Good Governance Code
Good Governance: A Code for the Voluntary and Community Sector, compiled by The Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations, Charity Trustee Networks, the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, on behalf of the National Hub of Expertise in Governance
This voluntary Code provides a flexible framework for charities and voluntary organisations wanting to improve their governance standards. It incorporates the principles of good governance, referring to the Nolan principles of selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership, all of which are fundamental to the role of a charity trustee. The Charity Commission is keen to promote the Code, which complements two of the Commission’s own publications, CC3 The Essential Trustee: what you need to know and CC10 Hallmarks of an Effective Charity, both of which are downloadable from the Publications section of the website www.charity-commission.gov.uk
The Code is intended to be sufficiently adaptable to be used by a wide range of organisations, from small community groups to large, national charities, with common standards which will be appropriate for all organisations to higher level aspirations for larger organisations. Those charities which are compliant with the Code are invited to state this in their annual report and other documents and marketing material. As well as being a mark that a good standard of governance has been achieved, it’s important to realise that funders, donors and the general public will also have more confidence in a charity which has adopted the Good Governance Code.
A summary of the Code is also available. This 14-page leaflet sets out the seven main principles and the key supporting principles which underpin the Code and provides a useful introduction to and overview of the Good Governance.
The full Code and the pocket-sized version are available for download below.
