Trustees are the volunteers who lead charities and decide how they are run. Becoming a trustee is a great way of contributing to causes you care about – and doing so can also help you develop valuable leadership and strategic skills at the same time.
Being a trustee involves being right at the heart of the decision-making process of a charity, which means that they are hugely immersed in helping the charity deliver its activities in the community. The role is interesting and stimulating, an opportunity to learn new skills and build wider networks – both with other trustees and amongst the charity’s staff and its wider community.
For those still developing their career (and aren’t we all doing that from the moment we start to the moment we retire?) it can be a useful way of honing abilities in everything from finance to HR, communications and marketing to governance, as well as strengthening your CV.
And for those who may be towards the end of their working life (or indeed retired) it can be a great way of maintaining and updating their talents as well as maintaining an intellectual challenge.
And that is not to mention giving something back to society, which is a reward in itself.
There is certainly a pressing need for more people to come forward as trustees: the Charity Commission estimates that there are currently around 100,000 vacancies for charity trustees in the UK. Many charities are very keen to widen their pool of trustees, seeking people with particular skills and experiences, and from a wide range of backgrounds.
Despite the fact that there are a million trustees in the UK, many people are unaware of what they do, and often think – wrongly in many cases – that being a trustee is not for people like them. And yet 96% of trustees say they have learned new skills, and 84% said that being a trustee made them happier, according to research carried out by the Charity Commission.
Charity trustees have six main responsibilities:
Ensuring the charity is carrying out its purposes ‘for the public benefit’
Complying with the charity’s governing document, and with the law
Acting in the charity’s best interests
Managing the charity’s resources responsibly
Acting with reasonable skill and care
Ensuring the charity is accountable
Often charities need trustees with specific skillsets, and this can be a good opportunity for individuals to use their expertise for the greater good, as well as honing their talents and learning things they can take back into their professional lives. Examples of the kind of skills needed by charity boards include HR, marketing and communications, legal expertise, governance, fundraising and asset management.
So if you have some free time and a skill, there is certainly a need to put it towards a good cause.