Charity Trustee Meetings, Minutes & Agenda Templates

Charity trustee meetings, including meeting agendas, minutes and the responsibilities of the chair and trustees, plus a charity trustee meeting agenda template, another for minutes, Charity Commission guidance, and a step-by-step checklist for running charity trustee and other meetings well.

What Should be Included in a Charity Trustee Meeting Agenda

Even if not specified in your governing document, issuing a trustee meeting agenda is best practice and will help to make your meetings more effective.  As a minimum, your trustee meeting agenda should include the date, time and location, who has been invited and the various items to be discussed, plus any supporting paper needed attached.  As a minimum a trustee meeting agenda should include the date, time and location, who has been invited and the various items to be discussed, plus any supporting paper needed attached. Standing agenda items normally include finance and operations reports, updates on any major events/issues, approval of all key decisions, such as the budget, and an annual programme of reviews of key policies.

Charity Trustee Meeting Agenda Template

Here's a simple charity trustee meeting agenda template.

At the top, the name of your charity and date/time and location of the meeting.

Underneath that, the trustees names, any apologies and anyone attending. That is, who isn't a trustee and cannot vote, such as your CEO or the auditors.

1. Declaration of interests.
2. Matters Arising.
   1. Outstanding actions from previous meetings and approval of the minutes of the previous meeting.
3. Chair/CEO Report.
   1. Business plan objectives, successes, major issues, action taken and impact expected, any decisions requested from Board.
4. Standing Agenda Items.  Finance Report.
5. Other Agenda Items.
6. Any Other Business (AOB).  Such as the date of the next meeting and any key diary dates.

For each meeting agenda item, I would normally allocate a time (20 mins), who will lead it (the Chair), the outcome sought (decision, approval, discussion, for information) and any attached papers (draft minutes of previous meeting, finance report).

Trustee Decision Making in Meetings

The Charity Commission CC3 (The Essential Trustee), fairly simply and clearly lays out trustee responsibilities, not least the obligation to act at all times in your charity's best interests. CC27 (Decision-making for charity trustees, updated Sep 24), has 7 principles including issues such as joint decision making, disagreements and delegation.

Delegation to management of committees, or individuals sometimes, enables the Board to ensure key decisions are only made by the trustees.  You can download schemes of delegation and a reserved powers policy from Charity Excellence. Where a task is delegated to an individual, this should be recorded in the minutes, including details such as any timescale, amounts, limitations and reporting back.

Decision Making Outside Trustee Meetings

It's also increasingly common to make decisions outside of formal meetings (ex committee) and this has real benefits.  It can work better for very busy people and avoids delays, but comes with a downside too.  There may be less debate and scrutiny.  It's purely my own view but I think there are 2 occasions when this is worth doing.

• Urgent decisions, when a delay may cause problems.  It can be helpful to have an 'Urgency' section in committee Terms of Reference (ToRs) that identifies how this is managed.  The committee ToRs that you can download from Charity Excellence have this.
• Non contentious decisions, when it would benefit from being done more quickly and there is limited need to discuss an issue, because it isn't contentious.  In such cases, I send an e mail to all laying this out and inviting comment, with a reasonable deadline. If everyone is happy, it's approved and ratified at the next meting. If not, it isn't and is tabled for the next meeting.

Free Charity Trustee Templates, Resources and Help

Score the trustee governance questionnaire to download the full meeting agenda template in Word, plus a whole range of other charity templates and resources, such as an annual trustee meeting plan, committee terms of reference and delegations.  Plus, 40+ charity policy templates, the Funding Finder and  Help Finder directories and much more. Quick, simple and very effective.

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Do We Need to Have Trustee Meeting Minutes?

Minutes of some types of meeting can be required by either company law or the governing document of the charity.  That aside, it is best practice to record minutes of meetings.

What Should be Recorded in Charity Trustee Minutes?

Trustee meeting minutes do not need to be a word-for-word record, but should include the type of meeting, date and, for each agenda item, key details of the discussion, decisions and who will carry these out and by when.  The details of any conflicts of interest declared must always be included and, if some or all of the minutes include confidential information, this should be marked as such.

Trustee Meeting Minutes Template

Charity Commission Guidance - Trustee Meetings

The Charity Commission rules on trustee and other meetings are published as CC48 Charities and Meetings.

HOW TO RUN A CHARITY TRUSTEE MEETING WELL

If you prefer, you can watch our video on running meetings (42 mins) on our You Tube Channel.

Prior To Your Charity Trustee Meeting

• Issue the meeting agenda in good time; list the agenda items, which charity trustee will lead each and its purpose (decision, information, discussion), with adequate time allocated for each. If it absolutely has to be a long meeting, build in time for at least a stand up and stretch break.
• Circulate the meeting papers to trustees in advance to give people time to read these and, if necessary discuss issues with colleagues, ahead of the meeting.
• Large meetings are fine, if you're giving people information, but don't invite lots of people if you need to make decisions, it doesn't really work. Surveys tend to work better, as it enables everyone's view point to be taken into account. The coefficient of inefficiency is a (semi) humorous theory on meeting size.
• Invite those who need to be there, because their specific expertise is required, not because of their seniority.
• And diversity stands as an equality issue, but it's also about diversity of thought. If everyone at your meeting thinks like you, you'll probably all agree and make decisions everyone supports. It feels good, but you'll be less effective than you should be and, potentially blind to risks; group think. Try inviting the junior staff, the disrupters, those with different skills, or lived experience, to bring new ideas and thinking.
• Be even more creative - consider holding a standing, or walking meeting, or choose an outside location.
• But do not invite everyone to every meeting or every agenda item, even for regular meetings. if you're feeling brave, make attendance at your next meeting optional and see how many people turn up.
• Ensure that you send your apologies in good time, if you are not able to attend.

The chair should ensure that:

• Discussion remains focussed on the agenda item to be discussed.
• Everyone has the opportunity to speak and no one is allowed to dominate the conversation.
• Anyone not participating is brought into the conversation by inviting them to contribute.
  • A good tip is to invite the most junior to speak ahead of anyone else.
• He/she intervenes, if anyone is behaving in an way that is inappropriate or not helpful.
  • If necessary, speak to them privately after the meeting.
  • It's usually better and easier to guide them in how they should be contributing, than telling him/her off for what they are or are not doing.
• Off agenda items are dealt with under AOB or outside the meeting.
• Any action/discussion that requires only some people is delegated to be dealt with outside the meeting and options, or a decision brought back to the next meeting.
• Timings are adhered to.
• The decision/action for each item is achieved and being clear on who will do what and by when.
• The meeting ends on a positive note and the key points/decisions are summarised, with clarity on any next steps.

The Role of Charity Trustees at a Meeting

All trustees should:

• Ensure we have fully prepared for the meeting.
• Adhere to etiquette in using smart phones/tablets.
  • That is don't, just don't. If you need to know why, read this.
• Focus on the agenda item and what is to be achieved.
• Actively contribute and support others, even if you don't say anything, by nodding, using eye contact and other non-verbal responses to what is being said.
• Actively challenge ourselves and others, but always positively and with respect.
  • If you're not confident enough/able to break in verbally, raise your hand and leave it up until someone notices and responds.
• Be sensitive to peoples’ need for support when challenging or being challenged.
• Actively encourage those who are not participating by seeking their views and don't talk over others or dominate the conversation.
• Don't make assumptions and, instead, focus on facts.
• Be tolerant of diverse points of view by avoiding:
  • Giving offence – being ready to apologise.
  • Taking offence – remaining open to discussion.
• Don't dwell on the past, except to learn and, instead, look forward and work with others to create solutions.
• If you disagree, support your argument with facts and try to offer an alternative solution.
• Don't blame people for things beyond their control and leave personal agendas outside the room.

Agreeing and collectively buying in to the above, or similar, with the team may help make clear expectations.

After Your Charity Trustee Meeting

• The chair should circulate the draft minutes or action notes of decisions promptly.
• Individuals should ensure that they carry out any actions allocated to them in the timescale required.
  • Better still if they report back to the Secretary and sh/e inserts notes into the minutes for circulation ahead of the next meeting.

Charity Trustee Meetings - FAQs

• How often should charity trustees meet? Many charities hold trustee meetings quarterly but the only correct answer is as often as you need to. In small charities, where the trustees may either run or be very involved in running a charity, meetings are likely to be more frequent, particularly leading up to a major event.
• Who can attend trustee meetings? All trustees must be invited to each meeting but can invite other, such as staff to report on activities or professional advisers to provide advice, or others, such as a carer for a disabled trustee.
• Who can vote at trustee meetings? Whilst others can be invited to attend charity trustee meetings, only trustee may vote. The governing document often gives the chair a casting vote in the event of a tie in voting.
• What’s the Chair’s role at a charity trustee meeting? ‘Chair’ means the trustee or other person who leads the charity’s meetings through the business items on the agenda of the meeting. A governing document often gives the Chair a casting vote in the event of an equality of votes.
• Do we need to have an agenda for a trustee meeting? Even if not specified in your governing document, issuing an agenda is best practice and will help to make your meetings more effective.  As a minimum it should include the date, time and location, who has been invited and the various items to be discussed, plus any supporting paper needed attached.
• Do we need to take minutes for trustee meetings? The taking and keeping of minutes of some types of meeting can be required by either company law or the governing document of the charity.  That aside, it is best practice to record minutes of meetings.
• What should be included in trustee meeting minutes? The minutes do not need to be a word-for-word record, but should include the type of meeting, date and, for each agenda item, key details of the discussion, decisions and who will carry these out and by when.
• What is Any Other Business (AOB) at a charity meeting? AOB is anything that hasn’t been included in the agenda that a meeting participant wants to discuss.  Time should be made in the agenda for AOB but, if possible, the secretary or chair should be notified in advance.
• What is a meeting quorum? A ‘quorum’ is the minimum number of people required to be present at a charity meeting to make valid decisions. A quorum can be a fixed number or a percentage of those entitled to attend and vote. The number of people required to form a quorum is usually stated in the governing document.

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This Guide to Charity Trustee Meetings isn't Professional Opinion

This article on charity trustee meetings is for general interest only and does not constitute professional legal or financial advice.  I'm neither a lawyer, nor an accountant, so not able to provide this, and I cannot write guidance that covers every charity or eventuality.  I have included links to relevant regulatory guidance, which you must check to ensure that whatever you create reflects correctly your charity’s needs and your obligations.

In using this meeting and AGM guide, you accept that I have no responsibility whatsoever from any harm, loss or other detriment that may arise from your use of my work.  If you need professional advice, you must seek this from someone else. To do so, register, then login and use the Help Finder directory to find pro bono support. Everything is free.