Governance
Imago offers a range of support and guidance to help voluntary and community organisations ensure that their trustee boards and committees have the appropriate skills and information to maximize their effectiveness. Imago can support the creation and amendment of constitutions and help with Charity Commission and Company registration
We can provide:
- Help for organisations to recruit new trustees
- Guidance on developing induction packs
- Resources on good governance
- Training and support for newly recruited trustees to prepare them for their new role
- In-house training for trustee boards to maximize their effectiveness or to address specific issues
- Trustee skills audits
- Facilitation for Board Development days
The terms ‘Management Committee’, ‘Board of Trustees’, ‘Executive Committee’ or ‘Governing Body’ and abbreviations such as ‘the Board’ are all used interchangeably for the governing body that is legally and financially responsible for a charitable organisation. If the organisation is also a company limited by guarantee all of the members of the management committee are also company directors. A management committee usually has an average of three to twelve members. Some of these members have specific executive roles on the committee, also called the ‘Honorary Officers’, which commonly includes a Chair (person) and Treasurer, and may also include a Secretary, a Vice Chair or Co-Chair. Governance is about 'where the buck stops' - it is about power and responsibility in your organisation.
For voluntary organisations, it is about how the management committee or board of trustees oversees the overall direction, policy and management of their organisation. For smaller community groups, this area is somewhat more blurred, as the trustees are often the same people who are carrying out the work. The Charity Commission has lots of useful resources such as CC10 – The Hallmarks of an Effective Charity. National Council for Voluntary Organisations has a vast collection of resources and information for trustees.
The Small Charities Coalition provides a range of resources to support trustees
Charity Trustee Meetings: 15 questions you should ask
