Peridot’s Guide to Being a Charity Chair
Our advice on leading, managing and governing boards for modern charities.
Charity chairs are pivotal in ensuring good governance. They guide the board and provide leadership that ensures the organisation can fulfil its mission.
Learn more about recruiting a charity chairAs a charity Chair, it’s your job to guide the board with good governance and provide leadership that ensures the organisation can fulfil its mission.
The role of charity Chair has many facets, making it challenging yet highly rewarding. As Chair, you will set the tone for decision-making and collaboration, ensuring that the executive team and board are fit for purpose.
Balancing board dynamics, limited resources and ensuring that short-term goals lead to the long-term vision can feel like a lot to juggle. Conversely, committing to being a high-performing chair helps the charity you serve to thrive, ultimately helping them to serve their communities more effectively and overcome societal challenges.
In this guide, we explore the key responsibilities of an effective Chair, provide guidance on behaviours that will make you a great Chair, discuss the benefits of a diverse charity board and cover some basics on what to do to recruit your next charity chair.
Read more guidance for your first chair role
Why becoming a charity chair is a rewarding career move.
What does it really mean to lead a charity board?
We asked three Chairs, Joanna Dyson OBE, Andy Watson and Sam White, about what surprised them, what challenged them, and what makes it worthwhile.
Their reflections offer a grounded view of chairing in practice, and why this leadership role can be both demanding and deeply rewarding.
Read moreHow to be a great charity Chair.
Lead by example.
Chairs set the tone, so be the first to act with integrity, stay focused on the charity’s mission, rather than personal agendas, and model openness by sharing challenges and celebrating success.
Build trust by doing what you say you will.
Champion inclusion.
Create space for all voices to be heard. Listen actively, involve everyone in and outside of meetings, and make fair decisions. When recruiting, aim for a board that reflects the diversity of the communities you serve, across background, experience and identity.
Embrace lifelong learning and development.
Great Chairs never assume they have all the answers. Stay curious about governance, equity, and board dynamics. Reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and what you’d do differently. Own your strengths, but know when to step back and learn from others.
“If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.”
Create a safe space.
People speak up when they feel safe. Set clear expectations, show respect, and stay open to different views. Check in with board members regularly and remind them they’re working towards a shared goal, even when their ideas differ.
Monitoring and accountability.
It’s simple, but easier said than done: Do what you say you’re going to do.
Boards drive outcomes and shape culture. Track progress, review what matters, and set clear measures for things like board diversity or team learning. Ask the hard questions, invite feedback, and act on it.
What is the benefit of a diverse charity board?
Great Chairs also promote diversity on their board and in the organisation. A diverse charity board brings significant benefits by embracing various demographic and experiential backgrounds.
Boards must reflect their community and consider the representation of protected characteristics such as gender, race, ethnicity, age, and more.
Beyond demographics, different professional and personal experiences and viewpoints allow for more innovative solutions and robust decision-making.
Diverse boards are better equipped to identify risks and seize opportunities, fostering an inclusive culture where all members feel valued. By embracing diversity in its many forms, charity boards can strengthen their effectiveness and better serve their stakeholders and missions, making a greater impact on the communities they support.
What are the benefits of a diverse charity board?
Better decision-making: There is an overwhelming amount of evidence to suggest that ensuring diverse voices are heard leads to more well-rounded and effective decision-making. Different viewpoints lead to outside-the-box thinking on challenges and creative use of opportunities. A diverse board brings together individuals with different experiences, perspectives, and skills. This diversity fosters more comprehensive discussions and encourages board members to think critically and consider multiple angles when making decisions. The result is often more robust, well-rounded solutions that better address complex challenges.
Representation and increased trust: You can’t be what you can’t see. Having diverse voices relevant to the communities you serve builds trust in those communities. They are also more likely to understand and address the community’s needs and be more aligned with your vision, mission and purpose. A board that reflects the diversity of its community can build stronger connections and trust with those it aims to help. When beneficiaries see themselves represented in the organisation’s leadership, it reinforces that their voices and needs are understood and valued. This trust is essential for developing sustainable relationships, increasing community involvement, and enhancing the charity’s credibility.
Better access to resources and networks: Diverse board members often bring a wider range of contacts, experiences, and networks, opening new doors for funding, partnerships, and resources. This can be especially valuable for a charity, as it often depends on relationships and collaborations to further its mission. A variety of backgrounds can also help the organisation reach new donor demographics or tap into previously inaccessible resources.
Innovation and adaptability: A board with diverse perspectives is more likely to think creatively and be open to new ideas. This adaptability is crucial in a rapidly changing world, as it allows the charity to respond more effectively to emerging needs and trends. Diverse voices help the organisation avoid groupthink, fostering an environment that values innovation and continuous improvement.
Improving inclusivity organisation-wide: A diverse board can set the tone for inclusivity throughout the charity. When board members prioritise diversity and equity, it encourages similar practices at all organisational levels, from hiring staff to designing programs. This alignment makes the organisation more inclusive and sensitive to its community members’ unique challenges and experiences, leading to more effective and equitable services.
How chairs and chief executives can work together
A board’s effectiveness is shaped by the relationship between the chair and chief executive.
Kate Heaps and Satish Mathur share what helps that relationship hold, especially when organisations are under pressure. The chair may hold formal authority, yet the work depends on partnership, with both people clear on where responsibility sits and how decisions are made.
Trust builds through regular, open conversation. There needs to be space to test thinking, raise concerns and offer honest feedback in both directions. Clear delegation helps avoid confusion and keeps the board focused on what matters.
When difficult decisions need to be made or the direction isn’t clear, this relationship often becomes the place where issues are worked through first. Chairs and chief executives need to stay close and support each other while keeping the organisation moving.
Learn more about the CEO and Chair relationshipCould co-chairing be right for you?
As the Chair role has become more onerous for individuals, many charities are now looking to take on a co-chairing model. Co-chairing allows for two individuals to share the load of the role and consider broader insights, bringing more diverse perspectives to leadership.
As we’ve outlined above, charity Chairs need a wide variety of skills from strategic vision and ambassadorial duties to stakeholder management. Most importantly, they need to be able to run effective meetings, manage multiple personalities, and act confidently, diplomatically, and tactfully. The responsibilities of a charity Chair can be overwhelming for one person, and it may be unrealistic to expect one person to have perfected all of these skills, especially in the limited time that they might have to perform these duties.
In 2024, we ran an event with six co-chairs to discuss their experiences.
How to recruit a charity chair.
Recruiting a charity Chair is a significant undertaking that requires careful planning, diligent effort, and a commitment to selecting the best candidate to lead the organisation. The Chair’s values and integrity are as important as their skills, knowledge, and professional and lived experience. Ensuring a transparent, fair, and effective recruitment process results is integral in appointing a dedicated Chair who will help advance your charity’s mission and impact.
This guide aims to ensure that charity boards are effective, inclusive, and capable of navigating the sector’s evolving landscape. If you have any specific questions or need more details on any of these points, feel free to contact marie@peridotpartners.co.uk.
