Alex Swallow joins us for a guest post on “why young people should become Trustees”.
There aren’t currently nearly enough younger people going into charity trusteeship in this country: according to Charity Commission figures, only 0.5% of all Trustees in England and Wales are aged 18-24. I hope to convince you that it is something that you should think about.
Trustees help to make sure that charities fulfil their charitable objectives- ie. what they were founded for. They keep charities fresh and full of new ideas and help them to reach out to the people who most need them. So, if you join a Board, you will be making a real difference. The experience of being a Trustee will teach you so much. As a Trustee I have been involved with things as different as helping to set overall strategy for the charity, poring over architectural plans, representing the charity at the live screening of Children in Need and helping to set the pay levels of senior staff. You will have the opportunity to understand an organisation from top to bottom. You will be able to learn about how a charity manages its budget, how it develops long-terms plans etc. It shouldn’t be too hard to find a cause you do care about as there are thousands upon thousands of charities covering every area of interest imaginable.
The chance of you finding something that you are attracted to is high and even if you have to travel a little the charity should be able to help you with expenses. It’s worth bearing in mind that some charities are very small and don’t have the time or resources to be very proactive in their recruitment. If there is a charity that you would like to be a Trustee for, just ask them. If they don’t have any positions they will at least have you in mind for the future.
You don’t ever have to have worked for a charity in any capacity to be a Trustee. In fact in some ways you might be even more in demand if you haven’t because it is likely that you will bring a different set of skills for the role. Trustees are needed who have skills in such areas as finance, fundraising, PR, law etc.
There are many groups that are under-represented on trustee boards, but I set up ‘Young Charity Trustees’ so that age can be focused on as one of the important areas. Most younger people simply don’t know they can be trustees. It isn’t only the barrier of thinking they don’t have the skills and experience, though that is important too. It just never enters their heads that they would be “allowed” to. The idea certainly didn’t enter mine until I was approached.
My own experience of becoming a trustee was that the entire process was handled extremely well. I was already volunteering on a committee and they asked me if I was interested, then allowed me time to think and put questions forward and arranged meetings for me with key people across the organisation. I have also learnt so much from my fellow trustees, who have always been supportive and appreciative. However not all Boards will reach out to people in the right way and ‘Young Charity Trustees’ is trying to encourage more to think carefully about how they do so. If you have a bad experience please don’t be put off as there are so many other charities out there who I am sure would love you to apply.
Connect with Young Charity Trustees
Follow: @YoungTrustees