The board of trustees of every charity is responsible for the governance of their charity, and it must run it in a way that complies with the charity's governing document (constitution) and all relevant charity law and other applicable laws. For this purpose, all charities should adopt and implement policies and procedures that will help ensure that they meet applicable legal, regulatory and governance requirements.
Which template documents are included in this group?
There are a variety of formal policy documents in this group which a charity might adopt. They cover a wide range of subject matter including safeguarding, internal financial controls, reimbursement of expenses of trustees, employees and volunteers, volunteer home working, trustee conflicts of interest, fundraising whistleblowing, and grant making. There are also templates containing procedures for making complaints to a charity.
This group also has a range of template board minutes and resolutions designed to assist trustees to document and administer routine and specific measures in a suitably detailed and unambiguous way.
Why should my charity use these templates?
It would be prudent to ensure that your charity makes use of those document templates that are applicable to it. This is because, in relation to certain policies, adoption of a formal policy document in each case is either recommended/required by the Charity Commission, or is considered generally to be best practice.
In relation to both policy templates and template resolutions/minutes, they can assist trustee boards to meet a number of legal or governance requirements or governance recommendations.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which policies is our charity actually required to have? +
There is no single statutory list. What exists is a web of Charity Commission expectations: some policies are effectively required for charities with particular activities, safeguarding where you work with children or vulnerable people, internal financial controls for everyone, and the annual return asks trustees to confirm which policies they hold. Treat safeguarding, financial controls, conflicts of interest and expenses as the core set. This group provides templates for each, scaled for smaller charities.
What are we personally responsible for as trustees? +
The Charity Commission's guidance sets out six duties: ensure the charity carries out its purposes for the public benefit, comply with the governing document and the law, act in the charity's best interests, manage resources responsibly, act with reasonable care and skill and ensure the charity is accountable. Personal liability is rare when trustees act honestly and reasonably. The policies and minutes in this group are how boards evidence those duties in practice.
Is the Charity Governance Code something we legally have to follow? +
No, it is a voluntary code. It reflects the legal duties in the Commission's essential trustee guidance and adds practical standards boards adopt on an apply or explain basis. Funders and larger partners increasingly ask whether you follow it, so adopting it signals credibility even though no law requires it. A sensible route for a small charity is to adopt the core policies in this group first, then benchmark against the Code as you grow.
How formally do trustees need to record their decisions? +
Formally enough that a stranger could reconstruct what was decided, by whom and why. For charitable companies, minutes of trustee board meetings are a statutory requirement and must be kept for ten years. CIOs and unincorporated charities are governed by their constitutions, which almost always require minutes, and the Commission expects decision records from every charity. This group provides board minutes and resolutions templates matched to each of the three structures.
When do we have to report something that has gone wrong to the Charity Commission? +
When it is a serious incident: an actual or alleged event risking significant harm to people connected with the charity, significant loss of money or assets or significant damage to property or reputation. Trustees should report promptly and explain how they are handling it; safeguarding incidents may also need reporting to the police. Adopt thresholds and an escalation route in advance, deciding during a crisis goes badly. The policy templates here support that preparation.
