Part 1: Purposes, Powers and Governing Documents Section 3: Powers of unincorporated charities Passing a resolution under the new power
Section 280A, subsections (4), (5) and (6), set out how to pass a resolution under the new power. The operation of the power depends on the governance structure of the charity in question.
If the charity has a membership body which has a decision-making role under the charity’s governing document (for example, an entitlement to attend a general meeting and vote on the appointment of the trustees or to vote on the charity’s reports and accounts), a resolution must be passed by a majority of the trustees and by a further resolution of those members. 2 The members’ resolution must be passed either:
by at least 75% of those voting at a general meeting; 3 or
unanimously if the resolution is not considered at a general meeting (for example, it might be practical for a small membership body to approve the resolution by email).
If the charity does not have a membership body (which will be the case for most charitable trusts), the power is exercisable by a resolution of 75% of the charity’s trustees.