New “5-minute guides” From the Charity Commission 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 "5-minute 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:

• financial oversight - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/managing-charity-finances - Find out how to make sure that your charity’s money is safe, properly used and accounted for.
• achieving a charity’s purposes - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/charity-purposes-and-rules - Find out about the rules you must follow to govern your charity.
• good decision making - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/making-decisions-at-a-charity - Find out about making valid trustee decisions that are in your charity’s best interests.
• addressing conflicts of interest - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/managing-conflicts-of-interest-in-a-charity - Find out how to identify and deal with conflicts of interest in your charity.
• what to file with the Commission and what support is available - Find out what your charity must send to the Commission and what services to use to help you get things right.

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 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.

Helen Stephenson CBE, Chief Executive of the Charity Commission, said: 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.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/regulators-new-5-minute-guides-will-support-charity-trustees-to-meet-duties