I'll begin by addressing the first part of the question, what is governance for charities? Charities play a key role in civil society and in the lives of people, both in this country and internationally. Charities enjoy considerable public trust and confidence and, as a result, benefit from giving by individuals in terms of their time and money. This public trust and confidence puts enormous responsibilities on the shoulders of the some 600,000 trustees in the UK, who direct the affairs of their charity. These trustees manage and discharge their responsibilities by following systems of governance which are fit for purpose.
And why does it matter? Well, most failings of organisations stem from a failure of governance, such as the financial crisis of 2008 and, more recently, the demise of Kids Company and BHS. But good governance is about more than avoiding failure, it's about helping the organisation to achieve it full potential for the benefit of its beneficiaries and wider society.
Good governance is about a board which understands its roles, delivers the purpose of its organisation and works both individually and as a team. The board will be display leadership, run effective controls and be open and accountable to its stakeholders.
A good starting point is 'Good Governance - A Code for the Voluntary Sector', which was published in 2005 and updated in 2010. It sets out and develops six Principles of Good Governance.
I'll drill down into some of these themes in later posts. Good governance is not a code which is written and put on a shelf to gather dust. Or, in our virtual lives, saved to a folder never to be opened again. Rather, it's a living resource which is proportionate to the needs of the organisation and covers behaviour and culture as well as actions and processes.
Paul Gibson 5 September 2016