The Six Essential Trustee Duties

By Jose Julio Pisharello

This article forms part of the series “Understanding Charities: A Practical Guide for Trustees and the Public”. The series is being published following the introduction of the Charities Act 2026. Its purpose is to help readers better understand charities, the role of trustees and the governance arrangements that help maintain public trust and confidence in the charitable sector. 

Throughout this series, the term “trustee” is used as a general term to describe those responsible for the governance of a charity. Depending on how a charity is constituted, they may, for example, be directors of a charitable company or councillors of a private foundation. 

In the previous article, we looked at what trustees actually do: providing direction, exercising oversight and taking collective responsibility for their charity. 

Those responsibilities are underpinned by a number of important legal duties. They may sound formal, but their purpose is straightforward: to ensure that charities are properly run, their resources are protected and trustees make decisions in the interests of the charity they serve. 

The Charity Commission's guidance identifies six essential trustee duties. Every trustee should understand them. 

1. Act in the charity's best interests

Trustees must put the interests of the charity first. 

This means making decisions that further the charity's purposes, exercising independent judgement and avoiding undue influence from others. Trustees should consider the relevant information before them, ask questions where necessary and make decisions they genuinely believe are in the charity's best interests. 

This does not mean that trustees will always agree. Different views and constructive challenge are part of healthy decision-making. What matters is that the eventual decision is reached properly and for sound  reasons. 

Important decisions should also be appropriately recorded, including the principal considerations taken into account. 

2. Follow the governing document

As we saw last week, every charity has a governing document. Trustees must operate within it. 

The governing document defines the charity's purposes and normally sets out the powers available to trustees and the rules governing matters such as meetings, appointments and decision-making. 

Trustees should therefore know what their governing document allows them to do, and what it does not. A decision taken with the best of intentions can still cause difficulties if trustees do not have the power to make it or fail to follow the required procedure. 

3. Use charitable property for the right purposes

Money and other assets belonging to a charity are not the trustees' property. They hold that money and other charity assets on trust for charitable purposes and not for their own benefit. Trustees are therefore responsible for ensuring that charitable funds and assets are properly protected from abuse and misuse and used only to further the charitable purposes for which they are held. 

Particular care is needed with restricted funds, which is money given for a specific purpose. If funds are raised for one particular project or purpose, trustees cannot simply decide to use them for something else because another need has arisen. 

Good stewardship of charitable resources is one of the foundations of public confidence. 

4. Exercise reasonable care and skill

Trustees are not expected to know everything, but they are expected to take their responsibilities seriously. 

They should exercise appropriate care when making decisions, use the skills and experience they possess and seek professional or specialist advice when necessary. A trustee with relevant professional expertise may be expected to bring that knowledge and experience to the role. 

However, specialist expertise, whether provided by a fellow trustee or an external adviser, does not remove the collective responsibility of the trustees. Advice should inform the board's decision-making, rather than replace it. Trustees should remain sufficiently informed to consider the advice, ask appropriate questions and exercise their own judgement in reaching a collective decision. 

The important point is that trustees should make properly informed decisions. Difficult or unfamiliar issues should not simply be guessed at, nor should trustees approve proposals without understanding them. 

Asking questions and seeking advice are signs of responsible trusteeship, not weakness. 

5. Identify and manage conflicts of interest

Trustees must be alert to situations in which their personal interests, or another duty or relationship, could conflict with the interests of the charity. 

Having a conflict does not necessarily mean that anyone has done anything wrong. What matters is recognising it and managing it properly. 

Conflicts should be declared and recorded. Depending on the circumstances, the affected trustee may need to withdraw from the discussion or decision. 

The guiding principle is simple: decisions must be made in the charity's best interests, not for the personal benefit of a trustee or someone connected with them. 

6. Ensure the charity is properly administered

Finally, trustees must ensure that the charity is properly administered. This means satisfying themselves that appropriate arrangements are in place for the charity to meet its legal and regulatory responsibilities, including in areas such as financial management, safeguarding, risk management and reporting and filing obligations. 

What is appropriate will vary from charity to charity. The arrangements should be proportionate to the charity's size, activities, complexity and the risks it faces. The important point is that trustees remain satisfied that their charity is being administered responsibly and in accordance with its obligations. 

Trustees can delegate particular tasks to employees, volunteers, committees or advisers, but, as we discussed last week, delegation does not remove their overall responsibility. 

These six duties are therefore closely connected. Together, they provide a practical framework for responsible trusteeship. 

Trustee Question of the Week 

What if I don't have specialist knowledge or experience? 

Trustees are not expected to be experts in every aspect of running a charity. What matters is that they understand their responsibilities, remain engaged, ask questions and are willing to learn. 

Different trustees will often bring different skills, knowledge and experience to the board. Charities should therefore consider periodically whether, collectively, their trustees have an appropriate mix of skills and experience for the charity's activities and the challenges it faces. 

Where gaps are identified, these can be addressed in different ways, for example, through trustee training and development, recruiting trustees with complementary skills or obtaining appropriate professional or specialist advice. 

Specialist knowledge can strengthen a board, but it does not transfer responsibility to the specialist. All trustees remain collectively responsible for the decisions they make. 

Key Takeaway 

Trusteeship carries important responsibilities, but trustees are not expected to manage them alone or know everything themselves. What matters is that they remain engaged, make properly informed decisions, seek advice where necessary and collectively ensure that their charity is properly governed. 

Looking Ahead 

Knowing the duties is only part of effective trusteeship. The next question is how a board puts them into practice. 

Next week, we will look at good governance: how effective boards organise themselves, make decisions, manage conflicts and create a culture in which trustees can provide informed oversight and constructive challenge. 

About the author: Jose Julio Pisharello is a member of the Gibraltar Charity Commission and has written this series with the aim of helping readers better understand charities, trustee responsibilities and good governance.