Help centre / People & access / Write down who decides what
Write down who decides what
The Who decides what page lists each decision and the body that makes it. It starts from model rules for your legal form. Upload your governing document and we'll suggest your own list, clause by clause. You choose what to accept, and nothing changes until you do.
Why write it down?
Most arguments about a decision happen because nobody wrote down whose decision it was. Your governing document keeps some matters for the trustees alone (often called reserved matters) and lets the board delegate others. The Who decides what page turns that into one clear list anyone can check before a meeting.
Where the list starts
Before you upload anything, the page shows model rules based on your charity's legal form, and it says so plainly. That's a sensible starting point, but it isn't tailored to your own rules yet.
Tailor it from your governing document
- Open Who decides what.
- Select Upload & read my governing document and upload your constitution or articles.
- We read the document and suggest a list of decisions, each one citing the clause it came from.
- Untick anything you don't agree with. You stay in charge of every line.
- Select Apply selected.
Don't worry, nothing changes until you select Apply selected. And if the file is a scan we can't read, we'll tell you plainly rather than guess.
Edit a decision right
Trustees can edit each row: change the Deciding body (the trustees, the members at a general meeting, a delegated committee, or the council), add a plain-English note, or add examples so the row makes sense at a glance. Meadowbank Community Trust added "hiring the village hall for the fair" as an example under the spending its events committee handles.
How the matrix is used
The matrix does real work in meetings. If a matter is reserved to the trustees, only a trustee can cast a binding vote on it or record the decision. Everyone else can still join the discussion. See Motions and voting for how votes are recorded.
The governance behind this: our free guide on charitycontrol.org explains the why in plain English.