Charity Commission launches campaign to help charity trustees be “certain in uncertain times”

A suite of 5 visually engaging animated videos will launch across social media channels from today, each promoting one of the regulator’s 5-minute guides, which launched in November 2020. The guides provide simple, easy to understand information on all the governance basics trustees need to know.

The campaign comes as part of the Commission’s commitment to helping busy trustees run their charities. In addition to being featured on the Commission’s social media channels, the messages will be targeted at trustees on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram to enable the messages to reach more trustees. Sector bodies will be sharing the campaign with their members and supporters.

The regulator’s approach to the campaign is informed by research into trustees’ knowledge and awareness of their responsibilities, and into trustees’ wider attitudes.

Paul Latham, Director of Communications and Policy at the Charity Commission, said:

The past year has been incredibly tough for charities. The pandemic has meant they are facing unprecedented challenges and trustees are making very difficult decisions, often at pace. In these uncertain times, we want to help trustees feel more confident they are getting things right. This campaign is aimed at new and experienced trustees alike – all charities stand to gain from trustees who take active responsibility for acquiring and refreshing their knowledge of sound charity management.

This campaign also signals an important shift at the Commission, in line with our strategy – we are committed to ensuring our materials are user-friendly, and straightforward for busy trustees to access and engage with. I hope as many trustees as possible see our materials, and take the time to refresh their knowledge.

The campaign prompts trustees to consider their understanding of their key responsibilities by a posing question connected to each guide:

• Does every decision help your charity with its mission? (Charity purposes and rules guide)
• Could your charity be drifting into activities that your charity is not set up to do? (Making decisions at a charity guide)
• Is your charity reporting the right things at the right time? (What to send to the Charity Commission and how to get help guide)
• Could you spot a conflict of interest and manage it? (Addressing conflicts of interest in a charity guide)
• Is there more you can do to prevent fraud? (Managing charity finances guide)

Free Modern Slavery Awareness Training for Lincolnshire Voluntary Organisations and Charities

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Lincolnshire is delighted to have secured external funding to enable the delivery of Modern Slavery Awareness training across Lincolnshire.   

Working with the Safer Lincolnshire Partnership, the PCC is funding Hope for Justice to deliver this important training to volunteers and charity workers.

For more information follow this link.

Most dates are now sold out but still available are:

Thursday 25th February 2021, 13:30 – 16:00, https://mstraining25thfeb2021.eventbrite.co.uk

Wednesday 10th March 2021, 13:30 – 16:00, https://mstraining10thmarch2021.eventbrite.co.uk

Tuesday 23rd March 2021, 13:30 – 16:00, https://mstraining23rdmarch2021.eventbrite.co.uk

Why is safeguarding the responsibility of your community hall committee?

Because …

Alongside the ACRE Safeguarding Project, and working with the safegarding teams at Lincolnshire County Council (LCC), we have been developing a number of resources for village and community hall committees.

As we are now mid-way through #VillageHallSafeguardingWeek 2020 I’m taking a moment to reflect on the work we have achieved already.

In October Mary-Ann Round, Training and Development Officer at the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Partnership & Adults Board Training Team, attended the virtual village and community hall cluster meeting, you can find the audio of the presentation and the slides that Mary-Ann used here.

Mary-Ann and her team have developed an online training group for village and community hall volunteers. Contact me for more details.

We advise that all volunteers take part in the “Introduction to Safeguarding Everyone in Lincolnshire” training and that your dedicated Safeguarding Officer choose other topics as necessary. If you feel there should be other topics available in this group, please do let me know and we can feed this back to the team at LCC.

As I’m an admin on the training portal, I’ve noticed that one committee member has already done the “Introduction to Safeguarding Everyone in Lincolnshire” training and passed… congratulations!

This week we have joined The Ann Craft Trust’s #SafeguardingAdultsWeek.

If you follow us on Twitter, you’ll know that today’s message is: Village and community hall committees can protect people from harm!

By law, every charity must safeguard people from harm or abuse, whether they are staff members, volunteers, or other people who come into contact with the organisation through its work, find out more about the Charity Commission Guidance.

ACRE have now developed a new and updated Safeguarding Information Sheet – this is available FREE for members! Please contact me for details on how to get your copy.

Watch this space for more news and updates as we continue our project over the next few months!

Charity Commission launches new online charity register

The Charity’s regulator said the new and improved public register ‘widens the public’s window’ into how third sector organisations are managed by making more information about individual charities available to donors and the public.

Around 40 million people currently use the regulator’s ‘check a charity‘ facility a year, showcasing the public’s need for greater transparency.

An additional function of the tool will allow potential supporters – donors or grant makers – or those thinking of setting up a new charity to search for charities in their area, or to identify charities that promote a certain cause.

Better service for charities

The new display is also designed to make it easier for trustees to access and update their charity’s information with the Commission.

Why not visit the Charity Commission’s register now and see what public information is available for your charity?

You will only find your record if you are a registered charity, for those of you who are not registered, you are still governed by Charity Law but you don’t have to submit an annual return to the Charity Commission.

Your public records are updated in line with your Annual Return which must be submitted within 10 months of the end of your financial year. For village and community hall charities, your records show what your charity does, who your Managing Trustees are (you should list all your management committee members and not just officers) and finance information like income and expenditure.

If you have any queries about your records, please do contact me or in urgent cases (such as your Annual Report being more than one year out of date) please contact the Charity Commission.

Image by Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay 

Charity Commission & financial difficulties advice

The Charity Commission understand that many trustees are having to cope with serious financial challenges that will have a major effect on their charities and those who depend on them. They have therefore set out some guidance for trustees, especially at smaller charities, who may need help facing difficult situations or decisions.

The article goes on to explain what steps should be taken if your charity cannot continue to operate because of the financial problems caused by COVID-19.

You can find full guidance here: Manage financial difficulties.