Welcome to the Charity Governance Code resource site brought to you by CramdenTECH Ltd. We are committed to helping your organisation attain the highest standards of corporate governance. Structured as a practical and instructive eLearning course, the Charity Governance Code resource site provides you with a step-by-step approach to implementing the Code in your non-profit organisation.

Throughout this resource, we refer to ‘boards’ and ‘board members’. Please note that these are generic terms used when referring to the governing body or its members. The governing body is the appointed group of people responsible for making sure that the organisation is run in line with the governing document.

  • In the case of a company – the board of directors;
  • In the case of a trust – the trustees;
  • In the case of a club – the committee.

Depending on the nature of the organisation, the governing body may be called:

  • the board of trustees;
  • the board of directors;
  • the council;
  • the governors;
  • the management committee; or
  • the national council.”

What is the Charity Governance Code?

The Charity Governance Code comprises a set of principles and recommended practice to help non-profit boards and committees provide responsible risk management and leadership in their organisations and voluntary groups. The Code builds on the assumption that charities are meeting their regulatory and legal responsibilities.

The Charity Governance Code was developed by the Charity Governance Code Steering Group. The group’s purpose is to review, develop, promote and maintain the Code for the Charity Sector in England and Wales.

The steering group’s members are:

The Charity Commission is an observer on the group.

The steering group’s latest revision of the Code has been funded by The Clothworkers’ Company and the Barrow Cadbury Trust.

The Charity Governance Code recognises that not all organisations are the same in terms of their complexity and size. Hence, the actions required to implement the Code are proportionate to organisation type. Organisations may be categorised as being either large or small. In general, charities with a typical income of over £1m a year, and whose accounts are externally audited, should use the Charity Governance Code for larger organisations. Charities below this threshold should use the Code for smaller organisations. Ultimately, organisations should consider the nature of their activities, funding sources, scale of operations, staffing levels and volunteer numbers when deciding upon which of the organisational types to follow if implementing the Charity Governance Code.

This eLearning resource site focuses specifically on the actions and templates of relevance to smaller organisations.