Dear Aunt Agony
I’ve been involved in voluntary groups for many years now and in the last few weeks the word on the street from several sources is that it’s illegal for someone to be on the committees of two voluntary organisations. I’ve never heard this before. Is it true?
Yours
Boggled of Boulton

Dear Boggled
It’s amazing isn’t it, how quickly word spreads! So often in the voluntary sector someone says something which gets passed on by word of mouth and before you know it, it’s become a national law! Sometimes it’s a misunderstanding of charity regulations or frequently just a rumour which is plain wrong. On other occasions it comes from a particular organisation which happens to have a rule in its standing orders that committee members should not serve on the committees of other organisations for whatever reason. This may be to avoid competition with another group doing similar things, or simply to ensure the committee member has enough time to devote to the affairs of the organisation where they are currently a trustee. If that organisation has a good reason to adopt such a rule, fair enough. That doesn’t mean it applies to everybody though.

Trust me, there’s no law that says specifically you can’t be on two management committees at the same time. If there were there’d be a few people in Derby in serious trouble, as you often see the same faces at committee meetings of many different organisations. The only time when being on two committees could cause a problem is where it creates a conflict of interest. Trustees of organisations have a duty to avoid, or if unavoidable, declare any conflict of interest. An example might be someone who is on the grants committee of a funding organisation and on the committee of a group applying to that source for funds. Normally they would simply declare a conflict of interest when the group’s funding application came up for consideration and take no part in the decision over whether to award funding.

One of the things Derby CVS exists to do is give you the facts about charity rules and regulations. So next time somebody tells you the word on the street is this or that, check it out with us. We’re always at the end of a phone line and we can quickly confirm or scotch the rumoured requirement.

Of course, the word on the street you do need to take notice of is the one that says ‘HALT’ or ‘GIVE WAY!’

(from Network News, Nov/Dec 2004)

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