Guidance for Managing Trustees

Charity Commission Quiz

On 25 September 2023 the Commission launched the next phase of its trustee campaign which aims to increase charity trustees’ knowledge and drive a positive change in charities’ governance.

The campaign encourages trustees to check what they know about their duties, and aims to increase their awareness of the Commission’s 5-minute guides. The quiz is designed to engage trustees with a variety of questions based on everyday scenarios that they may encounter at their charity. It has been designed to help identify knowledge gaps and is an ideal refresher for trustees at all levels of experience. Research shows that the majority of trustees feel confident in their ability to manage their charities, however there may be areas of knowledge they can improve on. The quiz is intended to encourage trustees to think again about what they know, to inspire upskilling.

The quiz takes around three minutes to complete and gives busy trustees an interactive means to quickly check what they know and help them uncover potential knowledge gaps they may not have been aware of. It prompts participants to test their knowledge on a range of topics, such as conflicts of interest and safeguarding. Feedback is provided for each question, and users are pointed to further guidance from the regulator to strengthen their knowledge.

Each participant also receives a score out of 10, allowing them to benchmark their knowledge.

Take three minutes to do the quiz here: charity-commission.involve.me/trustee-quiz-5-minute-guides

Guidance for Methodist Trustees

On this page you'll find all the documents and information you need as a Methodist Trustee.

The five golden rules of being a trustee (PDF) – last updated January 2023

Managing Faith Charities as trustees – Charity Commission guidance

Guidance for charities with connection to a non-charity  - last updated 2019 

Managing conflicts of interest (PDF) - last updated 2022

Rules for automatic disqualification of trustees and senior managers (PDF) - last updated 2018 

Implementing the Charity Governance Code: guidance for Micro Charities - last updated July 2022  
 

Annual Returns

We have made some significant changes to the Annual Returns update to help make it more efficient and relevant to the current needs of the wider Church.  One of the most significant changes users will notice is the drastic reduction in the number of questions. The feedback from managing trustees over the years has been consistent: there were too many questions being asked on the portal.  The questions now focus on Action for Hope and the mission of churches and circuits. These questions will be fed in to the work that the Connexional Team does and help assess the impact of these initiatives.  

However, the questions that were previously on the return have not entirely gone away. They now form The Managing Trustee Annual Returns Checklist (Word) or (pdf version). This makes it easier for us to adapt the questions as the needs of the church change over time, but also make it easier for you to submit the information to your circuits and districts, but also store them for your own records. 

The Managing Trustee Annual Returns Checklist contains questions that used to appear within the annual returns checklist.  However, although they been removed, they may still assist you in fulfilling your obligations as a managing trustee. Please note that this is not a complete list, merely guidance to ensure that you keep in mind certain areas of responsibility on an annual basis.  It is suggested that reference should be made to specific District or Circuit requirements.
 

Data protection and retention 

Data protection guidance and toolkit (external link) 

Insurance, risk assessment, security

Trustees have a duty to avoid undue risk, please read and familiarise yourself with : Charities and risk management (CC26) 

Detailed risk assessment documents for fire risk, asbestos risk and more can be found on this page of the property section of the Church's website.  

Methodist Insurance have a range of resources for churches, covering various aspects of property management:

Methodist Insurance  Resource Library (link)
Developing a Church Health and Safety Policy (link)

Finance

Managing Trustees and Methodist Money - last updated 2010; page under review

Standard Form of Accounts (link)

Prepare a Charity Annual Return: Charity Commission guidance (link)

If you need any further information, please contact the Conference Office. 

*Please note that the Guidance for Closed Churches and the Replacement Project Criteria have now been moved to A-Z Property Guidance.