To mark this year's Trustees' Week, the Charity Commission has published a new range of 5 minute guides for charity trustees, covering the subjects of:
- financial oversight
- achieving a charity’s purposes
- good decision making
- addressing conflicts of interest
- what to file with the Commission and what support is available
For a long time now, many trustees have complained of the length and complexity of Commission guidance, so the addition of these short guides for busy trustees to the collection of Commission materials is certainly to be welcomed.
The new guides are meant to cover the “core syllabus” of information that trustees need to know – so it is important to emphasise that they are only intended as a starting point. However, further key reading is signposted well from the new short guides, so they make a very good starting point.
The Fundraising Regulator, meanwhile, has made available a new free webinar, aiming to help charity trustees better to understand their role in relation to fundraising and the responsibilities they hold.
It may be particularly useful for those considering becoming a trustee, or those who have just become a trustee – and the regulator emphasises that charities are welcome to use the material as part of their new trustee induction process or board training on fundraising.
The video runs to just 12 minutes, and includes the option of subtitles / closed captions. Again, it is only a starting point for the necessary deeper understanding of trustees' duties in relation to fundraising, but a good and accessible starting point.