Meetings and Decisions

This section is for recording the decisions a charity's trustees make. The trustees of every charity are responsible for running it in accordance with its governing document and the law. The Charity Commission expects trustees of charities of all sizes to keep a proper record of what they decide and why. Minutes and written resolutions are that record.

How do trustees make and record decisions?

Most trustee decisions are taken at board meetings and recorded in minutes. Where the governing document allows it, trustees can also decide matters in writing without meeting, which is useful for routine or urgent business. Trustees can delegate day-to-day matters, for example signing authority or the work of a committee, but they remain responsible for the decisions taken under that delegation and should record the terms of it.

Which section do I need?

The three sections are organised by legal structure, because the formalities differ. Charitable Company Meetings and Decisions is for a charitable company limited by guarantee, whose trustees are also directors and whose minutes must satisfy company law. CIO Meetings and Decisions is for a charitable incorporated organisation and also includes a written resolution for its members. Unincorporated Charity and Trust Meetings and Decisions is for an unincorporated charitable association or a charitable trust, where good records matter all the more because the trustees act in their own names.

Each section contains standard meeting minutes, trustees' written resolutions, minutes for appointing a committee and delegating signing authority and minutes for adopting policies such as a business continuity plan or a code of conduct. The policies themselves are in the Trustees, Members and Governing Rules and Records, Reporting and Compliance sections.

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