The best books and resources for charity trustees

It’s Book Lovers Day on 09 August and we’ve picked out some of the best books and online resources for charity trustees.

Whether you’re a new trustee and want to build your confidence in a particular area, like finance, or brush up on your knowledge, reading is useful for all trustees.

There’s plenty to learn about being a trustee, from understanding your legal responsibilities to working effectively with the rest of the board and the CEO.

Trustees play a vital role in a charity’s work. They ask questions to make sure the organisation is being run properly. They sign off the strategy and budget, check that the charity is safeguarding against risks and advise the CEO.

Building good relationships

Aimed at both new and experienced CEOs, It’s a battle on the board – written by the Directory for Social Change’s CEO, Debra Allcock Tyler – is about building good relationships with your fellow trustees.

Trustees need to have knowledge and expertise but they all need to work effectively together. This will help the board to make better decisions and support the charity.

The book has information on understanding your role as a trustee, working with other trustees and the CEO, dealing with information and finance, the psychology of decision-making, and managing risk and handling crisis.

How to effectively govern a charity

This NCVO resource provides practical steps for charities and trustees to achieve and maintain good governance. It covers everything from board responsibilities and legal duties to making decisions as a board and running board meetings.

The resource also includes sample documents and templates, including an agenda for a board meeting, a code of conduct for trustees and a conflict of interest policy.

The NCVO also has other information for trustees on its website. This includes online training, such as learning about financial skills.

Help for aspiring trustees

Getting OnBoard, a charity set up to support people to become trustees, has an online resource for aspiring trustees. The resource includes an explainer video and written guidance about what a trustee is. It also has information about how to find trustee vacancies and includes template CVs and cover letters to apply for trustee roles.

Readers can also download the How to become a trustee guide, which looks at how to reflect on what you want from a trustee role and what makes an effective trustee.

Once you become a trustee of a charity, Getting OnBoard has a useful list of services to help you find specific support for your charity. For example, finance and legal support.

Being aware of good practice

Charities need good governance in place to help them achieve their goals. The Charity Governance Code helps charities and trustees develop high standards of governance. It’s been developed by representatives from charities and other organisations.

It’s not a legal or regulatory requirement for charities to follow the Code. It’s different to legal guidance published by the Charity Commission. The Code sets out the principles and recommended practice for good governance.

The resource includes sections on decision making, risk and control; equality, diversity and inclusion; and openness and accountability.

Understanding finances

Trustees need to have oversight of a charity’s work including finances. They need to be able to ask the right questions about how a charity is operating. This will help them to fulfil their responsibilities and support the CEO to carry out their duties.

If you’re feel daunted by financial information, pick up a copy of Financial governance: a gentle guide for the non-financial charity trustee. Published by ACEVO, the book provides an introduction to charity finances for charity trustees who don’t have experience in this area.

The book aims to give new, or less experienced, trustees the confidence to ask the right questions. It’s a good one to read when you join a board of trustees or before you discuss a charity’s annual accounts.

If you want to read more about being a trustee, have a look at our articles with tips for applying to be a trustee and on how to be a good trustee. Also, see our top book lists for charity leaders, communications professionals and fundraisers.