CAN offer:

• Training
• Forums
• Organisational health checks
• Trustee board reviews

To access any of the above services contact sarah.pickering@can100.org (if you are based in BCP) or bekki.stalker@can100.org (if based in Dorset).

Trustees play a vital role in ensuring charities and voluntary groups are well-run, effective and working in the best way possible for the people they support.

Trustees across the BCP area benefit the local economy by around £25m a year – that’s pretty spectacular!

If you sit on the board or committee of a charity with others who decide how the charity operates then in law, you are a trustee. You might be called a management committee member, board member, director or similar, but in law, you are a trustee.

Your organisation may be a charity even if it does not have a charity number, because only charities with incomes of more than £5,000 a year have to register with the Charity Commission and receive a charity number.

Trustees are usually unpaid volunteers, but can claim reasonable expenses. Employees of the charity can be a trustee, but there are various hoops to jump through to satisfy charity law. CAN and the Charity Commission do not recommend that employees be trustees.

About trustees – What are a trustee’s legal roles and responsibilities?

A trustee should:

• Ensure the charity is well run, solvent and working towards its charitable purpose
• Always act reasonably and prudently so that the charity always comes first in decision making
• Use the knowledge you have (if specialist) and ask for expert advice if you do not know
• Make sure the charity follows the law (not just charity law!)
• Make sure the charity follows its constitution
• Look after the charity assets (cash, equipment, property, reputation, etc.)
• Act collectively
• Avoid any conflicts of interest
• Take ultimate responsibility.

The Charity Commission has lots more information about the role and responsibilities of trustees in its guidance The Essential Trustee and 5 minute reads.

Why be a trustee?

There are thousands of people that generously give their time for free as trustees across Dorset, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. They tell us they love the role and get a lot out of it. Even though it might look like a big responsibility, there’s a huge amount of support available, and you’ll have fun while giving back to your community. As a trustee you can:

• Help to make a difference
• Give something back
• Learn, and develop, skills (eg strategic planning, financial management, employment etc)
• Gain experience in a new sector
• Use the skills you have
• Develop new professional relationships
• Allow a charity to benefit from your skills, expertise, enthusiasm and new ideas
• Have fun!