The Charity Commission have recently developed a “Welcome Pack” for new charity trustees to explain their responsibilities. This forms part of the Commission’s drive to improve governance in the sector and in particular to ensure that Trustees’ carry out their oversight role effectively. The pack will be emailed to all new charity trustees for whom email addresses are provided.
The new trustees welcome pack contents
The pack is a brief introduction to the subject and does not go into detail on any of its recommendations. Instead, it seeks to draw out main lessons and provide links to further guidance on the issues below:
- Take time to understand your charity, including its aims and activities, finances and legal basis including the governing document
- Make sure you give enough time to the role, including attending trustee meetings
- Handle conflicts of interest in an appropriate fashion
- Understand your main duties as a trustee as set out in Charity Commission guidance, and in particular
- Ensure your charity carries out its activities to achieve a public benefit
- Comply with the governing document and the law
- Always act in the best interests of the charity
- Manage resources responsibly
- Act with reasonable skill and care
- Ensure your charity is accountable
- Make sure your charity complies with relevant filing requirements
- Act promptly and responsibly if things go wrong
This brief publication forms a useful guide to the new trustee and dare I say it to some of us who have been trustees for quite some time!
Download your copy of the trustees welcome pack here.
For further guidance on the contents of the welcome pack, contact Richard Snelling for further guidance on the above at rsnelling@menzies.co.uk or call 01784 497100.