1. Impact and the trustee’s role
Neal Green, Senior Policy Advisor - 1

2. Impact… Impact = difference Difference can be positive or negative
So what difference do you want your charity to make?
What difference do you want to make to your charity?
Impact links to charities’ purposes and public benefit
So the Commission is interested 5

3. We could focus on the negative3

4. I’d rather focus on the positive3

5. Top Tips for Trustees
Understand your role – you are there to govern, direct, lead!
Know your duties, make sure your charity complies
Ask ‘dumb’ and ‘awkward’ questions!
Compliance need not stifle innovation
Risk = opportunity – what’s your appetite? 5

6. The Essential Trustee (CC3)5

7. Ensure your charity is carrying out its purposes It’s about knowing:
what your charity can and can’t do within its purposes
how your charity is fulfilling its purposes and benefiting the public
what difference your charity is really making 5

8. Comply with your charity’s governing document and the law
It’s about being:
familiar with your governing document
up to date with filing accounts, returns and any changes to your charity’s registration details
aware of other laws that apply to your charity
It’s not about being:
an expert - but you do need to take reasonable
steps to find out 5

9. Act only in your charity’s best interests It’s about:
making balanced, informed decisions
recognising & dealing with conflicts of interest
ensuring trustee benefits are allowed
being prepared to question and challenge
accepting majority decisions
It’s not about:
preserving the charity for its own sake
serving personal interests 5

10. Manage your charity’s resources responsibly It’s about
managing risks, protecting assets (reputation) and people
getting the resources your charity needs
having and following appropriate controls and procedures
dealing with land and buildings
responsibility for, and to, staff and volunteers 5

11. Act with reasonable care and skill It’s about:
using your skills and experience
deciding when you need advice
preparing for meetings
getting the information you need (financial, management)
being prepared in case something does go wrong 5

12. Ensure your charity is accountable It’s about:
meeting legal accounting and reporting requirements
being able to show that your charity complies with the law and is effective
being accountable to members and others with an interest in the charity
ensuring that staff and volunteers are accountable to the board
welcoming accountability as an opportunity
not a burden 5

13. Putting it into practice
Pick one duty that:
your charity is really good at
you think you need to work on
you need to ask more questions about 5

14. What often goes wrong? Not knowing governing document
Not understanding the finances
Not ensuring controls & procedures work
Not asking difficult questions
Not challenging conflicts of interest
Not challenging dominance
Not following decision-making principles
Not filing accounts & annual report
Not meeting account/ annual report standards 6

15. It’s your decision (CC27)
Decision making principles
It’s your decision (CC27)
Within your powers?
Acting in good faith and only in the interests of the charity?
Sufficiently informed?
Taken account of all relevant factors?
Disregarded any irrelevant factors?
Dealt with conflicts of interest?
Within the range of decisions a reasonable trustee body could make in circumstances?
Record it! 5

16. Decision making ‘Pinch points’ for SUs
Controversial/extremist speakers, academic freedom and ‘no platform’ policy
Campaigns
Members’ resolutions vs trustees’ duties
Member societies
Follow the decision making principles!
How does it fit with the charity’s purposes and their boundaries?
Have policies in place 5

17. 15 Questions you need to ask!

18. Managing risk
Birth of a charity (RS29) – 2012 5

19. Risk management principles
What could possibly go wrong?
How bad?
How likely?
Avoid it completely? What is the opportunity cost?
Transfer it (get someone else to do it)?
Insure against it?
Manage it with controls, policies and procedures?
Live with it?
When did we last look at this? 5

20. Impact – just a thought 1. Starting with what you do:
Think about what you do (activities)
Try to work out what difference it makes
Try to think of ways of counting/measuring that
2. Starting with what impact you want to have (turn it around):
Look at your charitable purposes
What difference do you want to make?
How would you know if you had achieved it?
How could you achieve that difference?
What activities would support that (and are you doing them now)?
What resources do you need? 5

21. On the gov.uk Charity Commission pages: CC3: the Essential Trustee
Essential Reading
On the gov.uk Charity Commission pages:
CC3: the Essential Trustee
15 Questions You Should Ask
Managing a Charity’s Finances (CC12)
It’s Your Decision (CC27)
Public benefit: an overview
Make sure we have your (CC news)
Also – Association of Chairs, NCVO, CFG etc 5

22. Any questions?
@chtycommission