Constitutions and legal responsibilities

Your legal obligations as a commissioner

What it means to run a charity

Many areas of Girlguiding are set up as individual charities. This means there are some thing you must do, either as a legal requirement or required by the charity regulator in your nation.

Constitutions

Your constitution sets out how your area should be run.

All charities must have a constitution. This is a governing document that works like a rule book for running the charity. All trustees should be given a copy.

Your county constitution must be kept up to date.  Any changes to the constitution should be recorded clearly in the meeting minutes. You’ll also need to make sure your country or region know about the changes and why they were made, so they can support you.

If you need to set up a constitution talk to your country or region for a template, you can use. They can also confirm the process for recording any changes.

You may also find it useful to look at the Charity Commission for more about setting up a constitution.