Tag: Charity Governing Document

Finding New Trustees

How to find new trustees

Who to recruit

Recruit trustees who have the experience and skills your charity needs. They need to be interested in the charity’s work and be willing to give their time to help run it.

Being a trustee takes commitment. Don’t appoint trustees because of their status or position in the community alone – these people may be better as patrons.

How many trustees to recruit

Your charity’s governing document may say how many trustees you should have and how they are appointed.

Legal requirement: you must follow your governing document’s rules when recruiting trustees.

Aim for a minimum of three unconnected trustees with a good range of skills. You need enough trustees to govern the charity effectively. It’s also important to keep your board small enough to arrange meetings easily and allow effective discussion and decision making.

How to encourage people to apply

To attract a broader range of trustees – including young people – you could:

try recruitment methods other than word of mouth, such as social media, advertising or trustee recruitment websites
encourage people who already support your charity, for example as volunteers, to become trustees
approach local universities or colleges and their student unions

Remove any barriers that could stop someone from being a trustee, for example by:

keeping board papers (particularly financial information) short and easy to understand
translating documents or providing accessible formats
making it clear that trustees can claim reasonable expenses, including help with travel and childcare
holding meetings at venues that are accessible for people with disabilities
having meetings at times that don’t exclude people who are working or have caring responsibilities
giving everyone a chance to contribute to discussions at meetings

If you ask someone who benefits from the charity to become a trustee, you must manage potential conflicts of interest if they will continue to receive those benefits.

Making Decisions At A Charity

Charity Commission on Twitter: "Are you making sound decisions as #CharityTrustees? Find out how to fulfil your legal responsibilities and record the decisions you make: https://t.co/4b10voJw8s #ThursdayMotivation # Charity… https://t.co/UBbwRCSX07" Find out about making valid trustee decisions that are in your charity’s best interests by clicking on the numbered links below.

It is important to follow these steps when making significant or strategic decisions, such as those affecting the charity’s beneficiaries, assets or future direction. The Charity Commission doesn’t expect trustees to follow them step-by-step for minor decisions

These are the standards that the courts have developed for reviewing decisions made by trustees. Trustees must:

act within their powers
act in good faith and only in the interests of the charity
make sure they are sufficiently informed
take account of all relevant factors
ignore any irrelevant factors
manage conflicts of interest
make decisions that are within the range of decisions that a reasonable trustee body could make

They must be able to show how they have followed these principles.

Charity Group AGM sample agenda

The aim of the AGM is to provide the charity trustees and/or officers the opportunity to explain their management of the charity to the members. It also provides the members of the charity with an opportunity to ask questions before voting on business items on the agenda.

The business that must be considered by the AGM will usually be specified in the governing document or by underlying legislation. However, the charity trustees can include any other additional items of business they feel appropriate.

Specimen notice for an Annual General Meeting for an unincorporated association:

Note: If you use this example, you will need to insert details about your charity and its named personnel, and your particular AGM meeting in the square brackets [] and those named here in red.

[Name of Charity]

Notice of Meeting

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the [15th] Annual General Meeting of [Name of Charity] will be held at [insert full address details] at [insert time and date] to transact the following business.

AGENDA [delete as required]

1. Minutes of the previous meeting

To be agreed and matters arising.

2. Reports and accounts

To receive and consider the accounts for the year ended [date] and the reports of the charity trustees and auditors.

3. Auditors

To appoint Messrs Search and Checkit as the auditors.

4. Auditors’ remuneration

To authorise the charity trustees to set the level of the auditors’ fees.

5. Appointment of charity trustees

Please see the attached election addresses for further information about each candidate.

To re-appoint Mr I Dogood for a second period of [insert number] years.

To re-appoint Miss I Could Dobetter for a second period of [insert number] years.

To appoint Mr I M Knowitall as a replacement for Mrs I Mustgo who retires after [insert number] years service.

To confirm the appointment of Mrs G Benevolent who joined the Board on the [insert date] to replace Mr I Movedon.

[Nominations are required for the following officers [insert details] and must be received by [date].]

[Nominations for the position of Trustee must be received by [date].]

[NB details of how to make a nomination are available from the Secretary.]

6. Alteration to the Constitution

To consider and vote upon the following resolution.

That clause [insert details] of the [details of governing document] be amended to read [insert text of resolution].

7. Members proposed resolutions

Details will be given once proposed resolutions are received. Proposed resolutions should be sent to the Secretary by [noon] [14 days prior to the date of the meeting]. A revised agenda will be issued by [7 days prior to the meeting].

8. Any other business

To deal with any matters raised at the meeting.

By order of the Board of charity trustees

[insert name]

Secretary

[insert date of notice]

You can find the online version of this Sample Agenda here

Selling or Leasing Charity Property

Image result for selling charity property There may be various reasons for disposing of your charity land. You may, for example, want to relocate the charity to more appropriate premises or release some cash that you can apply to other projects.

Before you start, you and the other trustees must be sure that:

you have permission to sell or lease the property – either in your governing document or in the law
there is nothing in your governing document that prevents you selling or leasing the property
your charity actually owns the title to the property
the sale or lease is in the charity’s best interests
if the property is designated for a particular purpose, such as a recreation ground, that the sale or lease doesn’t go against this

It’s usually straightforward to sell or lease charity land and property – most charities don’t need Charity Commission approval. You must try to get the best deal for your charity and follow any rules in the law and your governing document.

More detailed information can be found here

For free property advice, guidance and workshops visit the Ethical Property Foundation

Merging Charities?

Image result for merging charities The merger of charities means two or more separate charities coming together to form one organisation. In such cases, either a new charity is formed to carry on the work or take on the assets of the original charities or one charity assumes control of another.

Before you start, decide whether merging is in your charity’s interests. It could be less risky and more efficient to work with another charity more informally. You should read the Charity Commission’s guidance on collaborative working, making mergers succeed and its mergers checklist.

When thinking about a merger, you must make sure that:

the governing documents of the charities involved allow the merger
all the charities involved have similar aims

Tips for successful mergers

The merger should be in the best interests of the charities’ beneficiaries
The charities involved must be compatible in objects, culture and values
Effective communication with all stakeholders from the outset is vital – processes and outcomes should be clear to all involved
The charities’ trustees should be united in believing that the merger is the best way forward
Identify the key roles and responsibilities in the merger process
Communicate and negotiate in a way that reflects the interests of all parties
Contact the Charity Commission at an early stage if advice is needed

Charity Trustees and Liability

About corporate structures

Some charity structures are corporate bodies. If you choose a structure that forms a corporate body, the law considers your charity to be a person in the same way as an individual.

This gives your charity the legal capacity to do many things in its own name that a person can do, such as:

employing paid staff
delivering charitable services under contractual agreements
entering into commercial contracts in its own name
owning freehold or leasehold land or other property

If a charity structure is a corporate body, generally its trustees aren’t personally liable for what it does.

If your charity isn’t a corporate body (‘unincorporated’):

the trustees are personally liable for what it does
it won’t be able to enter into contracts or control some investments in its own name
two or more trustees, a corporate custodian trustee or the charities’ land holding service will have to ‘hold’ any land on your charity’s behalf

More information can be found here

Spring Newsletter 2018

Our Spring Newsletter should have arrived with you by post – if it hasn’t please let us know by emailing us here, or download it here:

Newsletter Spring 2018

In this edition we cover HMRC Rates and Threshold Changes, Independent Examination of Accounts, Charity Governing Document, Claiming Tax Back on Donations, Gift Aid