What are Trustees?
Trustees, sometimes knows as directors, board members, governors or committee members, are volunteers who make decisions about how a charity organisation should run; ensuring that it is using it’s resources appropriately and working in the best interest of the beneficiaries and wider community. This means that the skills and experience that Trustees bring to charities are vital to the way that the organisations develop and evolve, making diversity in Trustees very important.
Research published in 2019 shows that diversity in Trustees in the UK could be much improved:
Only 2% of Trustees are young people
92% of Trustees are white
64% are male
The average age of a Trustee in England and Wales is 59 years-old
These shocking statistics show that the people influencing the decisions made by charities are not reflective of the population and that equal representation in Trustees should be high on the agenda.
Who can become a Trustee?
Anyone who aspires to help a charity organisation achieve their goals and aims can become a Trustee and a huge range of skills could be valuable to the charity. For example, your social media skills could help a charity reach out to the public; or your ethnicity, religion or age may be able to bring a different viewpoint to represent a certain part of the community and ensure equal representation.
Volunteering as a Trustee is a rewarding role but one that most volunteers don’t tend to consider. Each organisation will expect its trustees to spend a different amount of time on the role but most Trustee roles involve meeting the rest of the board four to eight times a year and most trusteeship fits conveniently around work, home and other commitments.
