CurrentKey manual or guideFree

Charity Governance Code

2025 edition

A voluntary governance code for UK charities of any size. It sets out 8 principles with 41 outcomes, and each principle comes with suggested behaviours, examples of policies and processes, and suggested evidence of good governance. Boards apply it on an apply or explain basis and are encouraged to publish a short statement in their annual report on how they use it. Smaller charities can use it to spot gaps as they grow.

Why it is in the libraryThe refreshed UK code sets out eight principles with indicators and evidence prompts, now usable by charities of any size and with equity, diversity and inclusion as its own principle.

Open the resource →

Keywords

How to cite

Charity Governance Code Steering Group (2025). Charity Governance Code: 2025 edition. https://www.charitygovernancecode.org/

Related in the library

  • 3.1C028

    Boards of Directors and Governance Systems

    A practical guide to strengthening NGO boards, first written in Spanish for organisations in Latin America, where board development tools adapted to local culture and language were scarce. The English version followed requests from outside the region. It walks through board roles, structures and governance systems in practical steps, with tools that boards and executive directors can apply to their own organisation.

    Start hereClassicKey manual or guideFree
  • 3.1C029

    Ten Basic Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards

    A short book that sets out the 10 core responsibilities of a nonprofit board and places them in the context of current governance challenges. It separates the board's role from that of the chief executive and senior staff, and it has 2 appendices: one on the individual duties of board members and a sample self-assessment for board members. It is part of BoardSource's 6-book Governance Series and is used in board induction and role descriptions.

    ClassicKey manual or guideBook
  • 3.1C031

    Effective Board Governance for Civil Society Organisations

    An article on how the boards of civil society organisations develop over time in the African context. Drawing on WACSI's work with CSOs, the author looks at the stages of board development, asks whether boards move through them in a fixed order and discusses how to diagnose the health of a board. CSO leaders and board members use it to place their own board on that path and decide what to work on next.

    CurrentShort readFree
  • 3.1C032

    Guía para la Gobernanza Efectiva de Fundaciones y Corporaciones en Chile

    A Spanish-language governance guide for foundations and nonprofit corporations in Chile, based on research with local organisations. It sets out a model with 4 pillars: clarity of purpose, the right board composition, how the board works and divides tasks with the executive director, and legitimacy and relations with the wider community. Annexes list recommended governance guides and the duties of board members. Boards use it to review their own practice.

    CurrentKey manual or guideFree
  • 3.1C033

    Board Governance Toolkit

    A toolkit for the boards and executive leaders of civil society organisations, from the Board Governance Hub of the Nigeria Network of NGOs. It offers practical guidance, self-assessment tools, checklists, templates and recommended actions for organisations setting up governance structures or improving existing ones, including how to work within Nigeria's regulatory requirements. It is free to download after filling in a short form.

    EmergingTool or templateFree with sign-up

Suggestion box

Something to fix or add here?

Know a better resource on this subject, found a broken link, or spotted a mistake in this record? Tell us.

About C030 Charity Governance Code

A person reads every message. A title, a link or a few words is enough.

What is it about?
Why is it useful, or what needs fixing? A title or a link alone is fine too.