Resources
This section highlights key resources for each principle that could help deepen your understanding of what the Charity Commission requires and find specialist guidance on a particular topic.
Note: CC refers to the Charity Commission
Foundational principle
Guidance and resources
- Charity Commission’s 5-minute guides: 5-minute guides for charity trustees – GOV.UK
- Staying up to date – sign up for CC alerts: Get emails from GOV.UK
- Charted Governance Institute: trustee induction
- Charity Commission Guidance on Managing Conflicts of interest: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/conflicts-of-interest-a-guide-for-charity-trustees-cc29/conflicts-of-interest-a-guide-for-charity-trustees
- NCVO guidance on managing conflicts of interest: https://www.ncvo.org.uk/help-and-guidance/governance/making-decisions-as-a-board/managing-conflicts-of-interests/
- ICAEW’s free Trustee Training Modules: Trustee training modules | ICAEW
- Link to Charity Excellence as a good resource for policy templates Charity Excellence – Find Charity Funding, Free Help & Resources
Organisational purpose
Guidance and resources
- Charity purposes and rules – Charity Commission 5-minute guide
- CC Public benefit guidance: Public benefit: rules for charities – GOV.UK
- CC’s guide to preparing the trustee’s annual report: Prepare a charity trustees’ annual report – GOV.UK
- Understanding a ‘theory of change’ – Center for Theory of Change – Theory of Change Community
- NPC’s cycle of good impact practice: The cycle of good impact practice
- Cranfield Trust’s guidance to strategy and business planning: Charity Strategy and Business Planning | Cranfield Trust
- Cranfield Trust’s guidance to impact and evaluation: Impact and Evaluation | Cranfield Trust
Leadership
Guidance and resources
- Approach to senior staff pay: https://www.ncvo.org.uk/news-and-insights/news-index/report-inquiry-charity-senior-executive-pay-guidance-trustees-setting-remuneration/
- Guidance on board/ trustee performance reviews: CassCCE-Board-Trustee-Performance-Review-March2019.pdf; Directory of Social Change – Trustees self-assessment exercise
- NCVO guide to delegation (schemes): Delegating decisions to committees and employees | NCVO
- Association of Chairs guide to help chairs improve their performance and board effectiveness: https://associationofchairs.co.uk/resources/chairs-compass/
Ethics & openness/Culture
Guidance and resources
- Nolan Principles of Public Life: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-7-principles-of-public-life
- Charity Ethical Principles: https://www.ncvo.org.uk/help-and-guidance/running-a-charity/charity-ethical-principles/
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-charities/raising-a-concern-with-the-charity-commission-cc47
- Charity Digital Code of Practice: https://charitydigitalcode.org/
- Code of Fundraising practice: https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/code
- Charity Investment Governance Principles: https://www.cigp.org.uk/
- Whistleblowing https://www.ncvo.org.uk/help-and-guidance/safeguarding/specific-aspects/whistleblowing-speak-out/need-to-know/
- Safeguarding https://www.gov.uk/guidance/safeguarding-for-charities-and-trustees
- Charity fraud prevention https://preventcharityfraud.org.uk/resources/
Decision making
Guidance and resources
- Decision-making for charity trustees (CC27)
- Charity meetings (CC48)
- Charity Investment Governance Principles: https://www.cigp.org.uk/
- Charity Digital Code of Practice: https://charitydigital.org.uk/code-of-practice
- Guidance on board agendas/ meetings/ minutes, e.g. Charity Trustee Meetings and Minutes & Agenda Templates
- NCVO guide to delegation (schemes): Delegating decisions to committees and employees | NCVO
Managing resources and risk
Guidance and resources
- Internal financial controls for charities: protect your charity from fraud and loss (CC8)
- Improving your charity’s finances (CC12)
- CC guidance on requirements regarding accounting records and reporting Charity reporting and accounting: the essentials November 2016 (CC15d) – GOV.UK
- Charity reserves: building resilience (CC19)
- Charity fundraising: a guide to trustee duties (CC20)
- Charities and risk management (CC26) – GOV.UK
- CC guidance on social media Charities and social media – GOV.UK
- CC guidance on AI Charities and Artificial Intelligence – Charity Commission
- CC guidance on trading subsidiaries Charities and trading – GOV.UK and Trustees trading and tax: how charities may lawfully trade – GOV.UK
- https://cfg.org.uk/membership/charity_membership/charity_finance_for_small_charities_guides/essential_charity_finance_for_trustees
- https://cfg.org.uk/resources/trusteeguide
- Association of Chairs guide on financial leadership in small charities https://associationofchairs.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AOC-Finance-Guide-2024.pdf
- ICAEW’s free Charity Community: https://www.icaew.com/groups-and-networks/communities/join-charity-community
- Charity Investment Governance Principles: https://www.cigp.org.uk/
- Guidance from the Information Commissioner’s office: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/
Board effectiveness
Guidance and resources
- Finding new trustees: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/finding-new-trustees-cc30
- NCVO Carrying out a governance review: https://www.ncvo.org.uk/help-and-guidance/governance/carrying-out-a-governance-review/
- NCVO Individual trustee review: https://www.ncvo.org.uk/help-and-guidance/governance/board-basics/tools-and-guidance/individual-trustee-performance-reviews/
- NCVO trustee induction: https://www.ncvo.org.uk/help-and-guidance/governance/responsibilities-for-boards/recruiting-and-inducting-trustees/
- Charted Governance Institute: board performance reviews
- Reach trustee recruitment cycle: https://reachvolunteering.org.uk/trustee-recruitment-cycle
- ICAEW Volunteers connects charities with finance professionals looking for voluntary roles for free: https://volunteer.icaew.com/
- Other sites supporting board recruitment, e.g. Reach Volunteering: Reach Volunteering
- Resources for trustee recruitment and board evaluation: The Trustee Recruitment Cycle | Reach Volunteering, CassCCE-Board-Trustee-Performance-Review-March2019.pdf or Directory of Social Change – Trustees self-assessment exercise
- Sample chair and trustee job descriptions and interview questions: https://associationofchairs.co.uk/resources/governance-templates/
EDI
Guidance and resources
- NCVO: https://www.ncvo.org.uk/help-and-guidance/governance/improving-your-work-as-a-board/equality-diversity-and-inclusion-at-board-level/explaining-equality-diversity-and-inclusion/
- Association of Chairs guide on equity, diversity and inclusion for chairs and boards https://associationofchairs.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AOC-EDI-Guide-2024.pdf
- Specific networks:
- Women on boards: https://wbdirectors.co.uk/
- Young Trustee Movement: https://youngtrusteesmovement.org/
- Board Racial Diversity UK: https://boardracialdiversity.org.uk/ – this includes guidance for example about how to diversify the board
Other (more general) resources
Guidance and resources
Sites where you can find more information about governance:
- NCVO: www.ncvo.org.uk
- WCVA: www.wcva.cymru
- ACEVO: www.acevo.org.uk
- Third Sector Support Wales: https://thirdsectorsupport.wales/
- Association of Chairs: https://associationofchairs.co.uk/
- Directory of Social Change: https://www.dsc.org.uk/
- The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland: https://www.cgi.org.uk/
- SGA tools and supporting documents
- Code for Sports Governance – Tier 1 booklet
- Buddle
The Charity Governance Code is authored by a cross-sector voluntary steering group.
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