Open letter to Northern Ireland’s charity trustees
Dear Charity Trustees
As you may already be aware, Trustees Week 2023 is fast approaching. Taking place from, 6-10 November 2023, the week is aimed at showcasing the valuable work of trustees, providing them with an opportunity to share their stories and experiences as well as develop their own skills and learning.
It has been almost a year now since I took up the helm at Northern Ireland’s charity regulator, first as Interim Chair for a brief period followed by my appointment as Chief Commissioner on 1 September 2023. In conjunction with Trustees Week, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to the charity sector, as well as to recognise the good work and progress of Northern Ireland’s charities, and those who lead them.
Being a charity trustee is a responsible, demanding and often time-consuming role, one which is almost always unpaid. However, being a trustee can be very rewarding – an opportunity to make a difference and to drive decision making and development in a charity, for the public benefit.
Many individuals become trustees to give something back to society, to help others as well as to develop themselves, their skills, experience and understanding. For some, becoming a charity trustee is also a way of contributing to an organisation or cause which has, in some tangible way, touched their own lives. I commend those who make the decision to become a trustee as well as the work they do to grow and support their chosen charity.
As Northern Ireland’s charity regulator, we strive to provide the mechanisms that will guide trustees in meeting their legal duties and adapting their charity for the future. The Commission’s website currently offers almost 80 pieces of guidance aimed at assisting charities, from registration and annual reporting through to dealing with the everyday difficulties charities can face. To date, there are almost 8,000 charities on the register, with nearly 30,000 annual monitoring returns submitted, reporting a total gross income of over £13.6billion.
As we see change and growth within the sector, we too are an organisation committed to learning, improving and progressing. We are using the resources available to us, from our helper groups to our stakeholder forum, to listen and communicate with organisations within the sector who have first-hand experience of our work. We are taking their views on board and looking at our processes and where we might make changes for the better, no matter how small or big.
We are also working to implement the recommendations from the Ministerial Review of Charity Regulation. For example, in a major step towards opening up registration, and in keeping with the Review recommendations, we have now completed the phasing out of what we call the “combined list”. A public list of all organisations the Commission was aware of, which may be charities but had not been registered yet, the combined list provided an important checking service while charity registration was progressing. The phasing out of this list has made way for updated processes as the sector’s needs have changed. We have now, alternatively, published a list of organisations whose applications are currently in progress and information on current wait times to be contacted for registration. As always, the onus remains on charity trustees to ensure the Commission knows about their charity and applies for registration when contacted to do so, in keeping with their legal duties.
A perhaps more visible change will be the introduction of the new traffic light display on the register of charities, which aims to, as the Review recommended, “allow greater differentiation between filing defaulters.” Currently being refined and tested, this new display will highlight if a charity has submitted their annual accounts and reports to the Commission on time (green), late or if they are overdue (amber or red, depending on how late the information is).
As you can see, there is a great deal of change afoot within the Commission, which I hope will be of great benefit to the sector which we regulate, as well as to those who support the charities within it.
As Chief Commissioner, I follow in the footsteps of previous Chief Commissioners, Tom McGrath CBE and, most recently, Nicole Lappin, who I worked with on the Board of the Commission. I hope, as I look to the future, that my tenure as Chief Commissioner will build on their legacies and guide the Commission into its next chapter as an engaging, enabling and robust regulator in which charities and the public have trust and confidence.
I remain committed to listening to charities and those who support them, as well as to being a visible regulator, offering the guidance and support charities need to do the right thing and continue building a world in which we can all thrive.
As I highlighted earlier, being a charity trustee is a difficult but rewarding role, one which should not be undertaken lightly but one in which you can make a difference and have immense pride. I hope the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland can provide the guidance and support you need to fulfil that role. And, on a final note, as we prepare for Trustees Week, may I also take this opportunity, on behalf of the Commission, to thank you all for your generosity and commitment.
Yours sincerely
Gerard McCurdy
Chief Commissioner, Charity Commission for Northern Ireland