Charities Regulator announces Online Training on the Charities Governance Code

The Charities Regulator has launched training for charity trustees to assist them in meeting the core minimum standards set out in the Charities Governance Code.

Charity trustees are volunteers who are responsible for managing and controlling charities and include directors of companies that are charities, committee members and Board members. This training will be of particular benefit to charity trustees of smaller, volunteer-led charities.

The training, which is being offered free of charge, is intended as an additional support for charity trustees and compliments existing guidance materials and templates on the Code which are available as part of the Charities Regulator’s Governance Code Toolkit. The Code along with the Toolkit can be found on the Charities Regulator’s website. In addition to this, reference copies of the Code and the Toolkit will soon be available in local libraries across the country.

In light of the ongoing health risks posed by COVID-19, the training sessions will take place online. As places are limited, a maximum of one charity trustee per registered charity can avail of the training subject to an overall limit of 1,300 participants.

Those who cannot attend or secure a place on a training session will be able to view the training online at a later date.

“The launch of the Charities Governance Code at the end of 2018 marked a new period of charity governance in Ireland”, Chief Executive, Helen Martin said, adding that “In 2019, we saw a reduction in governance-related concerns raised with the Charities Regulator which, while we cannot be certain at this point, we nevertheless believe can be attributed at least in part to a greater focus on the part of registered charities on standards of governance since the launch of the Code”.

“The Charities Governance Code recognises the significant diversity which exists within Irish charities, ranging from organisations with millions of Euro in turnover and hundreds of volunteers and staff, to charities which are entirely volunteer-led with very low incomes. We are therefore hoping that the training sessions on the Code will be of particular interest to charity trustees from small, volunteer-run charities, whose resources are often more limited”, Ms. Martin said.

The training takes a total of four hours, and comprises a one-hour pre-recorded webinar and a three-hour interactive online workshop which will include small group exercises and a
question and answer session. Training will run throughout Autumn and Winter 2020. A limited number of sessions will also be offered in early 2021.

Registration for the training is now open. For a full list of dates or to register for a FREE ticket click here.

You will find all of the information your charity needs in complying with the Charities Governance Code, including templates and sample forms, at Charitiesregulator.ie.

Please note that these events are strictly for charity trustees working with registered charities. You will need your Registered Charity Number (RCN) to access the event.