Please note all templates are for guidance and information only, please edit them to suit your charity and note use is at your own risk. Always check the primary source and Companies House/Charity Commission guidance. For your own internal non-commercial use only. Please also note these templates are only a guide and are for charities in England & Wales only as opposed to dual status or for-profits.
SUNEET SHARMA ACCEPTS NO LIABILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL LOSS OR DAMAGE ARISING FROM THE USE OF THESE TEMPLATES.
If you find these useful please do subscribe:
Foundational – start here if you are new to governance
An introduction to charitable governance & evaluation in 10 steps, 06 March 2026-Ideal for those whether staff, trustee or volunteer who are new to governance. Provides a basic overview of charitable governance and provides a ten-step model to evaluate governance .
RACI Table, 23 November 2025- Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed, a template table for who does what. Read alongside the Charity Commission guidance on delegating decisions.
A sample table for mapping out who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed for items for a small-medium charity to use. Just copy and paste into word and edit to start easily navigating who does what for your charity.
Top Tips: Add colour coding to make it easily navigable and “S” for Supporting after the “A” to round out the operational guide this provides (my thanks to Charity Finance Group and Fran-Borg Wheeler for the latter suggestion!)
| AREA | Chair | Treasurer | Secretary | |||||||||
| R | A | C | I | R | A | C | I | R | A | C | I | |
| Community Building | ||||||||||||
| Operations oversight | ||||||||||||
| Fundraising | ||||||||||||
| Governance | ||||||||||||
| Finance | ||||||||||||
Intermediate – start here to build upon base knowledge with policy and practice
Starting a CIO – A simple governance timeline, 27 August 2026, excel- A sample simple governance timeline and overview for starting a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) reflecting good governance mapped to the Charity Governance Code 2025. Use it if you are a volunteer group starting a CIO to help you sequence and plan. Please note this is not exhaustive or a replacement for charity commission guidance and timescales vary but provides a good starting point to divide workload, it assumes recruitment to deal with volume commencing in month 4. Consider bringing Privacy Policy forward if you process sensitive and/or special category data.
Conflict Of Interest Register Template, 23 November 2025, word- A sample conflicts of interest register to sit alongside a policy. Covers records of both potential and arisen conflicts. Align with your board minutes by using references (e.g. MAR-Board-C-001). See CC29 Conflict of interest guidance.
Risk Management Policy Template, 23 November 2025, word- for those starting out drafting this policy. It stands alongside a bespoke risk register you can also start using the template below. Contextualise it to your charity and read alongside CC26: Charities and Risk Management Guidance.
Risk Register Template, 23 November 2025, excel- A charity risk register template, refresh at least annually, exceptionally and review quarterly, read alongside CC26: Charities and Risk Management Guidance.
SORP 2026, Trustee Annual Report Checklist, 8 December 2025, word- A checklist for Tier 1 charities (gross annual income less than £500,000) to assist with annual report drafting. Applicable for accounting periods commencing on or after 1 January 2026. Perfect for those preparing your small charities Annual Report under the SORP 2026. Note this is usually for where you prepare accruals accounts. Be sure to check the SORP 2026 also as a primary source and the Charity Commission may issue updated templates in due course. Read alongside the Charity Commission Guidance on preparing your Trustee Annual Report.
Advanced – navigate complex problems
- SORP 2026, Tier 2 and 3 Annual Reporting Guide, written by Suneet Sharma for Eastside People- focused on charities with over £500,000 and £15m gross income. A guide for larger charities to navigate the new Annual Reporting requirements from the SORP.
Please contact us if you have a suggestion for anything specific or have any queries
RESOURCES
Sharma on Governance appreciates that high quality resources are vital to supporting those involved in charitable governance. Whilst not an endorsement, please see below for a table of key third parties which provide resources and insight on or related to charitable governance.
| Resource | Link | Description |
| Association of Chairs | https://associationofchairs.co.uk/ | A charity providing support to charity Chairs in England and Wales. |
| Bates Wells | https://bateswells.co.uk/sectors/charity-and-not-for-profit/ | An England-based law firm specialising in charities legal advice. |
| Board Racial Diversity UK | https://boardracialdiversity.org.uk/ | A charity advising and supporting non-profit organisations to take practical steps to increase the racial diversity of their boards. |
| Charity Commission for England and Wales | https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission | The charity regulator for England and Wales’ website. |
| Chartered Governance Institute for UK & Ireland | https://www.cgi.org.uk/a-career-in-governance/sector-governance/for-charitynfp/ | The charity governance page of the Institute which is the professional body for governance professionals. |
| Eastside People | https://eastsidepeople.org/ | A leading charity consultancy. |
| Fundraising Regulator | https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/ | The independent regulator of charitable fundraising in England, Wales and Northern Ireland’s website. |
| Information Commissioner’s Office | https://ico.org.uk/ | The data protection regulator for England and Wales. |
| The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland | https://www.charitycommissionni.org.uk/ | The charity regulator for Northern Ireland’s website. |
| The Charity Governance Code | https://www.charitygovernancecode.org/en/front-page | The authoritative Code for best practice in charity governance. |
| The National Council for Voluntary Organisations | https://www.ncvo.org.uk/about-us/our-services/support-small-charities-voluntary-organisations/ | A membership community for charities, voluntary organisations and community groups in England. |
| Scottish Charity Regulator – OSCR | https://www.oscr.org.uk/ | The charity regulator for Scotland’s website. |
