Trusteeship and governance

What makes a good trustee? How do I find good trustees? What training should trustees have? How should we include beneficiaries as trustees?

We believe the quality of trustees can make or break a charity or funder. Being a good trustee is not just about finance and risk, but grasping opportunities and maximising social impact.  Our guide on What good governance looks like draws on our knowledge of working with charities and funders. We use these insights to explore how trustees can lead their organisations to do the best for their beneficiaries.

Through our resources, training and consulting, we help trustees to:

• Stay focussed on the purpose of governance
• Get the most from fellow trustees
• Adopt best practices and processes

Each year we help run the Charity Governance Awards, celebrating inspirational good practice in the sector. This year the awards take place on 3 June 2025. Enter your Chairty or Trustee by 12 February and find out what winning could mean for you.

We’re continually learning and sharing best practice, discussing new ideas and policies to improve governance across the charity sector. Stay on top of the conversation by coming to one of our trustee seminars. Get in touch for more on how we can help you.

Trustee event series

In 2025, we are delighted to run an event series for trustees: How can trustees create charities which are fit for the future? This series will enable charity trustees to wrestle with current challenges, while considering what they can do to pursue their missions in sustainable and effective ways. Sign up to each event:

1. What trustees need to know about AI on 26 March
2. How can trustees be more adaptive and systemic? on 8 May
3. Trusteeship and influencing in the new political landscape on 4 June
4. Achieving impact in a challenging financial context on 8 July.

We are very grateful to the Clothworkers’ Company for supporting our seminars on improving trusteeship across the charity sector.