An introduction to governance

In the early stages of a charity or non profit organisation, when there are only a few of you doing everything, there may not be an obvious difference between governance and the many other tasks you have to carry out. It is tempting to think it doesn’t really matter, but it does.

If you are a trustee or member of the governing body you have specific responsibilities which you must carry out with the other members of the governing body, according to your constitution and relevant legislation.For that reason it is helpful to distinguish between governance and any other roles you and others may carry out.

Governing is about:
•agreeing the purpose of the charity or non profit
•agreeing broad strategies to carry out the charity or non profit’s purpose effectively
•accounting for the non profit’s performance
•ensuring it operates within the law.
Management is about implementing the strategies agreed by the board e.g. by detailed planning, putting procedures in place and by raising money. If you are not on the board you will be involved in management and implementation, either as a member of staff or as a volunteer.

In charities, though not necessarily in other non profit organisations, governance is usually carried out by trustees who are unpaid. If you are a board member and do other things for your charity or non profit (for example, you are a regular volunteer), take care to separate the roles.

In your role as a trustee or board member it is your duty (with colleagues) to make decisions about direction, when you are acting outside that role e.g. as a regular volunteer, it is not your place to decide the organisation’s direction.

The key priorities and challenges for the organisation and its board will depend on its stage of development. The Charity Commission’s publication Milestones: Managing key events in the life of a charity, gives a good indication of what might lie ahead for you if you are a charity.


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