Governance & trusteeship

On this page:

Advice and support for trustees and those who work with boards & committees

Looking for guidance and information on trusteeship, committee and governance issues?

Visit the new national Governance Hub website at www.governancehub.org.uk.

Contact the National Trustee Helpline (operated by the Governance Hub) on 0800 652 4886 (Monday - Friday 9am-9pm; Saturdays 9am-1pm)

At Community Links Bromley you can:

1. Access telephone or email guidance.

2. Access downloadable briefings, factsheets and model documents.

3. Visit our Community Library with over 500 titles, including The Good Trustee Guide.

Enquiry Form

Forthcoming events

Bromley Continuity Forum - Planning for the Unexpected

Come to the first meeting of the Bromley Continuity Forum, where you can find out more about what you can do to help protect your organisation from unexpected incidents. Run by Bromley Council in association with CLB, the event is free of charge. Places are limited so please book early.

Date: Monday 19 May at midday (lunch provided)

Venue: Bromley Civic Centre

Click on this link to download the booking form.

News

Join the Bromley Continuity Forum

What would you do if you couldn’t access your office or run your services because of a flood, fire or incident? How would you notify staff and volunteers to make alternative arrangements? How would you reach clients who may be in a vulnerable situation? The answer is ‘business continuity management’ implemented by your organisation to make alternative arrangements and continue operating.

Community Links Bromley is pleased to be working with the Emergency Planning Team at Bromley council to promote the importance of ‘business continuity’. The council have set up a new forum, designed to for you find our more about what you can do to help project your organisation from unexpected incidents. It is free to join the forum. The first meeting takes place on Monday 19th May.

Follow this link to events section to find out details.

The Bromley Trustee Network

Community Links Bromley are pleased to announce the formation of the first network for trustees and committee members in Bromley.

What is the Bromley Trustee Network?

A trustee network is formed when local trustees / committee members join up to support each other in an organised way. Many networks already operate across the country – they usually consist of a regular meeting with a speaker and often arrange other activities too.

The Bromley Trustee Network is chaired by Jean Levy, Chairman of Community Links Bromley and is funded by the national Governance Hub.

The Governance Hub visited South London

A south London event for trustees and those who work with boards & committees took place on 1 December 2006.

if you were unable to attend we have collected the main presentations and links from the day:

Governing the Future - keynote speech from Jolanta Lasota, Head of the Governance Hub - 6,000 KB

Governing the Future - keynote speech from Jolanta Lasota (Rich Text Format) - 18 KB

Notes from the Trustee Recruitment workshop - 26 KB

Notes from the Code of Governance workshop - how can my organisation start using the Code? - 21 KB

Toolkits and resources from the day can all be downloaded at the national Governance Hub website at www.governancehub.org.uk:

Code of Governance

National Occupational Standards for Trustees

Trustee Recruitment Toolkit

Trustee Recruitment Toolkit (pocket guide)

Downloadable best practice and information for trustees

Please follow the links:

New trustees induction pack

New trustees induction - training materials

Briefings and model documents

Running meetings

Insurance

New trustees induction pack

Who are trustees? Trustees, management committee members, directors...what's the difference? In this pack, we use the term 'trustee' to mean a voting member of the governing body of an organisation. You may use a different term, like committee member.

Trustees take ultimate responsibility for an organisation. In a charity, a trustee is defined as someone responsible for 'the general control and management of the administration of a charity' (Charities Act, 1993, section 97)

Thanks to the Governance Hub for funding this pack and the associated events:

Induction pack - cover - 115 KB

Induction pack - contents page - 37 KB

Example letter of introduction welcoming a new trustee - 22 KB

Example page for a new trustee to sign - 23 KB

Duties and responsibilities of trustees ** UPDATED ** - 59 KB

A beginner's guide to becoming a trustee - 261 KB - a short, straightforward guide to trusteeship, ideal for a new or prospective trustee to give them an idea of the roles and responsibilities involved.

Example role description for a trustee - 40 KB

Example skills audit - 73 KB - This short questionnaire can be completed by new and existing board members to identify skills and gaps.

Example induction programme for a new trustee - 54 KB - This factsheet contains an induction pack checklist and a suggestion set of headings for a new trustee's induction programme.

Charity Commission - The Essential Trustee - a new booklet that concentrates more on the legal aspects of trusteeship and is useful if you want to be clear about what you 'must' do as a trustee.

The Code of Governance for Voluntary and Community Organisations - - from the National Governance Hub. This detailed document is an agreed set of principles of good governance (agreed by the main national voluntary and community sector associations) and you could use it as a checklist for your governance operations.

Sources of further information for trustees - 28 KB