Governance round-up: May 2023

April saw the return of the our Governance Forum. The forum is a space for governance professionals and leaders to come together, learn, and share. We were joined by speakers from the Charity Commission and the Power & Integrity project.

Attendees heard about the Power & Integrity power labs and the learnings from this work. The Charity Commission also shared updates on upcoming guidance and the rollout of the ‘My Charity Commission Account’.

Attendees discussed how NCVO can create an even stronger network for governance leaders to communicate and collaborate. Feedback included:

• setting up more online events
• looking at regional sessions
• facilitating conversations about best practice that are already happening.

We'll be taking forward as many of these good ideas as possible.

If you’d like to be part of the Governance Forum, please get in touch.

Charity Commission inquiries

The Charity Commission has opened three new inquiries in recent weeks. The inquiries are looking into compliance and financial management concerns at the Centre for Global Studies, the Asia Pacific Children's Fund and Keren Shmuel.

The Commission has also appointed an interim manager to the Islamic Centre of England as part of their ongoing work with the organisation.

How boards can help chief executives speak out

Chris Sherwood, chief executive of the RSPCA, spoke to Civil Society in April about the role trustees can play in supporting senior leaders.

He sets out the importance of trustee support, being visible advocates, and, where necessary, taking managed risks to move the cause forward.

Managing cyber risk

A recent government survey has shown that almost a quarter of charities experienced cyber attacks last year (down from 30% of charities the year before).

Only 31% of charities have trustees with specific knowledge of cyber and digital risk management.

Volunteers’ Week

It’s just two weeks until Volunteers’ Week 2023! There’s inspiration, guidance and resources available on the Volunteers’ Week website to help you plan and celebrate the amazing contributions made by volunteers in your organisations.

Sign up for further updates as we get closer to the 1–7 June!

Online governance training

We run regular online trustee inductions and refresher courses over two half-days. We’re also offering brand new courses on the following areas.

• Fundraising responsibilities for trustees
• Safeguarding essentials for trustees
• Supporting good governance

Browse our upcoming governance training

eLearning induction for trustees

We offer an eLearning module for trustees.

This course gives trustees a low-cost introduction to their roles.

Member events

We hold regular member assembly and welcome events.

Sally Stephens is an NCVO governance consultant. For more regular updates follow @Sally_Steph or @NCVO on Twitter.