No two charities are the same, but every charity needs an effective and informed board. 

That means ensuring your trustees are fully up to speed on their responsibilities and aware of the key emerging legal issues for charities of all shape and size.

Our practical trustee training takes care of that – in a flexible and accessible way.

At Lindsays, we offer flexible, tailored charity trustee training for charities of all sizes, delivered by solicitors with extensive experience of working with the third sector across Scotland.

From induction sessions for new trustees to refresher training for your existing board and senior leadership team, we have a full range of options.

All training can be customised to fit with your charity’s own needs, preferences and board calendar. That could mean providing:

  • In-person, online, or hybrid sessions at your board meeting or separately;
  • Training on legal and governance essentials or specific issues ranging from employment to data protection; and
  • Any other legal training that could help your trustees and executive team protect your charity’s finances, operations, and reputation.

Our Charity and the Third Sector team would be delighted to discuss the different options with you.

Key training topics for your charity

Legal and governance essentials

Whether your trustees have been on the board for five days or five years, training on the legal basics can make all the difference to their effectiveness. This could include:

  • The essentials of being a good trustee;
  • Internal and external governance frameworks;
  • Financial management and understanding charity accounts;
  • Annual reporting requirements;
  • Handling conflicts of interest or internal disputes;
  • When to notify OSCR about a serious incident; and
  • Responding to an OSCR inquiry.

We can also combine this training with a Governance Health Check.

Other legal issues to consider

As a full-service legal firm, Lindsays can also provide training on other key areas of importance to charities:

  • Employment law and HR matters, including the impact of planned changes in the law on your charity;
  • Data protection for charities, including how to handle data breaches;
  • Property considerations, from commercial, to rural and residential; and
  • Fundraising, exploring the associated legal and regulatory obligations.

We cover all these topics – and more – in our training packages and can design and tailor sessions to suit your budget, location and specific needs.

To find out more about our trustee training options, please contact our Charity and the Third Sector team.

Being a Charity Trustee is a big responsibility. Lindsay’s Trustee Training helps to explain the expectations of the role, the legal frameworks which underpin good governance, and the behaviours expected of Trustees. Invaluable to anyone who’s new to the role, and a helpful reminder to those who are more experienced.

Angela Bonomy, CEO, Sense Scotland

Lindsays supported Verture's Board in our induction process for new Charity trustees and our refresher for existing trustees. We were delighted by their approach, helping us to be clear about what good governance looks like in practice. I would fully recommend Lindsays to others in the charities sector who are looking for clear, helpful support and advice.

Ruth Wolstenholme, former Managing Director at Sniffer - now Verture