Boards, Committees and Trustees

Feel free to browse, or go straight to:

• Trustees, Boards and Committees - what's the difference?
• Trustee Roles & Responsibilities
• Chair
• Treasurer
• Secretary
• Meetings
• Governing Documents: Constitutions, Articles of Associations

Trustees, Boards and Committees - what's the difference?

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Trustee, Board or Committee? (Charity Commission - May 2008)
Brief and clear summary of the different forms that organisations and their governing documents can take.

Governance and Trustees (Volunteering England - May 2008)
Overview, examples, resources and further information about Trustees, Boards and Committees.

NCVO Trustees' Information Centre (AskNCVO - May 2008)
Gateway to the biggest source of information for trustees and those who work with boards.

Governance Pages (Association for Research in the Voluntary and Community Sector - July 2008)
This website aims to provide useful information on governance and management committees for community groups and small voluntary organisations.

All about chairites (TrusteElearning programme, Governance Hub - May 2008)
Module 2 of the TrusteElearning programme, an e-learning course for Trustees. Free to use and study at your own pace.

Building an effective Board (TrusteElearning programme, Governance Hub - May 2008)
Module 6 of the TrusteElearning programme, an e-learning course for Trustees. Free to use and study at your own pace.

Good Governance (TrusteElearning programme, Governance Hub - May 2008)
Module 7 of the TrusteElearning programme, an e-learning course for Trustees. Free to use and study at your own pace.

Governance Podcasts (ViSTA - June 2008)
Download and listen to some soundbites on topics such as Legal Roles and Responsibilities and the Importance of Good Governance.


Governance Pack (ViSTA & Somerset Voluntary Sector Network - June 2008)
An extensive Resource Pack for Trustees and Management Committee Members.


Management Committees (ladder4learning)
Things to consider about setting up and maintaining your management committee

Management Committees (translations available) (Voluntary Action Sheffield)
Background to management committees (translations available)

Working with Boards & Committees Workbook (Creative Leadership Project) 275k

Working with Boards & Committees Workbook (Creative Leadership Project) 396k

Trustee Roles

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Finding new trustees - what charities need to know (Charity Commission - March 2007)
All you need to know about finding and recruiting trustees

How to be an effective trustee (Charity Commission - May 2008)
Notes on being a good trustee

Trusteeship Induction (TrusteElearning, Governance Hub - May 2008)
Module 1 of the TrusteElearning programme, an e-learning course for Trustees. Free online course that can be studied at your own pace.

Roles & Responsibilities (TrusteElearning, Governance Hub - May 2008)
Module 4 of the TrusteElearning programme, an e-learning course for Trustees. Free online course that can be studied at your own pace.

The Good Trustee Guide (NCVO - May 2008)
Ideal as an introductory pack for new board members or as a refresher for long-serving trustees, The Good Trustee Guide (hard copy) provides comprehensive information about a trustee’s role and guidance on developing an effective trustee board.

Roles of Committee Members (Information Sheets) (Resource Centre, Brighton)
A range of very useful information sheets including job descriptions for each Committee Member.


Model jobs descriptions for Trustees (NCVO - May 2008)
Simple summaries and job specifications for each trustee role (e.g. Chair, Secretary, Treasurer etc.)

CHAIR

Starting on the Right Track – A Guide to Recruiting and Inducting a New Chair (Governance Hub - May 2008)
A short, easy-to-use online guide to help organisations plan and carry out the recruitment and induction of their new chair.

A Chair's First 100 Days (NCVO - March 2005)
This guide (hard copy) is packed with all the information you will need to get started as a successful new chair. It serves as an induction framework outlining a chair's role, how to chair effective meetings and build healthy relationships. Cost £7 - £10.

Sample Board Chair job description (NCVO - May 2008)


Chairing a meeting (NCVO - May 2008)
User-friendly, simple advice about how to chair meetings.

TREASURER

Sample Treasurer job description (NCVO - May 2008)


The Treasurer's Role (CASHFACTS - Community Accountancy Self Help - May 2008)
A range of factsheets designed to be used both as an introduction for new management committee members and as practical work books for staff and volunteers. Freely available online.

Treasurer's Job Description (CASHFACTS - Community Accountancy Self Help - May 2008)
A range of factsheets designed to be used both as an introduction for new management committee members and as practical work books for staff and volunteers. Freely available online.

SECRETARY

Sample Charity Secretary job description (NCVO - May 2008)

Role of the Secretary (NCVO - May 2008)
User-friendly information about what is involved in being a Secretary. Including references to printed publications.

Meetings

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Meetings, Agendas, Minutes (NCVO - January 2008)
User-friendly online guidance about planning and achieving effective meetings and associated paperwork.

Meetings (ladder4learning)
Things to consider when organising, running and attending meetings.

Annual General Meeting (AGM) Check List (Resource Centre, Brighton)
Handy check list, what to include in your AGM

Taking Minutes (Resource Centre, Brighton)
Quick and Easy Guide to taking minutes


Effective Trustee Meetings (TrusteElearning programme, Governance Hub - December 2007)
Module 9 of the TrusteElearning programme, an e-learning course for Trustees. Free to use and study at your own pace.

Governing Documents: Constitutions, Articles of Association

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Model Governing Documents (Charity Commission - August 2006)
Model documents provided by the Chairty Commission as PDFs. Includes Model Memorandum and Articles of Assocation, Model Trust Deed and Model Constitution.

Constitutions (ladder4learning)
What is a constitution? Who needs one? How do you write one?

Constitutions (Voluntary Action Sheffield)
General information about Constitutions

Model Constitution (Voluntary Action Sheffield)
Alter for your own use