When setting up a community group, club, or charity, establishing a strong committee or board in place is going to be key to your success in the long-term.
To ensure clarity of the language used. When you set up a community group (otherwise known as an unincorporated association) you will have a committee, when you set up a charity including a CIO it will have a board of trustees, and when you set up a CIC you will have directors. For ease throughout this resource documents, we will use the word committee.
Every group should have a formal committee regardless of its size, they ensure that decisions are made collectively and that there are named people working together to manage current and future projects and plans, and to ensure all staff and volunteers are working safely.
Often a group may have grown from a single person’s idea into a larger organisation. This is often organic and unplanned in its development but when multiple people become involved it should go through the processes to formalise operations. Here are some useful links and tips about forming and running a committee effectively.
A committee is a group of people who are responsible for overseeing the day-to-day running of the organisation. It is made up of people who bring different skills and expertise to the group. To establish a committee, there are three key roles you must fill – Chair, Treasurer and Secretary. You can find more information about these key roles here. However, this is the absolute minimum, and you should be looking to recruit at least five people to start a committee. Think about what skills might be key to your group, perhaps fundraising, volunteer management, legal matters, finance or social media. When considering forming a committee always keep your charitable purposes front of mind – do you have a committee who understands or has lived experience of the service you are delivering. Does your committee reflect the diversity of local community? All too often a team of committee members look and sound very similar to one another and this limits the challenges and opportunities for your group.
Some committee members may see their role as simply coming to a meeting four times per year, but many groups, especially smaller ones, need people who are engaged and motivated to do a lot more. Set expectations of what you want from people from the start and recruit the right people for the roles. Here is a Charity Excellence Framework resource with ideas on how to recruit well. It’s not about being demanding but being open and honest about what you’re asking people to do. When interviewing, always ask how he/she feels they could best contribute, so you can make sure that how you engage with them, works for them, you and the organisation.
For your three core roles, NCVO has more information about the different roles of officers which explains the components of each role and why it helps to have this clarity about who does what.
Setting and working to standards of good governance can help to avoid difficult situations and conflict. The Charity Governance Code sets out principles and recommended good practice. It is based around seven principles which apply to organisations of any size. You may want to have a conflict resolution policy in place.
It is interesting to note that research undertaken in 2017 found that the two most common names found on a board of charity trustees were John and David – which tells us something of the average demographic of many committees. Men outnumber women two to one, 92% of trustees are white and 75% are richer than average. However, having a diversity of voices meeting to work together for a common cause is very powerful.
Your committee should reflect the diversity of the group and area it is working in. If you are setting up a youth club, perhaps recruit several young people – people can become trustees from 16 years old. If you would like to set up a group to run a community café think about who might access it, perhaps isolated older people, people from different ethnic backgrounds or young parents, and ask them to join the team. This will embed your group into the local community.
Having people who use or have experience of your project or service helping to make the decisions will allow you to consider whether you are heading in the right direction. Projects thrive when decisions are made by people with lived experience – and those that are accessing your service or support are much more likely to have a positive experience.
As well as talking to our Community Development Team about how to start there are many other places to look at best practice.
When you are recruiting committee members, speak to local people, other groups and those who will access your service. You may also want to recruit trustees who have specific skills, and you can do this through our Volunteer matching service.
Only 3% of trustees are under 30. Young Trustees Movement
The Charity Governance Code has a wealth of information Home — Charity Governance Code
Key funders are interested in hearing that you have the right committee in place. Board diversity | The National Lottery Community Fund (tnlcommunityfund.org.uk)
Getting on the Board Home | Getting on Board | United Kingdom | Recruit trustees | Become a trustee
Action for Trustee Racial Diversity Action for Trustee Racial Diversity (ATRD) – Increasing racial diversity on trustee boards
Lived experience 3 ways that charity trustees can centre lived experience (thinknpc.org)