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Trinity Development & Alumni Governance

Trinity Foundation is the philanthropic office of Trinity College Dublin. Established on 30 March 1994 as an independent charity in the Republic of Ireland, Trinity Foundation has been granted charitable tax exemption and is governed by a Deed of Trust.

Trinity Development & Alumni, administered by Trinity Foundation, is committed to maintaining the highest standard of governance. To achieve our goals we must be transparent and accountable to our donors, alumni and friends and the University community. We believe that setting and upholding high standards is an essential part of demonstrating accountability. It also helps us to be effective by ensuring the proper operation of our activities.

Information on our audited accounts, governance, feedback and complaints procedure and our data protection policy is outlined on this page.

Learn more about TDA's Governance

Audited Accounts

Our financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2022 are available here. Accounts are externally audited by PwC and prepared in accordance with the charity SORP standard of accountability and transparency. 

Trinity Foundation Signed Financial Statements for 2019, 2020 and 2021 can be accessed below:

Governance

Two committees oversee the governance of Trinity Foundation - the Trinity Foundation Trustees and the Trinity Foundation Audit & Risk Committee who assist the Trustees in fulfilling their function.

Trinity Foundation Trustees

Trustees retain ultimate responsibility for the strategic development of the organisation in close liaison with Trinity College Dublin’s Provost, Board, and Executive Officers. The Code of Practice for Trustees may be read here. Trustees are Tim Cody, Marie Collins (Chair), Eddie Clarke, and David O’Donnell.

Trinity Foundation Audit & Risk Committee

The Committee’s main objective is to assist the Trustees fulfil their functions by providing independent and timely advice on areas within its remit. Members of the committee are Mr Tom Byrne, Ms Marie Collins (Chair), Ms Claire Conroy, Ms Ciara Deans and Ms Mairead Devine.

The Audit & Risk Committee reports independently to the Trustees on all aspects of controls and risks. The main function of the Committee is to review the significant financial reporting issues and judgements made in connection with TDA’s financial statements and reports, and to review the scope and effectiveness of TDA’s internal controls, including financial, operational and compliance controls.  The Committee works in cooperation with the University’s Audit Committee in the conduct of its work.  The Committee’s terms of reference may be viewed here.

Risk

The governance of Trinity Foundation lies ultimately with the Trustees. Risk management is an essential element of the Foundation’s governance framework. With oversight by the Trustees, the framework sets out the appropriate guidelines, responsibilities and controls to assist the Foundation achieve its objectives and meet the necessary standards of accountability, probity and compliance. The Foundation’s risk management policy and risk appetite statement can be viewed here.

Codes and Guidelines

There are a number of codes and guidelines which govern charitable organisations. Trinity Development and Alumni, administered by Trinity Foundation engages with all of the below:

 1. Charities Governance Code

In November 2018, the Charities Regulator launched the Charities Governance Code (the ‘Code’) which sets out minimum standards for good governance. Charities are encouraged to work towards compliance in 2019 and expected to comply with the Charites Governance Code by 2021. Trinity Foundation declared compliance with the Code in 2021. Ongoing work continues to ensure that we maintain compliance and this includes maintaining a Code Checklist which is reviewed and approved annually prior to declaring compliance as part of our annual report submission to the Charities Regulator.

2. Guidelines for Charitable Organisations Fundraising from the Public

The Guidelines for Charitable Organisations on Fundraising from the Public (the ‘Guidelines’) issued by the Charities Regulator aim to encourage and facilitate better administration and management of charitable organisations in their fundraising activities. As part of the new ‘Code’ implementation, we continually review our documentation and procedures to ensure they adhere to the ‘Guidelines’. Our Donor Charter outlining our commitment to be accountable and transparent to donors can be read here.

Trinity College Dublin has the highest standards and criteria in place for gift acceptance, and all gifts are subject to due diligence. A Gift Acceptance Policy is in place here.

3. Charities SORP

For reporting periods starting on or after 1 January 2019, all charities must follow the Charities SORP (FRS 102) - second edition that applies the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102). All of our financial reports are fully compliant with FRS 102.

4. Volunteer Code of Conduct

This Code of Conduct has been created to help Trinity Development & Alumni to ensure that our volunteer's experience is meaningful, productive, safe for all participants and consistent with the values and ethos of Trinity Development & Alumni. View our volunteer code of conduct here

Trinity Foundation Feedback and Complaints Procedure

Trinity Foundation welcomes both positive and negative feedback. You can get in touch with us any time here, or by email, or by phone on + 353 1 896 2088. We are committed to ensuring that all our communications and dealings with the general public and our supporters are of the highest possible standard. We listen and respond to the views of the general public and our supporters so that we can continue to improve. We learn from complaints, use them to improve, and monitor them at our board.We aim to ensure that:

  • It is as easy as possible to make a complaint
  • We treat as a complaint any clear expression of dissatisfaction with our operations which calls for a response
  • We treat it seriously whether it is made by telephone, letter, fax, email or in person
  • We deal with it quickly and politely
  • We respond accordingly - for example, with an explanation, or an apology where we have got things wrong, and information on any action taken.

You can read more about our Feedback and Complaints Procedure here.

For other feedback or complaints to Trinity, please click the button below:

Trinity General Feedback & Complaints

Data Protection

Trinity Development & Alumni (TDA) , administered from the offices of Trinity Foundation, values the protection of any information it stores about its alumni and friends. You have the right of access to your data and the right to amend the data at any time. More information on our data protection policies are available on our Privacy page.

TDA's Privacy Policy is designed to be compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and full details of the policy are available in our Privacy Policy Notice.

 

Trinity Foundation operating as Trinity Development and Alumni (TDA) is an independent charity (RCN 20028626) established to support Trinity’s funding priorities and holds CHY number 10898.