Trustees may bring valuable experience and connections. Those relationships can also create conflicts that need to be identified and managed.
Recognise a conflict
The Charity Commission distinguishes financial conflicts from conflicts of loyalty. A conflict can involve a trustee’s personal interests or those of a connected person or organisation. All trustees share responsibility for managing conflicts.
Address it before a decision
The Commission’s guidance explains declaring conflicts early, considering whether to remove them and following the governing document and applicable rules. A conflicted trustee may need to leave the discussion and decision, and the steps taken should be recorded.
Apply the principle to service relationships
A person involved in selecting a provider may also work for that provider or owe duties to an organisation connected to it. The relevance of that connection needs to be considered before the selection is made.
The same question can arise with grants, employment or a change to a contract. A declaration at an earlier meeting does not explain how a later decision was handled.
Fund policy and register
The fund’s conflicts policy and register are published in the official governance records and are linked through the governance section.
Content reviewed 8 September 2026 · Official