Become a member of the Council of Management

Be at the very heart of the action

What is a Council member?

Every charity has a group of people who are responsible for looking after the charity’s interests and for ensuring that it operates within the law and within its rules. These people are called trustees. They are ultimately responsible for the direction and performance of their charity.

British Epilepsy Association (otherwise known as Epilepsy Action) has 16 trustees. Together they are called the Council of Management – or Council for short. Individually the trustees are called Council members.

What do Council members do?

Council members are not directly involved in the day-to-day running of the charity. That work is done by staff and volunteers. Council members are unpaid volunteers. Their role is to direct, monitor and control the activities of the staff and other volunteers.

It can be a challenging role. If something goes wrong in the charity's work or finances the Council members bear ultimate responsibility. But it is also extremely interesting and rewarding, giving you the chance to exercise existing skills and develop new ones.

It places you at the very heart of Epilepsy Action.

Who can be a Council member?

Council members come from all walks of life. Some have epilepsy themselves, some are parents of children with epilepsy, and some have a professional interest in epilepsy. This diversity of experience is a great strength to the charity.

It doesn’t matter what your background is but you must share with other Council members a desire to serve the charity and to help people with epilepsy.

To be a Council member:

• You must be a subscribing member of British Epilepsy Association and have been one for at least 12 months.
• You must be 18 years of age or older.
• You must not have been convicted of an offence involving deception or dishonesty, unless the conviction is spent.
• You must not be an undischarged bankrupt.
• You must not have previously been removed    from  the trusteeship of a charity by the court or the Charity Commissioners.

How much time is involved?

The Council meets six times a year in Leeds. Each meeting will take a day of your time – more if you have to travel a long way.

Realistically you should expect to give in total about 100 hours a year to being a Council member. Some people give a lot more.

Council members are unpaid volunteers but you can claim reasonable personal expenses for your Council related activities.

How do I become a Council member?

People are elected to the Council by the members of the Association.

Firstly, you must be nominated by two other members of the Association. To do this, you can use the nomination form that is sent to every member at the beginning of every year.

• Nominations are now open

Council members are elected from the nominated candidates each year at the Association’s annual general meeting by a ballot of the entire membership.

More information

You might want more general information about being a trustee before deciding what to do. An excellent place to start is the Charity Commission.

You may have further questions or would like to talk to someone about being a Council member. If so, please contact Philip Lee, Epilepsy Action’s chief executive, by email plee@epilepsy.org.uk.