presentation from Trustee Conference, 7 November 2016 Dan Francis, NCVO Emma Herbert, NCVO Leona Roche, BWB To find out more about our events, please visit: https://www.ncvo.org.uk/training-and-events

1. Drinks sponsors:
WHAT EVERY TRUSTEE
SHOULD KNOW:
UNDERSTANDING YOUR
ROLE
DAN FRANCIS & EMMA HERBERT
GOVERNANCE CONSULTANTS NCVO
LEONA ROCHE
SENIOR ASSOCIATE AND JOINT HEAD OF FAITH-BASED
ORGANISATIONS
BWB
7 NOVEMBER 2016
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2. • Context of trusteeship and sector
• Role of a trustee
• Legal duties
• Liability and legal forms
• Good Governance
• Opportunity for any questions
WHAT WE WILL COVER…

3. Trusteeship in context quiz
Match the statement with the number

4. Trusteeship in context quiz
Statement Number
Number of charities 57
Total annual income of the UK voluntary sector in £billion 162,965
% of voluntary sector’s income derived from individual donations
and purchases
83
% of the total number of charities with an annual income of under
£100,000
44
Number of voluntary sector paid workforce 35
Number of trustee board positions 27
Average age of a trustee 43.8
% of trustees under the age of 24 945,769
% of the UK adult population who volunteered at least once a
month during 2013/14
0.5
% of 16 – 25 year olds in the UK who volunteered at least once a
month during 2013/14
827,000

5. Trusteeship in context quiz: Answers
Statement Number
Number of charities 162, 965
Total annual income of the UK voluntary sector in £billion 43.8
% of voluntary sector’s income derived from individual donations
and purchases
44
% of the total number of charities with an annual income of under
£100,000
83
Number of voluntary sector paid workforce 827,000
Number of trustee board positions 945,769
Average age of a trustee 57
% of trustees under the age of 24 0.5
% of the UK adult population who volunteered at least once a
month during 2013/14
27
% of 16 – 25 year olds in the UK who volunteered at least once a
month during 2013/14
35

6. Micro Under £10,000
Small £10,000 to £100,000
Medium £100,000 to £1 million
Large £1 million to £10 million
Major £10 million to £100 million
Super-major > £100 million
Proportion of number and income of organisations by size 2013/14 (%)

7. CHARITY INCOME
7

8. CURRENT CHALLENGES

9. CHARITY GOVERNANCE IN THE NEWS
9

10. WHO ARE THE TRUSTEES?
The persons having the general control
and management of the administration
of a charity.
Section 177 of the Charities Act 2011

11. • Voting members of the governing body
• Ultimate legal responsibility for the charity
• A collective group of decision makers
• Elected or appointed in accordance with the charity’s governing
document
• Operate within a formal set of rules
• In a charitable company, company directors and trustees are
the same people
• Trustees often delegate day to day tasks to staff and/or
volunteers
• Almost always unpaid
WHO ARE TRUSTEES?

12. WHAT DOES THE TERM CHARITY MEAN?
12
• To be a charity an organisation must be set up with
purposes which are exclusively charitable
• What constitutes a charitable purpose is defined in the
Charities Act 2011
• In order to be a charity your purposes must meet the
“public benefit requirement”
• We prove this by requiring charities to report annually to
the regulator on how they have deliver their purpose
• This is all about trust and confidence

13. KEY LEGAL DUTIES
CC3 THE ESSENTIAL TRUSTEE
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14. Charity Commission (2015) CC3: The
essential trustee: What you need to
know, what you need to do

15. Each group will be allocated a legal duty to
consider.
For the legal duty think about…
• What trustees can do to ensure they
meet this legal duty?
and
• Times you think this legal duty may be
challenged and how trustees should
deal with this?

16. CHARITY STRUCTURES AND
TRUSTEE LIABILITY
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17. COMPARISON OF LEGAL FORMS
17
Charitable
Trust
Charitable
Unincorporated
Association
Charitable
company
limited by
guarantee
(“CLG”)
Charitable
incorporated
organisation
(“CIO”)
Unincorporated Incorporated

18. • Governance liabilities
e.g. breach of duty under charity law
• Operational liabilities
e.g. claims from third parties
• Failure to comply with relevant statutory requirements
e.g. health & safety, PAYE, trade descriptions, data protection
TRUSTEE PERSONAL LIABILITY

19. • Incorporation (CIO; company limited by guarantee) but does
not offer complete protection
• Plus –
• trustee indemnity insurance
• good management practices
• clear roles and responsibilities
• records of decisions taken
• provisions in governing document
• contingency funds
• professional advice
• board development
• risk management
TRUSTEE LIABILITY – PROTECTION!

20. CHARITY COMMISSION’S VIEW
20
The Charity Commission expects trustees to take their
responsibilities seriously... The Commission recognises that
most trustees are volunteers who sometimes make honest
mistakes. Trustees are not expected to be perfect – they are
expected to do their best to comply with their duties. Charity
law generally protects trustees who have acted honestly and
reasonably.
Charity Commission (2015) CC3: The essential trustee: What
you need to know, what you need to do

21. GOOD GOVERNANCE
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22. SIX KEY PRINCIPLES OF GOOD
GOVERNANCE
An effective board will provide good governance and leadership by:
• understanding their role
• ensuring delivery of organisational purpose
• working effectively both as individuals and as a team
• exercising effective control
• behaving with integrity
• being open and accountable.
Good Governance: A Code for the Voluntary and
Community Sector, 2010
22

23. • NCVO: www.ncvo.org.uk/practical-support/governance
• NCVO Consultancy and training:
https://www.ncvo.org.uk/training-and-events
• Knowhow Nonprofit: http://knowhownonprofit.org
• Good Trustee Guide, 6th ed, NCVO 2015
• BWB booklet:
http://www.bwbllp.com/knowledge/2015/05/08/duties-of-
charity-trustees
• Charity Commission website: www.charity-commission.gov.uk
and the core guidance - The Essential Trustee: What you need to
know
• Good Governance: A Code for the Voluntary and Community
Sector and supporting material: www.governancecode.org
USEFUL RESOURCES

24. THANKS
DAN.FRANCIS@NCVO.ORG.UK
EMMA.HERBERT@NCVO.ORG.UK
L.ROCHE@BWBLLP.COM
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