Welcome to Trustees’ Week 2025

Welcome to Trustees Week 2025, shining a spotlight on the unsung heroes of change – voluntary sector and charity trustees. 

These incredible individuals are the heart and soul of nonprofits, guiding the ship toward meaningful impact. Trustees play a vital role, not just in boardrooms but in the very fabric of society, fostering transparency, innovation, and accountability.

As we celebrate Trustees Week 2025 (3-7th November), let’s explore the immense value these volunteers bring to our communities. Traditionally, there’s been a reluctance to put a price on freely offered commitment, especially at the trustee level. But times are changing, and the tide is turning.

Ever wonder why the incredible economic contribution of volunteering is often overlooked? Well, so have we. Enter a 2023 game-changing study by Works4U, led by the Volunteer Centre guru Dominic Pinkney, titled “Monetary Value of Charity Trustees.” Brace yourselves—it was a real eye-opener but still relevant today!

Starting with Sherry Anderson’s wisdom that “volunteers don’t get paid, not because they are worthless but because they are priceless,” the report unveils the true economic magnitude of volunteering in England and Wales—£324 billion, a staggering 14.7% of the UK’s GDP. Let that sink in. To put it in perspective, that surpasses the NHS budget for 21/22 (£190 billion). And the good news doesn’t stop there.

Drilling down into the world of trustees, the report reveals their value at £33.17 billion, equivalent to 1.7% of GDP. Think about it—more than the total value of manufacturing in 2022 (£31 billion)! With the average number of trustees per organisation being 6, these figures are awe-inspiring. Add two years of more commitment and inflation and those figures will be even more impressive.

But what does this all mean? It means change is on the agenda. The report not only advocated for recognising the economic value of volunteering but suggested a dedicated government department for the entire Voluntary Sector. A world where Trustee roles are championed on the same scale as business, sports, and culture. While we might not see it overnight, a shift in attitude toward the sector is certainly on the cards over time.

Michael Green.

September 24, 2020September 23, 2025

Volunteer Recruitment Strategy

See the writing role descriptions guidance for more information.

Before you start recruiting, think about:

Possible volunteer motivations for your ideal volunteer.
Different audiences that you want to approach with your recruitment strategy.
Resources you have and resources you need.
Who else can help you.

Target

Decide on a SMART Target: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.

E.g. We will receive 10 applications, which will translate into 5 volunteers being appointed by 30^th June 2023.

Audiences

Breakdown the specific audiences you want to approach in your recruitment. It may just be one, or you may be approaching several different audiences. E.g.

16 and 17 year olds who are interested in theatre and want something to do in their summer holidays.
Retirees and stay at home parents who want to use their parenting skills to help vulnerable children.
Professionals in demanding roles who want an impactful opportunity that fits in with their busy lifestyle.

Key message

Think about the key message you want to share with each audience – try and sum it up in one sentence. This will help with your recruitment.

Tactics

Think how you want to reach these audiences – aside from posting an opportunity on our website. Where can you find them? What resources do you have access to? Some examples of tactics:

Ask current volunteers who match that audiences to speak to their friends and neighbours.
Email the teacher of a local sixth form college course on health & social care.
Create a poster and ask local shops and businesses to put it up.
Send a press release to local newspaper about your need for volunteers.
Hold a taster volunteering day.

Next actions

Looking at the tactics, make a list of next actions to achieve. Be realistic about how much you can do and consider focusing on the areas that will make the biggest impact.

Template

Opportunity:

Target:

Audience	Key message	Tactics

Worked examples

Opportunity: Family Support Volunteer

Target: Get 20 applications and have 10 volunteers get through

Stay at home parents who want to use their parenting experience to support young families.	Bored now the kids are at school? We’re looking for volunteers with experience of parenting or childcare who want to help young families who are going through challenges.	Post opportunity on the Legends of the Forest website.Ask current volunteers to share info about the role in parent whatsapp groups they are in.Leave leaflets and flyers at the local library.	Stay at home parents who want to use their parenting experience to support young families.
Retired people who want to volunteer to help families.	…	…	Retired people who want to volunteer to help families.

Opportunity: Gardening Volunteers

Target: Get 30 sign ups and have 20 volunteers sign up

Audience	Key message	Tactics	Audience
People who are interested in the environment	Want to help keep Waltham Forest green?	Post opportunity on the Legends of the Forest website.Post on local environmental Facebook groups.Put up a poster in a local zero waste shop	People who are interested in the environment
…	…	…	…

September 2, 2020September 23, 2025

Top tips for creating a new opportunity

Once your account has been approved by Volunteering Kingston, you can create and add new volunteering opportunities. Just simply sign into your account and click on add opportunity.

Key Details

Opportunity Name – Brief title – Include the name of the activity and role e.g. Fun Run Volunteer Marshall
Opportunity Description – Be descriptive – Give as much information about the role as possible, remember you are also trying to entice people to volunteer so make it sound fun and interesting.
Benefits & Perks – Something to say ‘thank you’ to the volunteers. Tea and coffee provided throughout, a lunch or opportunities for volunteer training.
Skills Required – Skills that will help the volunteer get the best from this opportunity. If skills are needed offer to provide any additional or specialist training to volunteers before they begin– this could be one of the added benefits and perks
Main Category – From the drop down menu what most describes the role.
Activity Tags – Words you want associated to your opportunity e.g. if it was an admin role the tags could be: Admin, office, IT.
Is the opportunity accessible?
Opportunity part of a larger event – Do you have an event that requires many different roles and is this opportunity part of it? If yes, then choose yes from the drop down menu and you will be able to put all opportunities related to that event onto one page. If it is a one off opportunity, then choose no.

Travel Information – Some simple instructions about how the volunteer can get to your venue e.g. closest train/tube station, bus routes etc.

Expenses

Please outline what expenses you can provide.

Volunteers should not be out of pocket from volunteering. Volunteering Kingston recommend as best practice offering travel expenses and lunch for volunteer shifts over 5 hours. For shifts less than five hours, please provide volunteers with simple snacks. Volunteers should have access to drinking water and we recommend providing tea and coffee.

Files and Documents

Upload any useful documents for volunteers to download e.g. maps and itineraries.

Selection Options

If applying is selected the volunteer will be warned that their session choice has to be confirmed by an administrator before they can attend.
If joining (default) is selected then the volunteer is able to self-serve and join sessions with the expectation that they are attending.

Joining Restrictions

Please be aware that if you do have volunteers under the age of 18 you will need policies in place for the following areas:

Health and safety
Safeguarding
Insurance that covers under 18 volunteers

We do encourage that organisation not discriminate on age and provide all our volunteers an equal opportunity to take part. However, we do understand that certain roles require an age restriction.

Session and Times

Please select which of the three options best fits the opportunity.