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TS-BGS-22 Trust & Stewardship Board Governance & Strategy CORE Compliance v2.9.7

Organisational Ethos & Language Review

The board's review of language ensures communications fulfill the amānah of Sidq (truthfulness), Balāgha (clarity), and ‘Adl (justice/balance). This builds stakeholder trust, safeguards reputation, and ensures the organization's public identity authentically reflects its core Islamic ethos. Balāgha entails accessibility and inclusion; the board ensures communications are understandable through plain language and appropriate formats. Tone must reflect Hikmah (wisdom), avoiding harm or polarization. This framework prevents misrepresentation (Ghurūr) and concealment (Tadlīs) while protecting the dignity (Hifz al-‘ird) of beneficiaries.

Compliance 4
  • Mandate training for staff/volunteers on CAP/ASA, Fundraising Code, GDPR, Safeguarding, and Sidq/Balāgha (induction + biennial refresher).
    Training Essential
  • Maintain a crisis communications plan linked to Charity Commission Serious Incident Reporting (SIR) protocols.
    Documentation Essential
  • Apply ethical imagery guidelines including safeguarding checks, consent, and best-interests assessments for vulnerable groups.
    Documentation Essential
  • Trustees receive training on ethical/regulatory communication duties every 24 months.
    Training Essential
Basic 1
  • Apply controls proportionately: smaller entities may consolidate steps, while larger ones must use formal sampling and automation.
    Governance Essential
Good 9
  • Maintain a board-approved register of 'Key External Communications' and a risk taxonomy (Low/Medium/High) to govern escalation.
    Governance Essential
  • Develop and approve a communications style guide including tone (Hikmah), ethical representation, and 'benefit/harm' test.
    Documentation Essential
  • Establish a stakeholder feedback mechanism with defined SLAs for acknowledgement and resolution.
    Process Essential
  • Implement a RACI approvals matrix for all key communications.
    Process Essential
  • Maintain a claims substantiation log with categorization and minimum evidence thresholds (e.g., scholar sign-off for religious claims).
    Documentation Essential
  • Publish a corrections procedure with a channel propagation checklist and link to a 'single source of truth' page.
    Process Essential
  • Appoint a Terminology Owner and enforce translation/transliteration standards with verification of Qur'anic/Hadith texts.
    Governance Essential
  • Formal style guide with 'benefit/harm' test and Islamic terminology guidance
    Excellence High
  • Comprehensive staff and trustee training on ethos and regulations
    Continuous Improvement Medium
Better 4
  • Conduct mandatory accessibility (WCAG 2.2 AA) and readability checks (e.g., Flesch-Kincaid) with defined targets.
    Process Essential
  • Diverse stakeholder feedback channels with analysis
    Stakeholder Engagement High
  • Readability and plain-language testing (e.g., Flesch-Kincaid)
    Continuous Improvement High
  • WCAG 2.2 AA compliance and inclusive language checks
    Excellence High
Best 2
  • Public corrections log with full channel propagation
    Transparency High
  • Periodic external audit of campaigns for ethos and accuracy
    Accountability High

Related Criteria

TS-BGS-01 Trustee board meetings are scheduled, quorate, and minuted TS-BGS-02 Trustees set direction & strategy TS-BGS-03 Trustees meet statutory reporting TS-BGS-04 Finance represented in decisions TS-BGS-05 Annual board and executive skills-gap analysis conducted and actioned
Version
2.9.7 2025-11-05

Discussion (1)

Administrator 2026-03-07 11:07:45.164506

📋 **Version updated: 1.0.0 → 2.9.7** **Changes:** Updated islamic_references from mizan-297.json

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