Call for voluntary sector to prepare for Get on Board trustee campaign

Howard Lake | 10 October 2006 | Newswire

CALL FOR VOLUNTARY SECTOR TO PREPARE FOR GET ON BOARD TRUSTEE CAMPAIGN
The Governance Hub, Charity Commission and Volunteering England today (11 October 2006) joined together to call on the sector to register their trustee vacancies and prepare to recruit new board members.
The call to action is in anticipation of a trustee recruitment campaign, Get On Board. The campaign, led by the Governance Hub with the Charity Commission and Volunteering England as partners, will be launched to the public in January 2007.
Get on Board aims to inspire more people, from a range of backgrounds, to consider becoming a trustee in the voluntary and community sector.
Jolanta Lasota, Head of the Governance Hub said:
It is vital that we work proactively to attract new trustees to the sector in order to ensure that boards are replenished with people with the range and diversity of skills needed to govern organisations successfully.
We are encouraging organisations across England to participate in this campaign by registering their trustee vacancies either through their local Volunteer Centre or by going to www.do-it.org.uk/needvolunteers ”
To support organisations within the sector wanting to take advantage of the new potential trustees created by Get On Board, the Governance Hub has produced a downloadable Trustee Recruitment Toolkit available from www.governancehub.org.uk
Important steps in trustee recruitment include:
– Reviewing your board to identify gaps in skills, experience and perspective
– Writing a trustee role description
– Promoting your vacancy via open recruitment methods
– Planning induction and support for new recruits
Andrew Hind, Chief Executive of the Charity Commission said:
It’s crucial that charities recruiting new trustees lay the ground work for their new arrivals early. By making sure they have the right policies and practices in place for trustee recruitment and induction, charities can really make the most of the Get on Board campaign to develop and diversify their boards.
We know from last year’s successful campaign with TimeBank, that people can be inspired to get involved as trustees and it makes sense for charities to be ready to make the most of this new energy.”
During the campaign, Volunteering England will be providing vital support to Volunteer Centres to help them work with potential trustee candidates on the ground.
Christopher Spence CBE, Chief Executive of Volunteering England said:
Volunteering England is excited to be working with the Governance Hub on the Get on Board campaign. Trusteeship is an important and rewarding form of volunteering and more trustees are needed across the voluntary and community sector.
We will be working with local Volunteer Centres to provide appropriate trustee volunteering opportunities for people expressing interest as a result of this campaign.”
The campaign responds to a Governance Hub survey that found 93% of boards have between one and five vacancies, and that 43% find it more difficult to recruit trustees now, than they did five years ago (1).
Sue Banton, Director of Steps, the national charity supporting those affected by a lower limb condition such as clubfoot or a hip condition, says:
Steps is currently looking for trustees countrywide. As an organisation, we reach our full potential when we have innovative and active board members. It’s really important that charities take on trustees who bring a new perspective to the board table.
Trustees should take a moment to appreciate the wonderful difference they individually make to their charities. I would urge everyone to take full advantage of this fantastic initiative by registering their vacancies and getting new recruits, skills and passion on their boards.”
Get On Board additionally recognises that boards are not only low on numbers but also low on diversity, with 76% of trustees aged 45 years and over (2) and 5% from a BME background (3). One of the main aims of the campaign will be to reach people who have the potential to be a trustee but have never been or considered being a trustee before. The campaign will particularly target young professionals aged 25-45 years, including those from minority ethnic backgrounds.
John Yeats, Chair of Trustees at the Independent Living Association, West Sussex said:
As a chair of trustees and a disabled person I believe that a board should represent the people it serves. Our board is diverse and representative of the people we help. It is important that we practice what we preach.
We understand through our own experiences the difficulties other disabled people face and how we can help. Our strategy is to recruit people with a range of different skills and perspectives, finding the right balance of disabled and non-disabled people.”
For more information on the campaign and trustee recruitment resources, visit www.governancehub.org.uk or call the free helpline on 0800 652 4886.
ends.
Spokespeople from each campaign partner are available for interviews on the 4th October, although alternative times can also be arranged.
For more information, photos of spokespeople, campaign images, interviews and authored articles, please contact Fiona McBain at f.******@ti******.uk or 020 7785 6389.
Notes to Editors
1. Governance Hub research carried out by Office for Public Management (OPM) – ‘Support and Resource Needs of Trustees and Chairs in Voluntary and Community Organisations’, June 2005.
2. ‘Start as you mean to go on’ – Trustee Recruitment and Induction Research report, The Charity Commission, July 2005.
3. ‘Recent Trends in Charity Governance and Trusteeship’, Chris Cornforth, 2001.
4. The campaign will build on the success of Get On Board 2005, a Charity Commission and TimeBank campaign, which to date has secured 3,000 registrations.
5. The Governance Hub champions good governance in the voluntary and community sector in England. The Hub carries out research into the governance needs of the sector, develops and promotes standards and provides support through its information resources and learning schemes. The Hub is also raising awareness of governance resources and support available to the sector and of trusteeship with the public. Find out more at www.governancehub.org.uk or 0800 652 4886.
6. The Governance Hub is a partnership of eight organisations that provide support to the voluntary and community sector. They are: the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO), the Black Training and Enterprise Group (BTEG), The British Association of Settlements and Social Action Centres (Bassac), Charity Trustee Networks (CTN), East Cornwall CVS, the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA), the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and Volunteering England. NCVO is the accountable body. The Hub is funded by Capacity Builders as part of the ChangeUp programme.
7. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator for charitable activity in England and Wales. Find out more at www.charitycommission.gov.uk
8. Volunteering England is the integrated national volunteer development organisation for England. It works across the voluntary, public and private sectors to raise the profile of volunteering as a powerful force for change and to secure and support an England-wide network of quality Volunteer Centres, promoting and enabling local volunteering and community involvement. Find out more at www.volunteeringengland.org

About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.