What is a Trustee and How do I become one?

Nicky Goldman, CEO of JVN, Penny Wilson CEO of Getting on Board and Michelle Janes, Co-Chief Executive of the JLC and Executive Director of Lead

The value charities bring to our society is widely known and we have seen this even more so throughout the pandemic, but have you ever thought you may be exactly who a charity needs to help lead on finding that cure; saving the planet or fighting injustice?

The Jewish Volunteering Network (JVN) and Lead (a division of the Jewish Leadership Council) as part of long-standing collaboration across their community, share a passion to ensure there is sustainable and diverse leadership at the helm of our communal organisations.  Now partnering with Getting on Board, they are looking to create more diversity and opportunities for those both within and outside of their community wishing to get involved in a charity at Trustee level. They’re additionally supporting charities who would like to expand or diversify their Trustee Board. 

You may know that like many commercial organisations, charitable organisations have structure and governance. The staff team led by a Chief Executive, or Director, will have the skills, dedication, and determination to ensure the organisation is being run in the most effective way.

The CEO reports into the Chair of Trustees of the organisation, who along with their fellow trustees, are the critical friends needed to ensure the charity flourishes.  The Trustees work with the CEO to create the charity’s strategy, which is achieved, through discussions, observations, and sharing their knowledge and skills with relevant staff teams.

The Board of Trustees are legally responsible to ensure the charity is financially and legally compliant.  They make sure the focus is on supporting the charity’s beneficiaries (the people who directly benefit from its services), and ensure the charity’s supporters are confident their donation is being spent in the right, most cost-effective way.

Trustees join boards for a variety of reasons, they may be experts, or have experience in all manner of subjects: finance; HR; marketing; fundraising; business/service development or they may have direct or lived experience of whatever it is the charity is supporting, or fighting against, such as homelessness; mental health; domestic abuse; childhood trauma.

Some people may feel a lack of experience is an initial barrier to join a Charity Board, however should not be the case. Charities benefit from nurturing talent from those whose passion may initially be greater than their experience because they should be constantly looking to build legacy within in their board.

There are fewer barriers to becoming a Trustee than you might think, in fact charities recognise and research has shown that to flourish, they benefit from having a board that is rich in diversity in a variety of ways including thought, experience and background.

Becoming a Trustee is a huge responsibility which should not be entered into without preparation. There are legal implications to becoming a Trustee and although the recruitment process can sometimes be lengthy, it is encouraging that many charities are now  keen to implement structured and robust recruitment process, in the same way as executive recruitment.  Although this commitment can be significant, there are many organisations and support networks, including JVN and Lead, and Getting on Board who can support you as well as the benefit of knowing you have made a real difference to the lives of others to motivate you in your work.

If you are considering taking a step into the world of Trusteeship, or you’re interested in bringing new and diverse Trustees to your board, you are invited to join Getting on Board, JVN and Lead online on 18^th October where they will welcome Leon Ward FRSA  from ‘Getting on Board’, a charity working to support people from all sectors of society to become charity board trustees, and charities to recruit and retain a diverse range of trustees.

The session titled What is Trustee and How do I become one? where we will look at all aspects of the journey to being a trustee, and aims to support you on this journey or guiding others through it to find your organisation.

Getting on Board provides a wealth of training and information, including their Charity Board Leadership Programme, and for organisations that want to diversify their board see their Transform programme. Alongside the development opportunities that JVN and Lead provide in their Jewish Community Trustee events there are many ways in which to further develop your Trustee skills, or find out what it takes to be a Trustee.

For more information and advice about the best way to start your trustee application, we also recommend visiting Getting on Board’s website to download their free guides and for details of where to look for trustee vacancies - please see links below.

Investing in creating diverse, skilled and passionate trustee boards is a great way build sustainable and effective leadership for your charity.  There is a great deal of support to help do this and we look forward to seeing many of you at our events this year.

Why don’t you start with signing up for: What is Trustee and How do I become one? Click here to register!

Useful links:

How to become a trustee Guide | Getting on Board

Resource bank | Getting on Board

Charity Commission  Finding new trustees - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

https://www.jlead.org.uk/what_we_offer

Where can you find details of trustee vacancies?

Find your trustee position | Getting on Board

Jewish Volunteering Network (JVN) Trustee & Governor opportunities