Induction of Trustees

Induction of Trustees

People become trustees of charities for many different reasons: they may be passionate about a particular cause, looking to use their professional skills or considering their own development and have a wish to volunteer.

For the charity, trustees are a vital part of an organisation, ensuring the vision and strategy of the charity are clearly defined and articulated in all its activities.

Trustees also safeguard the charity’s assets and funds and support the work of the staff to whom they delegate the day to day running of the charity. So, if a trustee is to be effective, it is vital that they should get to know and then understand their charity, which is why the induction process is so important for all new trustees.

Key elements of the induction process

1. Understanding your legal duties

‘The Essential Trustee’ (guidance document, CC3, from the Charity Commission) explains the key duties of all trustees of charities in England and Wales, with similar guidance being available from OSCR for trustees of Scottish charities.

The full document, CC3 can be found via the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/theessential-trustee-what-you-need-to-know-cc3

The main duties of a trustee as stated in The Essential Trustee are to:

• Ensure your charity is carrying out its purposes for the public benefit.
• Comply with your charity’s governing document and the law.
• Act in your charity’s best interests.
• Manage your charity’s resources responsibly.
• Act with reasonable care and skill.
• Ensure your charity is accountable.

2. Read and understand your charity’s governing document

Every trustee must receive a copy of the charity’s governing document and understand what their charity can legally do, its purpose and its structure, considering:

• Is it a charitable company or charitable incorporated organisation (CIO), or an unincorporated trust, for example? And, what do these different structures mean?
• Who are the charity’s members?

Download issue two of our 'Revive, Refocus, Rebuild – The journey back to better' guide here to find out more…

Would you like to know more?

If you have any queries regarding what we cover in our guide, please get in touch with your usual contact or email charities@azets.co.uk.