Free resources

Templates, guides and tools for charity trustees

Everything here is free, written for UK charities, and kept in step with Charity Commission guidance. Use it with or without The Committee Room.

Start here If you only take three things

A whole page of resources is a lot to land on. These three are the ones most boards use first.

πŸ“„ Template

Charity board minutes template

The one most people come for. A Charity Commission–friendly layout with decision and action logs built in, plus a page on what minutes must β€” and needn't β€” record.

5-min read Β· .docxGet the template β†’
βš™οΈ Tool

Deadline checker

Enter your year end and structure and get every filing deadline that applies β€” Charity Commission, OSCR, CCNI, Companies House β€” with calendar reminders. Thirty seconds, nothing sent anywhere.

βš™οΈ Tool

Board health check

Ten questions scored against the 2025 Charity Governance Code, with an instant report naming your priority fixes and the free template for each. Scored in your browser.

All of this stays free, whether or not you ever use us. If you'd rather not write the minutes at all, that's the job we do β€” Β£19 a meeting, drafted by AI, checked by a person. See how it works β†’

Templates Word & Google Docs

Download, adapt, and use forever β€” they're yours once you have them.

πŸ“„ Template

Charity board minutes template

A Charity Commission–friendly minutes layout with decision and action logs built in β€” plus a one-page guide to what minutes must (and needn't) record.

5-min read Β· .docxGet the template β†’
πŸ“‘ Example

Sample completed minutes

See what finished minutes look like: a full worked example for a fictional charity β€” numbered decisions, an action log, and our house layout. Handy whether you write your own or send them to us.

2 pages Β· .pdfView the sample β†’
πŸ“„ Template

Trustee meeting agenda template

The 90-minute agenda that ends on time: consent items grouped, decisions upfront, AOB tamed. With chairing notes in the margins.

Ready to use Β· .docxDownload free β†’
πŸ“„ Template

Policy review schedule

Which policies your charity actually needs, which are optional, and how often to review each β€” as a ready-made three-year rolling schedule.

Ready to use Β· .xlsxDownload free β†’
πŸ“„ Template

Charity compliance calendar

Every recurring deadline a charity board faces β€” annual return, policy reviews, trustee terms β€” pre-loaded with a days-until-due countdown and a year-end deadline calculator.

Ready to use Β· .xlsxDownload free β†’
πŸ“„ Template

Decision log & action tracker

Two logs in one workbook: every decision numbered and recorded in its exact wording, and a rolling action log with owners, due dates and an automatic overdue counter β€” the follow-up system that makes minutes actually happen.

Ready to use Β· .xlsxDownload free β†’
πŸ“„ Template

Board decision log

If "what did we actually agree?" keeps coming up, this is the fix: one numbered row per decision, in the exact wording, with the meeting date and agenda item. It is the second tab of the tracker above β€” download once and you have both.

Ready to use Β· .xlsx (tab 2)Download free β†’
πŸ“„ Template

New trustee induction pack

A welcome letter, first-90-days checklist and reading list β€” because so many charities give new trustees no induction at all.

Ready to use Β· .docxDownload free β†’
πŸ“„ Policy template

Conflicts of interest policy

A ready-to-adopt policy with the two forms that make it work: a register of interests and a trustee declaration form. Declare, manage, record β€” the routine that protects trustees as much as the charity.

Adapt & adopt Β· .docxDownload free β†’
πŸ“„ Policy template

Financial controls policy

Dual authorisation, spending limits, cash handling and expenses β€” built on one golden rule: no single person controls a transaction from start to finish. Includes a fill-in authorisation table.

Adapt & adopt Β· .docxDownload free β†’
πŸ“„ Policy template

Complaints policy

A fair three-stage process with sensible timescales, safeguarding carve-outs, and where people can go if they're still unhappy. Short enough that your board will actually follow it.

Adapt & adopt Β· .docxDownload free β†’

Tools Free to use

Small, useful, and honest about what they are: a taste of what The Committee Room does automatically.

βš™οΈ Tool

Deadline checker

Enter your year end and structure, and get every filing deadline that applies β€” Charity Commission, OSCR, CCNI and Companies House β€” with calendar reminders to download. Worked out in your browser; nothing sent anywhere.

βš™οΈ Tool

Board health check

Ten questions scored against the 2025 Charity Governance Code, with an instant personalised report β€” your priority fixes, each with a free template to match. Scored in your browser; nothing leaves your device.

Guides Plain English

The questions every board asks, answered without legalese. Reviewed against current Charity Commission guidance.

πŸ“˜ Guide

Governance FAQ β€” quick answers to board questions

Annual returns, quorum, conflicts, trustee pay, AGMs, reserves β€” the questions every board asks, answered in plain English and checked against Commission guidance.

Live now Β· 19 answersRead the FAQ β†’
πŸ“˜ Guide

The six trustee duties, explained like a human

CC3 without the fog: what each duty means on an ordinary Tuesday, with examples of getting it right and wrong.

πŸ“˜ Guide

Your annual return, step by step

What the Charity Commission asks, what changes at Β£10k, Β£25k and Β£250k income, and the dates that actually matter for your year end.

πŸ“˜ Guide

How long should we keep minutes and papers?

Retention rules for minutes, accounts, safeguarding records and HR papers β€” with a one-page retention schedule to adopt.

πŸ“˜ Guide

Charity law across the UK's four nations

Three regulators, three Acts, real differences. Who you answer to, the cross-border trap, and what changes in 2026 β€” England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland compared.

πŸ“˜ Guide

The treasurer's report: what the board actually needs

Why circulating the bank balance is not a finance report, the restricted funds point small boards most often get wrong, and a one-page structure that gets trustees asking useful questions instead of nodding politely.

πŸ“˜ Collection

Everything here, for treasurers

The filing-deadline tools, financial controls, what changes on 30 September 2026, and reporting to your board β€” the material on this site that matters most in the treasurer's role, on one page.

πŸ“˜ Guide

Keeping your name off the public register

Trustee names are published in all four nations, and Scotland only started in March 2026. What each regulator shows, the two fixes that cost nothing, and how to apply if being named would put someone at risk.

πŸ“˜ Guide

Recruiting trustees when nobody replies

79% of boards in NCVO’s survey have a vacancy. What works beyond word of mouth: role descriptions people answer, and where to post them free.

Guides to download Word Β· keep & adapt

In-depth governance guides written by a chartered governance professional β€” download, print, or share with your board. No sign-up.

πŸ“˜ Guide

How to write good minutes

What minutes are really for, why they’re not a transcript, and how to capture decisions and actions so anyone who wasn’t in the room understands them.

πŸ“˜ Guide

The policies every small charity should consider

The proportionate core set β€” safeguarding, financial controls, conflicts, data protection and the rest β€” with what’s legally required and where to start.

πŸ“˜ Guide

Choosing a legal structure for your charity

Incorporated or not? The four main structures compared β€” liability, regulators and admin β€” and what should tip the balance for a new charity.

πŸ“˜ Guide

Setting up a charity: a step-by-step guide

From first idea to up and running in England & Wales β€” trustees, purposes, structure, governing document, bank account, and registering with the Commission and HMRC.

πŸ“˜ Guide

Writing your trustees’ annual report

Both a legal requirement and your best story to funders. What it must contain, the public benefit statement, and how to make it more than a compliance exercise.

The Quorum β€” one email a month

Upcoming sector deadlines, one practical governance tip, and nothing else. Read by chairs, secretaries and treasurers across the UK. Unsubscribe anytime.

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