Charity governance
A well-governed charity will be resilient and effective. Find out more about charity governance.
What is charity governance?
Charity governance is all about how a charity or non-profit is led and directed so that it can achieve its goals.
Governance is about why the charity exists, what strategy it has to make an impact, how well it uses its resources, and making sure it operates in line with all the regulations and procedures that are relevant to it.
Those responsible for the governance of a charity are the trustees, led by a chair, who together form a board. Collectively, they make decisions that direct the charity so that it can achieve its aims.
Governance training
We offer a variety of training events and discussion webinars about all aspects of chairing, trusteeship, and governance. If you are a member, these are all included in your membership package, or you can book onto some events as a non-member.
Key aspects of charity governance
These are some key aspects of charity and non-profit governance. Our members can access in-depth resources on all of these topics and more.
Direction
The trustee board set the organisation’s strategy – what it hopes to achieve and how. The board will approve the budgets and financial plans to ensure that the organisation can achieve those aims, and they will oversee the staff and volunteers to make sure those objectives are being worked towards.
Compliance
All charities and non-profits have certain legal requirements they must fulfil.
The board of trustees make sure the charity is compliant – working in line with those legal duties and regulations, for example, those set out by the Charity Commission in England and Wales.
Risk
The board should be aware of any risks facing the charity. Those might be financial risks, or reputational ones, for example.
The trustees must make sure any risks to the organisation are monitored and acted upon.
Finances
The board has oversight of the charity’s finances and financial strategy. While most boards have a trustee with a finance focus (a treasurer), all trustees are responsible for being aware of the charity’s finances and approving their good use to achieve the charity’s aims.
Browse our website to find out more
Looking for more information about chairing, charity boards, and governance? Here are some useful pages for you to browse, with tips and further links.
Discover more on our blog
Don’t forget to browse our blog too, which has lots of useful articles on topics related to chairing, board leadership, and governance.
Useful websites about charity and non-profit governance
Charity Regulators
There are several charity regulators, depending on where your organisation is located.
- England and Wales: The Charity Commission
- Scotland: The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator
- Northern Ireland: The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland
- Ireland: The Charities Regulator
Charity Governance Code
The Charity Governance Code is written specifically by the voluntary sector for the voluntary sector. It was refreshed in autumn 2025, and is a practical tool to help charities and their trustees develop high standards of governance. It sets out eight principles for effective boards:
- Foundation principle – Trustees take responsibility for, and invest the necessary time and care, in understanding the charity, their responsibilities and legal duties.
- Organisational purpose – The board is clear about the charity’s aims and how these benefit all or part of the public. It ensures that activity is targeted at achieving those aims both in the short and long term.
- Leadership – The charity is headed by an effective board that provides strategic leadership in line with the charity’s purpose and values.
- Ethics and culture – The board has agreed the standards and values which shape the charity’s behaviours and culture. This includes being open about how the charity operates and responding thoughtfully to feedback.
- Decision making – The board makes effective decisions that best serve the charity’s purposes. Trustees take personal responsibility for carefully considering each decision and working to reach agreement.
- Managing resources and risk – The board takes responsibility for stewarding, developing and allocating resources. The board identifies the risks to achieving the charity’s aims and agrees how to navigate them. The board seeks assurance that risks are properly managed.
- Equity, diversity, and inclusion – The board has a clear, agreed and effective approach to supporting equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) throughout the organisation, including in its own practice.
- Board effectiveness – The board works well together, using an appropriate balance of skills, experience, backgrounds and knowledge. It reviews its performance on a regular cycle and takes steps to improve.
You’ll find the latest version of the Charity Governance Code at www.charitygovernancecode.org.
Regulator of community interest companies
The regulator of community interest companies provides information and resources.
The Chartered Governance Institute (previously ICSA)
The CGI provides a range of general resources and some guidance relevant to the non-profit sector.
NCVO: National Council for Voluntary Organisations
NCVO provides a very wide range of information and resources on most matters affecting the voluntary and community sector. They have resources and some training for trustees.
ACEVO: Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations
ACEVO is an important source of information and support for your CEO. Their publication ‘Leading the CEO and Chair to Effective Governance’ explores the Chair-CEO relationship and includes a section about CEO appraisal, examples of CEO role descriptions, case studies and a useful role analysis exercise. It also has a section on ‘The CEO and chair in crisis – positive steps for recovery’. ACEVO also publishes an annual pay survey. ACEVO’s CEO in Crisis service is for CEOs, designed to help when their relationship with the chair has broken down and they need support in trying to repair the relationship or they believe their job is at risk and want to understand their rights and options.
DSC: Directory of Social Change
DSC is a leading provider of publications and training on voluntary sector issues, including resources and training for trustees. They also offer the Governance App, a free and easy way for your board of trustees to review and improve its governance.
Sector magazines and newsletters
Civil Society is a useful online resource on news and developments in the sector. You might like to take out a subscription to their Governance and Leadership magazine. The subscription includes additional copies that you can share with board members. If you have an online subscription you can access past copies, research and model documents which you may find useful. Third Sector is published online and in print and is a useful source of news and analysis of events in the non-profit sector.