# Percentage of charities attempting to improve trustee diversity drops

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2023/11/07/percentage-of-charities-attempting-to-improve-trustee-diversity-drops/
- Published: 2023-11-07T11:48:22+00:00
- Author: Melanie May

**Just half (50%) of charities say they are actively looking to recruit trustees
from more diverse backgrounds – down 14% on 2022, research from Ecclesiastical has
found.**

[Ecclesiastical](https://www.ecclesiastical.com/) commissioned the survey to coincide
with Getting on Board’s [Festival of Trusteeship](http://www.gettingonboard.org),
a week-long series of events that it is sponsoring. It asked 250 charity trustees
whether they were actively seeking trustees from a more diverse range of social 
and ethnic backgrounds.

The survey also found that there had been a YOY drop in the percentage of charities
that said they believed their board was made up of trustees from a diverse range
of social and ethnic backgrounds. Three in five (58%) said so this year, compared
with almost three quarters (72%) in 2022.

## Advertisement

It discovered that almost three quarters (74%) of trustees believed their board 
of trustees is diverse enough, yet separate research from earlier in the year by
[Inclusive Boards](https://www.inclusiveboards.co.uk/) found that three in ten (
29%) of the biggest charities have all-white trustee boards.

#### The good news

According to Ecclesiastical’s findings though, the challenge to recruit from more
diverse backgrounds has dropped with 47% saying it was a challenge this year compared
to 54% last year.

And, while 49% of charities said they had found it more difficult to recruit trustees
in the last twelve months, this is down 11% on the previous year when 60% said it
was more difficult.

#### What’s needed

When asked what they thought charities could do to encourage more trustees from 
different backgrounds 47% said more guidance on how to become a trustee should be
available, while 40% said more should be done to promote the benefits of trusteeship.

Faith Kitchen, Customer Segment Director at Ecclesiastical, said:

> “Trustee Week is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the amazing work charity
> trustees across the country do.
>  
> “It’s also an opportunity to encourage new people to get involved and its clear
> from this survey that charities acknowledge there are ways to reach a new audience
> and encourage more diversity at board level.
>  
> “By encouraging trustees from a wider range of ages, backgrounds and communities
> charities can bring in new ideas, identify different opportunities and safeguard
> against potential risks they’re not currently sighted on.”

Penny Wilson, CEO at Getting on Board, said:

> “This fascinating research paints a bleak picture. It is disappointing that there
> is a fall in the number of charities taking action to improve their trustee board’s
> diversity.
>  
> “We have a long way to go to bring charity board diversity up to that seen in 
> other sectors, let alone to represent the communities we serve. Welcoming a wider
> group of people to trusteeship presents an incredible opportunity to access more
> skills, expertise and support for our organisations.”

 * **[Tribunal to hear whistleblower case that could lead to protections for charity trustees](https://fundraising.co.uk/2024/07/22/tribunal-to-hear-whistleblower-case-that-could-lead-to-protections-for-charity-trustees/)**(
   22 July 2024)
 * **[Commission CEO urges local authorities to comply with trustee duties after number of breaches](https://fundraising.co.uk/2024/08/12/commission-ceo-urges-local-authorities-to-comply-with-trustee-duties-after-number-of-breaches/)**(
   12 August 2024)
 * **[Naomi Campbell among trustees disqualified after serious mismanagement at charity](https://fundraising.co.uk/2024/09/27/naomi-campbell-among-trustees-disqualified-after-serious-mismanagement-at-charity/)**(
   27 September 2024)