Charity Governance
The Mortimer Society is governed by a Board of Trustees who's main responsibility is to establish and deliver the essential purpose of the Charity. The Board is also responsible for guiding the ethos and values of the organisation and together with the Chief Executive, develop the long-term strategy in order to deliver it's pupose and vision.
In November 2017 the Mortimer Society adopted the revised Good Governance Code as endorsed and recommended by the Charity Commission. The 2025 version of the Code reflects significant updates, including a stronger emphas is on trustees behavious, stakeholder engagement, and a clearer structure of accessibility. It aims to support charities of all sizes and encourages continuous improvement in governance practices.
The Charity Governance Code is designed to set out universal principles of governance for charities, helping them to reflect on their leadership, decision-making, and accountability. It serves as a practical tool for trustees to foster discussions about standards, behaviours, and processes that contribute to good governance.Compliance with the Code is voluntary, not regulatory, allowing charities to adopt its principles flexibly.
The 2025 edition of the Charity Governance Code is structured around eight univeral principles that charities are encouraged to apply. These princples include:
- Foundation Principle - The Board of Trustees take responsibility for, and invest the necessary time and care, in understanding the charity, their responsibilities and legal duties.
- Organisational Purpose - The Board of Trustees is clear about the charity's aims and how these benefit all or part of the public. It ensures that activity is targeted at achieving those aims both in the short and long term.
- Leadership - The Charity is headed by an effective board that provides strategic leadership in line with the charity's purpose and values.
- Ethics and Culture - The Board has agreed the standards and values which shape the charity's behaviours and culture. This includes being open about how the charity operates and responding thoughtfully to feedback.
- Decision Making - The Board of Trustees makes effective decisions that best serve the charity's purposes. Trustees take personal responsibility for carefully considering each decision and working to reach agreement.
- Managing Resources and Risks - The Board takes responsibility for stewarding, developing and allocating resources. The Board indentifies the risks to achieving the charity's aims and agrees how to navigate them. The Board seeks assurance that risks are properly managed.
- Equity, Diversity and Inclusion - The Board has a clear, agreed and effective approach to supporting Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) throughout the organisation, including in its own practice.
- Board Effectiveness - The Board works well together,using an appopriate balance of skills,experience, backgrounds and knowledge. It reviews its Performance on a regular cycle and takes steps to improve.
The Good Governance Code framework of 2025 has been adopted to meet and deliver the Society's organisational purpose and a copy of the document can be seen by clicking on the attached link.
To view the Good Governance Code, please download the document below: