Good charity governance – do you have appropriate insurance?
Good charity governance is essential for all charities and not-for-profits. Chief Executive body ACEVO define governance as “the systems and processes concerned with ensuring the overall direction, effectiveness, supervision and accountability of an organisation.” Recent charity publicity highlights the need for charities to demonstrate they are effective and efficient. Often funded by public money, it is vital charities demonstrate public benefit. Good governance lies at its heart.
A 2013 report by ACEVO highlights sound governance lies at the heart of charities managing challenges. The challenges include financial, personal, strategic and risk management to name a few.
Let’s go back to the beginning…. Charities often start from a need. May be a personal story or a strong belief in a cause or issue stimulates a charity to be formed. Over time charities become complex. They employ staff, acquire premises and fundraising becomes essential. As complexity increases so does the need to manage it more effectively and efficiently.
Reviewing your charity governance is often a forgotten activity, in Synergies’ experience. In micro, small and medium charities a lack of time is often why it’s forgotten. Frequently in these charities managers are busy multi-tasking. Essential management work is left on the back burner leaving the charity exposed to the risk that things could go wrong. This is where a management consultancy can help. It can provide a fresh pair of eyes and experience to fast track your charity to good governance.
Synergies can provide a governance review and update service. We not only know the theory but also what it’s like in practice. Risk management is often inadequately considered. This includes making sure your charity has the right insurance. And here’s another minefield….. What sort of insurance does your charity need? Employee or public liability? Trustee indemnity insurance? Business interruption insurance? An insurance broker specialising in charity insurance can be invaluable to small and medium sized charities; they understand charities and how each and everyone is different. Specialist brokers Bryan James provide a tailored insurance service to meet your charity’s needs. They’ll meet with you, help you think about the risks facing your charity and advise what is needed. They’ll do this year on year too.