Set up a charity

Trustees are the people who control a charity and ensure that the proper procedures and policies are in place to meet its charitable purpose.

It is important for any charity to have trustees with the skills, knowledge, and experience that the charity needs. Trustee skills can range in nature from financial or marketing skills to fundraising skills and links with relevant communities or stakeholders.

Trustees play an essential role in the governance of charities. They also have a lot to contribute to their success. They can:

• help promote communication with the communities that a charity is targeting
• bring valuable professional, business, and legal experience to charities
• help to ensure that charities are well-managed through the appointment of senior staff

The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland recommends that each charity has a minimum of three charity trustees. If a dispute arises within the charity, there can always be a deciding vote.

How to find trustees for your charity

There are several ways that trustee boards can recruit new trustees. Personal recommendation and word of mouth is a popular option. Social media, such as LinkedIn, can also help promote the trustee role, in addition to free notices on local websites, notice boards or newsletters.

Further support is available from the following organisations:

• NICVA (Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action) provides further information on trustees and delivers regular training for trustees – find out more.
• Volunteer Now has a members directory of volunteers and provides training and promotion of volunteering opportunities – find out more.
• Community NI helps voluntary, community and social enterprises to create a page providing information about their organisation and the services they provide – this includes posts about news, events, jobs, and opportunities. Find out more.

Some people are disqualified by law from acting as charity trustees – section 86 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 provides further information on the disqualifications.

The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland has further information on trusteeship and recruiting new trustees.