Fools rush in: a warning against shotgun mergers

Maria Thorpe, specialist charity underwriter at Markel International, explains how charities can protect themselves from a variety of risks.

It is increasingly common for charities to support projects outside the UK, and to do this by making payments to organisations established in the area of benefit.

Increasingly, boards are taking time out to reflect on their performance in order to make governance of their charities more effective. They believe in leading by example and proactively showing that people are never too old or too experienced to learn. Many other boards still need convincing.

A deeply discouraged chair of trustees asks for advice on how to communicate with a chief executive who thinks the board is irrelevant. Linda Laurance, founding past chair of Charity Trustee Networks responds.