Charity trustees are those who lead the relevant charity and make decisions about how that charity is run. When carrying out this role, a charity trustee must ensure that they are complying with their duties, as failing to do so could result in action being taken by the Charity Commission and/or the Courts.
A charity trustee has six main duties:
- 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; and
- Ensure your charity is accountable.
We summarise what these duties mean, practically, below:
Ensure your charity is carrying out its purposes for the public benefit
You will need to be aware of your charity's purpose and what it is trying to achieve. The charity's purpose can usually be found in its governing document. You need to ensure that the charity is carrying out the purposes it was set up for, and nothing else.
For example, you should make sure that charity funds are not spent on the wrong purposes, as you could find yourself being made to personally reimburse the Charity for those funds.
For this reason, it is very important that you regularly review the charity's purpose, to make sure your actions remain aligned to the charity's aims.
Comply with your charity’s governing document and the law
This duty is broad and will of course be largely guided by your governing document. You should ensure that you are fully aware of the relevant legal requirements that apply to your charity and comply with them accordingly.
If you have doubts regarding your legal requirements, or governing document, you should seek the appropriate legal advice.
Act in your charity’s best interests
This duty perhaps seems quite straight forward, but is something that can catch trustees out. Acting in the charity's best interests includes making balanced and well-informed decisions and ensuring that you are not putting yourself in a position of conflict. A charity trustee should not personally benefit from the role, unless this is in accordance with the governing documents and /or endorsed by the Charity Commission.
This duty also extends to acting in the best interest of the charity beneficiaries.
Manage your charity’s resources responsibly
Sometimes referred to as the 'duty of prudence', this duty relates to a trustees' obligation to ensure you are acting responsibly, reasonably, and honestly.
Charity Trustees should put in place measures to ensure charity assets are appropriately safeguarded, to include fraud-prevention methods.
In short, a trustee must ensure charity assets are managed correctly, and are appropriately safeguarded from undue risk.
Act with reasonable care and skill
A trustee should at all times act with reasonable skill and care, which can mean, for example, ensuring enough time, attention and thought is given to your role. This can also include obtaining appropriate advice from professionals when required.
It should be noted that a trustee with special knowledge or expertise in a particular area will be deemed as having a greater duty in that matter.
Ensure your charity is accountable
This duty relates to the trustees' obligation to ensure the charity is complying with its accounting and reporting requirements, as well as demonstrating compliance with legal requirements.
It also includes ensuring that trustees are accountable to charity members.
Whilst the above reflects a 'whistlestop tour' of Charity Trustee duties, if you have any concerns regarding your obligations, we recommend you seek specialist legal advice. If you or your charity find yourself subject to an investigation by the Charity Commission as a result of an alleged breach of duties, it is important to ensure that you engage with that investigation fully and appropriately, which may include obtaining the appropriate legal advice to be protect not only the position of the charity, but your personal position as well.
