Resources / Minutes, decisions and actions: the record-keeping pack
Minutes, decisions and actions: the record-keeping pack
Three records protect trustees: minutes (what the meeting did), the decision log (what was decided, ever), and the action log (what happens next). Here's each, done properly and without ceremony.
Minutes: how much detail?
Enough that someone who wasn't there understands what was decided and why — not a transcript. For each substantive item: the question, key considerations discussed, any conflict declared and how it was handled, the decision (with the vote if taken), and who does what by when. CC27 expects trustees to be able to show their decision-making was reasonable and properly informed.
Minutes template
[Charity name] — trustee meeting minutes
Date / time / place · Present (mark the chair) · Apologies · In attendance (non-trustees) · Quorum: [X of Y voting trustees — met]1. Declarations of interest: [none / detail + how managed]
2. Minutes of [date] approved.
3. Per item: summary of discussion → DECIDED: wording of the decision, rationale, vote → ACTION: owner, deadline.
Signed (chair, on approval at the next meeting): ______
The decision log
Minutes get filed; decisions get forgotten. A one-line-per-decision register means nobody re-litigates 2023's pricing decision in 2026. Columns: date · decision · why · who decided (board/committee) · reference to minutes.
The action log
Columns: action · owner (one name, never "all") · due date · status. Review it monthly, not just at meetings. An action older than two meetings is either dead (close it honestly) or stuck (rescue it).
Worked example: "DECIDED (12 Mar 2026): adopt the reserves policy at 4 months' running costs (~£38k). Rationale: single major funder; income concentration risk R-02. Vote: 6 for, 1 abstention (declared interest — spouse employed by funder; recused from the vote). ACTION: Treasurer to add reserves line to the quarterly finance report, by 30 Apr."