Funding and Governance Advice

Funding and Governance Advice

At Voluntary Action Swindon our Funding & Governance Manager (VCSE Integrated Care Strategic Lead), Pooja Tomar, provides funding and governance advice to charities and other organisations in the local voluntary and community sectors. VAS offers support, guidance, and tools to help organisations secure funding, improve their governance, and stay up to date with regulatory changes.

Who we help:

• Charities
• Community groups
• Trustees
• Boards

How we help:

• Advice on securing funding
• Advice on improving organisation and governance
• Guidance for establishing new charities
• Updates on new funding sources and regulatory changes

Governance Support

Governance is defined as:

The systems and processes concerned with ensuring the overall direction, effectiveness, supervision, and accountability of an organisation. (The Governance of Voluntary Organisations, Cornforth 2003)

NCVO defines each of these aspects as the following:

Direction establishes clear goals for the organisation and how to achieve them. Effectiveness ensures a charity’s money and resources are used well and help them achieve their goals. Supervision ensures the organisation follows the law and its own governing document faithfully, handling any arising issues quickly. Accountability requires reporting to regulators and other parties interested in the organisation’s activities.

All four of these aspects of governance are essential for an organisation to run smoothly.

Charity organisations are governed by a trustee board that upholds specific duties set out by the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Board trustees may include staff and the chief executive, volunteers, advisors, subcommittee members, and other key stakeholders.

NCVO lists six legal and regulatory duties which trustees must carry out.

1. Ensure the charity is carrying out its specific purposes for the public benefit.
2. Comply with charity law requirements and the charity’s own governing documents
3. Act in their charity’s best interests, making informed decisions for the charity and managing conflicts of interest
4. Manage the charity’s resources responsibly
5. Act with reasonable care and skill, attending and participating in all trustees’ meetings
6. Ensure the charity is accountable by complying with statutory accounting and reporting requirements

It is important to regularly carry out governance reviews to assess your charity’s compliance and governance arrangements and identify any areas for improvement. NCVO’s Governance Wheel tool allows for boards to quickly identify how they are performing against the Charity Governance Code.

NVCO’s sample documents and templates, and tools and guidance pages can also be used as guidance.

Funding Opportunities and Support

Starting a New Charity/Group

From GOV.UK

1. Check if a new charity is the best option.

An organisation must have specific aims (known as ‘charitable purposes’) to qualify as a charity. Alternatively, an organisation might better fit as a Community Interest Company (CIC) instead, which is a non-charity company that helps the public. Further alternatives include a social enterprise (a business with social, environmental, or community-based objectives), or a named fund/trust (for raising money for a certain cause).

Find out if a charity is already doing what you want to do – working together can be more effective than having two charities competing for resources. Find a registered charity to see if you can work together or search the internet for other charities.

Charities must also operate under restrictions; check that these will not prevent you doing things you want to. These restrictions include following charity law, not carrying out certain political activities, and no receiving personal benefit as a trustee.

2. Check eligibility

A charity in England and Wales must:

• Be established for charitable purposes only
• Be subject to the High Court’s charity law jurisdiction

The charitable purposes (your charity’s goals) must be covered in a governing document. These purposes must both fall within the descriptions of purposes and be for the public benefit. For more guidance and information on this topic, see the GOV.UK page on What makes a charity.

3. Find trustees

Trustees are responsible for the charity’s operations. Trustees must understand and carry out legal duties set by the Charity Commission.

Check who’s eligible to be a trustee and what skills they need to have

Find and appoint trustees

Read about your trustees’ legal responsibilities

4. Choose a charity structure, name, and purposes

Charity structures can either be a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO), a charitable company (limited by guarantee), an unincorporated association, or a trust.

Charity names cannot contain certain words, or have a name that is the same or similar to another charity.

The charity’s purposes must be decided and written in the ‘objects’ clause of the charity’s governing document. For more guidance on writing these, see How to write charitable purposes – GOV.UK

5. Create a governing document

This serves as a set of rules that explain and guide how a charity is run. It must include the charity’s structure, name, and purposes. You can find guidance to write this document here – How to write your charity’s governing document (CC22b) – GOV.UK.

6. Ensure your charity meets the ‘public benefit requirement’.

Your charity must be able to show that it benefits the public. Public benefit: rules for charities – GOV.UK

7. Register your charity

You must apply to register your charity with the Charity Commission if either:

• Its income will be at least £5,000 per year
• It’s a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO)

Set up a charity: Register your charity – GOV.UK

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Charity Governance Code?

The Charity Governance Code is a set of universal principles of governance, drawn from the Charity Commission’s guidance. Compliance with the Code is not a regulatory requirement; the Code merely establishes a standard for what good governance looks like. Charities can use this as guidance for writing their own governing document.

You can read more about the Charity Governance Code on their own website: Charity Governance Code.

What is the Charity Commission?

The Charity Commission registers and regulates charities within England and Wales. They ensure charities meet their legal requirements and keep an up to date charity register.

You can read more about the Charity Commission here.

What is a trustee board?

The trustee board is part of the charity’s governing body. Members of the board are called trustees and are responsible for the charity’s operations. Trustees must understand and carry out legal duties set by the Charity Commission.

What are the duties of trustees?

Trustees have six legal duties set out by the Charity Commission. These duties include ensuring the charity complies with charity law and its governing document, managing the charity’s resources, and complying with statutory accounting and reporting requirements.

How do I set up a charity?

GOV.UK has a step by step guide for the process of starting a new charity. It includes finding trustees, deciding on your charity’s structure, deciding on your charity’s purpose, writing a governing document, and registration with the Charity Commission.

Useful Links

• Charity Governance Code (Charity Governance Code – Charity Governance Code)
• NCVO (Help and guidance | NCVO)
• Charity Commission (The Charity Commission – GOV.UK)
• NAVCA (NAVCA | Home)
• Charity Excellence (Charity Excellence – Find Funding, Free Help & Resources)
• Charity Digital (Charity Digital – Topics – The complete guide to setting up a charity)
• Setting up a charity (Set up a charity: step by step – GOV.UK)
• Legal duties of charity trustees (The legal duties of trustees | NCVO)