Good governance is the foundation of a successful charity and the resources below will help you to achieve this. Strong boards, clear structures, and well-defined responsibilities help ensure that your organisation can fulfil its mission, remain accountable, and operate with integrity. Whether you are a trustee, senior leader, or part of a charity team, having access to trusted guidance on governance is essential.
On this page, we have brought together a selection of external resources to support boards and leaders in building effective governance practices. From trustee duties and regulatory requirements to board development and decision-making, these tools and guides are designed to help you strengthen oversight and lead with confidence.
The charity governance resources are provided as part of our charity resource centre.
Table of contents
Charity formation & changes
Information about how to setup and form a charity, how to change the structure of your charity, and how to merge or link charities.
| Resource description | Source |
|---|---|
| Starting a charity: models, templates and guidance for constitutions, articles of association and trust deeds for a new charity or charitable trust. | The Charity Commission |
| Changing structure: Information about how to change the structure of your charity, e.g. from being unincorporated to becoming a CIO or charitable company. | The Charity Commission |
| Merging charities: information on how a charity can merge with another charity. | The Charity Commission |
| Linking charities: information about how you can link charities together to simplify accounting and reporting. | The Charity Commission |
General charity governance
General charity governance resources and guidance to support charities in developing good governance and an overview of general requirements.
| Resource description | Source |
|---|---|
| Charity boards and governance. Guidance to help ensure your charity is governed effectively and in compliance with your governing document and charity law. | The Charity Commission |
| Charity Commission requirements: information about what you need to send to The Charity Commission and the services available to help you meet your requirements. | The Charity Commission |
| The Charity Governance Code is a practical tool to help charities and their trustees develop high standards of governance. The Code is not a legal or regulatory requirement. | Charity Governance Code NCVO |
| Charity Handbook [Paid]. The Handbook covers material on the key areas of charity law, governance and compliance. | Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland |
Charity trustees
Guidance to support you in appointing the right people to your trustee board and ensuring you have the correct skill sets across your board of trustees. Information about being a trustee and the legal responsibilities.
| Resource description | Source |
|---|---|
| Recruitment and appointment: information to consider when recruiting and appointing trustees and who can be a trustee. | The Charity Commission |
| Eligibility and skills: information about eligibility to become a charity trustee and the skillsets that will be required or useful. | The Charity Commission |
| Service user trustees: information to support service users and beneficiaries in the role of a charity trustee. | The Charity Commission |
| Resignation and removal: information about what procedures need to be followed to resign as a charity trustee or to remove a charity trustee from a board. | The Charity Commission |
| Disqualification: information about how a person may not be eligible or may be disqualified from becoming a charity trustee. | The Charity Commission |
Trustee meetings & decisions
Guidance to support trustee boards in terms of decision making, how to organise and operate charity trustee board meetings and the legal responsibilities.
| Resource description | Source |
|---|---|
| Decision making: information to support trustee boards in making decisions and the seven decision making principles. | The Charity Commission |
| Charity meetings: information about how to plan and run charity trustee board meetings and how to keep a record of the meetings and the decisions made. | The Charity Commission |
| Disagreements and disputes: information to support charity trustees and management teams to help settle disputes and ensure beneficiaries are not put at risk. | The Charity Commission |
| Conflicts of interest: information about how to identify and manage conflicts of interest. | The Charity Commission |
Risk management
Guidance to support trustee boards to manage risk effectively including financial controls and compliance.
| Resource description | Source |
|---|---|
| Identifying risk: information to support trustee boards to identify, assess, and manage risks. | The Charity Commission |
| Financial controls: information about how to use financial controls to manage the charity’s financial activity and protect against fraud and loss. | The Charity Commission |
| Compliance toolkit: information to support charity trustees to ensure that their charity is protected against risks including terrorism, fraud and other abuses. | The Charity Commission |
Policies & procedures
Charity policy and procedures resources including charity policy templates and information about legal requirements and regulations.
| Resource description | Source |
|---|---|
| Charity policy templates as required by UK law and the Charity Commission guidance. | Charity Excellence Framework CIO |
| Privacy Notice generator for charity and voluntary organisations | ICO |
Disclaimer
The charity governance resources listed here are provided for your convenience and as a free public resource, they do not constitute consultancy. As they are created and managed by third parties, Sailfin cannot take responsibility for the accuracy, currency, or completeness of the information provided, nor for how it may apply to your organisation’s circumstances. Including a link does not imply endorsement, and any use of these resources should be undertaken at your own discretion. For advice tailored to your specific situation, please seek professional guidance or contracted charity consultancy support.