Who are charity trustees?
Charity trustees are the people who make up the governing body and have “general control and management” of a charity. They can also be known as: directors, management committee members, or committee members.
Charity trustees are responsible for the governance and strategy of their charity. They are responsible for making sure that their charity is administered effectively, and is able to account for its activities and outcomes both to us and to the public.
What is expected of charity trustees?
Section 66 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act (“The 2005 Act”) sets out:
- four general duties which are fundamental to charity trustees
- a number of specific duties which charity trustees must comply with.
General duties
A charity trustee must:
1. Act in the interest of the charity: trustees should put the interests of their charity before their own interests or those of any other person or organisation.
2. Operate in a manner consistent with the charity’s purposes: trustees should carry out their duties in accordance with their governing document.
3. Act with due care and diligence: trustees should take such care of their charity’s affairs as is reasonable to expect of someone who is managing the affairs of another person.
4. Ensure that the charity complies with the provisions of the 2005 Act and other relevant legislation.
Specific duties
Additional duties for charity trustees include:
1. Updating your charity’s details: trustees must make sure that we hold the latest information about their charity on the
Scottish Charity Register. Charities must first seek our prior consent before taking certain actions. More information about when a charity must contact us for consent and when they must tell us after certain changes have been made is available on our
Making changes to your charity page.
2. Reporting to OSCR: complying with the
statutory duty to supply certain information to us:
3. Financial record keeping and reporting: section 44 of the 2005 Act states that charities must:
- keep proper accounting records
- prepare a statement of account, including a report on its activities, at the end of each financial year
- have the statement of account independently examined or audited
- send a copy of the accounts, along with the annual return, to us.
Accounting records should be kept by the charity for a minimum of 6 years from the end of the financial year in which they were made.
4. Fundraising: trustees are responsible for taking control of how their charity
fundraises.
5. Providing information to the public: trustees must make sure that their charity meets the
statutory provisions when referring to their charitable status , e.g. in advertisements, and in their duty to provide
information about their charity to the public.
Trustee remuneration
Charity trustees must act in the interests of the charity. Any personal benefit to a charity trustee, whether direct or indirect, has to be treated with caution. Read our Charity Trustee Remuneration page for more information.
Trustee investment powers
Sections 93 to 95 of the 2005 Act sets out the powers of investment of trustees and associated duties. Trustees are entitled to make any kind of investment of the trust estate, including a wider power to acquire stocks and shares. However, these powers are subject to restrictions and exclusions and do not extend to certain categories of trustees. Further information about the restrictions and exclusions can be found in the guidance below.
Breach of duty
OSCR has a duty to act where there is evidence that charity trustees are behaving improperly. Our response will be proportionate depending on the breach. Further information on how we will take action in cases of misconduct can be found in our guidance below.
Guidance
The focus of the Guidance for Charity Trustees is on the duties and responsibilities of charity trustees in Scotland. It also offers examples of good practice in the governance of charities which should help charity trustees fulfil their duties and responsibilities. Click on the links below to read the guidance:
Guidance for charity trustees
Guidance for charity trustees - in Bengali
Guidance for charity trustees - in Easy Read (Word version)
Guidance for chaity trustees - in Easy Read (PDF version)
