Charity Policies and Procedures

We write the policies and procedures that charity trustees need for good governance and to answer the Charity Commission's annual return with confidence. Each document is written for your charity, your activities and your governing document, not pulled from a generic template.

The Charity Commission expects trustees to have appropriate policies in place and to follow them. The annual return asks trustees questions about the charity's governance, and weak or missing policies are a common source of regulatory concern.

Whether you are a established charity tightening your governance or a new charity setting up from scratch, we turn the Charity Commission guidance into clear, usable documents. Start with our guide to the policies the annual return asks about.

The Policies Trustees Are Expected to Hold

Good charity governance rests on a core set of policies. The Commission's CC guidance underpins most of them, and the Charity Governance Code sets the wider standard.

• Safeguarding, to protect everyone who comes into contact with the charity (see our charity safeguarding policy guide).
• Internal financial controls, to safeguard funds and reduce fraud and error.
• Reserves, set and explained in the trustees annual report (see our charity reserves policy guide).
• Conflicts of interest, with a register of interests and a clear decision-making procedure.
• Serious incident reporting, complaints, risk management, trustee expenses, investing funds, campaigning and political activity, social media and external speakers.

What You Get

We produce a documented policy suite that maps to the Commission's expectations and your charity's real activities.

• A policy review of what you hold and where the gaps are against the annual return.
• Bespoke policies written for your charity, in plain English your trustees and volunteers can follow.
• Trustee-ready documents that align with the relevant Charity Commission guidance and the Charity Governance Code.
• A clear set covering safeguarding, financial controls, reserves, conflicts of interest, complaints, risk, serious incident reporting and more.

The full reference for what the annual return covers is published by the Commission in its CC guidance publications, and the wider standard is the Charity Governance Code.

How Policy Pros Can Help

Most governance failings trace back to a missing or unfollowed policy rather than bad intent. We give trustees a clear, written framework they can actually use and evidence to the regulator.

To scope the policies your charity needs, get in touch for a quote. For the detail, see our annual return policy checklist, or our guides on conflicts of interest and internal financial controls. Charity policies also sit within your wider compliance policies and procedures.