These are set out in the charity's "governing document". Depending on the legal form of the charity, its governing document could be a memorandum and articles of association, a constitution, a set of rules or a trust deed. The legal powers and administrative arrangements in every charity's governing document should help it to achieve its charitable aims and manage its resources, not hinder it from doing so. A well-run charity reviews its governing document periodically to keep it up to date and to keep pace with the charity's development.

The governing document should clearly identify who within the charity has this role. The

people, or the corporate body, that have this role are legally the "charity trustees", though they may be known by another title such as directors; governors; or members of a management or executive committee or council.

A well-run charity has a trustee body of a manageable size, whose members together

have the skills, knowledge and experience needed to run the charity economically and

effectively, given its complexity. The charity provides induction for new trustees and

opportunities for all trustees to develop their knowledge and skills. They should work

collectively, be decisive, guard against dominant individuals, and not allow private

interests to influence them. They should adopt and record rules for the delegation of

appropriate functions from trustees to staff and/or volunteers. The differing but mutually

dependent roles of trustees and staff/volunteers should be clearly understood.

Charity trustees must act solely in the interests of their charity, regardless of how

or by whom they were appointed. They should strive to avoid putting themselves

in any position where their duty to act in the charity's interests conflicts, or

appears to conflict, with their own personal interests. If this is unavoidable the

conflict of interest must be disclosed straightaway to the other trustees, who

should make arrangements to prevent the conflict affecting the charity or its

reputation.

Any payment (as opposed to refund of expenses) received by a trustee must

have legal authority, must be a reasonable sum for the work done, and must be

properly disclosed and accounted for.

The independence of trustees is of paramount importance. No charity should

allow itself to be controlled or manipulated. Sometimes a person or body has a

right to appoint (or nominate) trustees for a charity, but that does not give the

appointing body any right of influence over the trustees once in place. Trustees

must make decisions and exercise their discretions solely in the interests of the

charity, as must any other person or body having powers under the governing

document.

Some people are disqualified by law from acting as trustee of a charity. For

example someone who:

          * is an undischarged bankrupt; or

          * has been removed from office as a charity trustee by the Royal Court;

No-one who is incapable of understanding the nature of a trustee's duties, or who

is unwilling to accept some or all of them, should be appointed as a trustee.

No-one under 18 years of age can legally be a trustee of a charitable trust or

association.

A well-run charity understands the needs of its beneficiaries and users. It manages its

resources securely and economically and deploys them to the best advantage of its

present and future users or beneficiaries. Funders, donors, supporters and users have a right to expect high standards of management and financial control. This in itself requires resources, and it is a false economy to cut administration below the level needed to manage the charity properly. But every charity should be able to show that it has kept administrative costs to the minimum consistent with high standards of management.

Any charity which aspires to having high standards of management and financial control will also want to provide a good quality service for their users or beneficiaries, and will want to make continuous improvements to their services and activities.

Every charity should identify and comply with its obligations under the laws of California, and under any specific law which applies to it because of the nature of its activities (eg as an employer) or of its legal form (eg as a company). A well-run charity takes professional advice when in doubt as to its legal obligations.

Charities must comply with legislation (in so far as it applies to charities) which protects the human rights of the individual, including those which prohibit discrimination.

"Activities" means anything done using resources belonging to the charity or under its

control, and includes all of its work and services. Activities are not in themselves normally the determining factor in deciding whether or not an organisation is charitable. But an effective charity can readily show how its activities contribute towards the achievement of its aims. No charity may use its resources on any activities which do not contribute, directly or indirectly, to achieving its own aims.

A charity may carry out a trade which furthers its primary charitable aim, but may not

carry out any other form of trade.

Except where there is a genuine need to respect confidentiality, a charity should be ready to explain and justify the policies and practices it has chosen to adopt to any member of the public.

A charity cannot work effectively for its beneficiaries or service users unless it takes steps to discover and understand their needs, and attunes its charitable activity towards meeting those needs. This will often mean giving beneficiaries or users some

involvement in the formulation of policies or services.

A well-run charity fulfils the legitimate expectations of those who give money to it.

Donations which are received in response to a public appeal must always be used by the trustees in accordance with the terms of that appeal. But trustees are not under the same obligation to observe the wishes of those who donate funds for the general purposes of the charity.

Charities, individually and collectively, rely on external support. A charity's reputation is a valuable asset. A well-run charity is sensitive to external opinion and seeks to enhance its standing in its dealings with commercial and public sector bodies, its methods of raising funds, and its advertising and publicity. It also deals responsibly with complaints and criticisms made against it, whether made privately or in the public arena.