Resources / Trustee guides
Everything a trustee needs to understand the role, in plain English with the Charity Commission sources cited. Start at the top if you're new, or jump to the question you have.
The six legal duties every trustee has, who can and cannot serve, what you are personally responsible for, and how much time it takes.
A 30/60/90 plan for a new trustee: the formalities to complete in week one, what to read and who to meet in the first month, how to go deeper, and when to start contributing.
The difference between governing a charity and running it, why the line matters, and what to do in a small charity where trustees do both.
How a charity board and its chief executive share power: what the CEO can decide alone, what stays with trustees, and how to support and hold to account at the same time.
Where the minimum number of trustees is set, what a quorum is, what happens to decisions taken without one, and how to recruit before you run short.
The general rule that trustees serve unpaid, the expenses any trustee can claim, when the Charities Act lets you pay a trustee for goods or services, and the record the Commission expects.
What counts as a conflict of interest for a charity trustee, who a connected person is, the five steps in CC29, when to leave the room, and what to record.
The right way to step down, the paperwork that follows, and the narrow legal routes for removing a trustee who will not go.
What the Charity Commission actually does when things go wrong, from advice to statutory inquiry, when trustees are personally liable, and the failure patterns that appear in published inquiries.
General guidance for charities in England and Wales, not legal advice. Each guide cites its sources and shows when they were last checked.
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