What does a Trustee do?

Trustees are volunteers who want to make positive changes to residents’ lives and to the island.  They work on behalf of the residents and are unpaid.  Their main role is to provide leadership and ensure the charity is running as it was set out to.  In addition trustees are responsible for:

• Ensuring the organisation has the funds it needs and that money is spent sensibly on the activities it was raised for
• Following the law and ensuring that all reports and accounts are filed correctly
• Abiding by the rules in the charity’s governing documents, the Memorandum and Articles of Association and complying with the Charity Commission guidance and advice

Once elected at a General Meeting, trustees hold office for two years when they will be required to stand down.

Why are we having an election now? 

The Charity Commission, the regulatory body that oversees charities in the UK, requested an election to be called so a fully elected board of trustees elected by the members would be in place to run the charity.  This request was made because the current board expired on 31 March leaving only one elected trustee in office.

The Annual General Meeting of the members and the election of the trustees is a fundamental aspect of the accountability of the trustees to the members of the charity. It is vitally important that an AGM with trustee elections is regularly held, strictly in accordance with the provisions of the charity’s governing document.

Letter from the Charity Commission to Enfield Island Village Trustees issuing Formal Action Plan, 3 Feb 2015

 …clause 31.1 of the Articles of Association states that any co-opted trustees will hold office until the next appointment date (i.e. 1^st April).  As this date has now passed, this casts further doubt over whether there is a validly appointed board in place which meets the quorum stipulated in clause 37.  Under clause 38.1, if the number of trustees falls below the quorum, the Board may only act to summon a general meeting [to elect Trustees].

Letter from the Charity Commission to Enfield Island Village Trustees issuing a further Formal Action Plan, 1 April 2014

Why is this important?

The Trust is currently running without an elected board and cannot legally make decisions on the members’ behalf. This has left the Trust in a precarious position until a new board of trustees has been elected.