research and testing with trustees have helped shape their design
and content.
The publications come as part of the Commission’s programme,
outlined in its 2020/21 Business Plan,
to deliver updated core guidance and an improved website, so that
it is easier for trustees, who are overwhelmingly unpaid
volunteers, to access the information they need. This is in line
with the Commission’s strategic priority of ensuring trustees
have the tools and understanding they need to succeed, and
helping them maximise the difference they make.
The new tools have been launched to coincide with Trustees’ Week, the
annual celebration of charity trustees and the contribution they
make to society.
Helen Stephenson CBE, Chief Executive of the Charity Commission,
said:
Volunteer trustees are the bedrock of the charity sector.
Without their commitment and dedication charity would simply
not be possible. When I started at the Commission, I said our
guidance and advice needed to become more available and
accessible to trustees, to help them deliver on the causes they
support and champion. These new 5 minute guides are an
important milestone in our delivery on that promise.
The Commission stresses that whilst the guides may be basic, they
are designed to serve the needs of experienced trustees as well
as those new to the role. It says that years of experience cannot
immunise even the very best trustees from running into questions
or problems.
In a blog, Helen Stephenson
sets out how she hopes the new guides will aid trustees,
particularly as they face unprecedented challenges presented by
the pandemic.
Helen Stephenson added:
Our 5-minute guides are designed with real trustees and real
situations in mind. They recognise that good governance is not
a bureaucratic detail – it underpins the delivery of a
charity’s purposes to the high standards expected by the public
– and is all the more important in the midst of this pandemic
which is impacting civil society so heavily. I hope trustees,
both new and experienced, read and use them to help them fulfil
their charity’s purpose for the public benefit.
Trustees’ Week runs from 2-9 November 2020. More details can be
found at www.trusteesweek.org.
Ends.
Notes to editors:
- In preparing and refining the guides, the Commission has
undertaken both qualitative and quantitative user testing with
trustees, including via a representative online survey and via
targeted focus groups. It has also engaged with charity sector
bodies.
