Heard about trustees, but not sure what they do? Our CEO Dominic Pinkney believes being a trustee is one of the best ways to volunteer. Read on to find out why…
It is often forgotten as a volunteer role, but being a Trustee is absolutely one of the best ways to volunteer your skills and experience and make a real significant contribution to a charity.
This truly fantastic volunteer role suffers, in my view, due its name.
This truly fantastic volunteer role suffers, in my view, due its name.
The word ‘trustee’ sounds like a term from the nineteenth century, conjuring visions of old men sitting in a smoke-filled boardroom drinking brandy. The reality is very different … I’ve definitely not had any brandy! Trustees should and do come from all walks of life and it is a dynamic, diverse and rewarding position.
Trustees work as a team utilising their individual and collective skills and experience to direct and make key decisions for an organisation. They take legal responsibility for the charity and work with, challenge and support the Chief Executive to ensure the charity is being well run and delivering its objectives.
As I run a Volunteer Centre it will be no surprise that I volunteer myself and the formal volunteer work I do is through being a Trustee as it is a way to use my skills and experience to support a charity that fits with my work and time commitments. I am currently a proud Trustee of three great but different charities: London Plus, Camden Giving and Community Impact Bucks.
Although I argue it is the best, I do not think it is the easiest volunteer role, far from it. The last five to eight years have been extremely challenging for most charities, particularly those with a turnover of under £1 million. Years of austerity have meant increased competition for reduced available funding. To survive, let alone be sustainable, charities have needed to and still are adapting to a new economic environment. Then came a global pandemic and now a cost of living crisis. Being a Trustee is never dull.
Devising, evaluating and evolving innovative strategies for a charity are the responsibility of the Trustees. With these challenges often come opportunities and a well functioning board of Trustees will work together to identify and prioritise the opportunities and objectives for the organisation.
If that sounds interesting to you, then why not become a Trustee? The meetings are usually just after work and often are between 4-6 meetings per year.
Trustees work as a team utilising their individual and collective skills and experience to direct and make key decisions for an organisation. They take legal responsibility for the charity and work with, challenge and support the Chief Executive to ensure the charity is being well run and delivering its objectives.
As I run a Volunteer Centre it will be no surprise that I volunteer myself and the formal volunteer work I do is through being a Trustee as it is a way to use my skills and experience to support a charity that fits with my work and time commitments. I am currently a proud Trustee of three great but different charities: London Plus, Camden Giving and Community Impact Bucks.
Although I argue it is the best, I do not think it is the easiest volunteer role, far from it. The last five to eight years have been extremely challenging for most charities, particularly those with a turnover of under £1 million. Years of austerity have meant increased competition for reduced available funding. To survive, let alone be sustainable, charities have needed to and still are adapting to a new economic environment. Then came a global pandemic and now a cost of living crisis. Being a Trustee is never dull.
Devising, evaluating and evolving innovative strategies for a charity are the responsibility of the Trustees. With these challenges often come opportunities and a well functioning board of Trustees will work together to identify and prioritise the opportunities and objectives for the organisation.
If that sounds interesting to you, then why not become a Trustee? The meetings are usually just after work and often are between 4-6 meetings per year.
