Why and how to recruit younger trustees to your board

By Meg Raybould, Young Trustees Movement

 

Thank you to everyone who attended our event on ‘why and how to recruit younger trustees to your board. My colleague, Mita Desai and Charity People’s Philippa Randle were in conversation with:

• Neil Berkett– Chair of the Board at NSPCC and the Guardian Media Group
• Alice Rath– Trustee for Crohn’s & Colitis UK
• Precious Sithole, ACA FRSA– Founder/CEO Beyond Suffrage

We had such interesting questions and lively debate about the important role that younger trustees can play on our boards.

Here’s a clip of Charity People’s Philippa Randle talking to Crohns and Colitis UK Trustee, Alice Rath:

There were so many interesting questions from attendees that we weren’t able to answer them all during the event. Here are the answers to the questions we missed:

Where can I find young trustees, I have advertised and had no applications?

The Young Trustees Movement has a Digital Hub with over 800 members – the majority of our members are young trustees. You can register here and share your opportunities on the hub. We can also advertise your vacancies on our webpage, here.

You could also reach out to specific networks or groups such as local university students’ unions.

I’m a small organisation who is already pushed for resources. How can we have inclusive opportunities through training, recruitment and mentoring, when we don’t have the budget. What places can support this?

There are lots of places to look for free or affordable training, here’s a couple to look at:

• NCVO provides some free and paid training. They have recently launched an e-learning course which is aimed at being accessible and affordable for all charities: take a look here.

• Setting up a mentoring/ buddy scheme is a cost-effective way of providing training, as is shadowing staff members. Watch our Q&A with Precious from Beyond Suffrage to find out more.

Where can I advertise to attract applications from younger trustees?

You can advertise your roles for free through the Young Trustees Movement Digital Hub (register and post the opportunity) & webpage (submit this form).

We’d also recommend using social media to help (Twitter and Linkedin are best). If you tag @YoungTrustees we can share your posts with our networks.

There are various other websites you can use to promote the opportunity. We’ve included a list below, some are free and others you need to pay to advertise:

• Do it.org’s Trustee Finder

• Getting on Board

• NCVO’s Trustee bank

• Reach Volunteering

• Step on Board

• Trustees Unlimited

• The Fore

• Small Charities Coalition

• Trustees Unlimited

• Inspiring Governance (for schools)

You could also search for your local volunteering centre and ask to advertise there and Charity People can help you with targeted searches for trustees and senior leadership roles.

What do young people get from being a trustee?

There are lots of reasons you might want to become a trustee and plenty you can gain from it. I think some of the main benefits are to:

• Develop skills

• Grow your network

• Learn about governance and understand how the charity sector works

• Make friends

• Give you a sense of fulfilment  (that warm feeling)

Read the full blog from the Young Trustees Movement on this here.

What practical action can you take with your board or subcommittee to encourage inclusivity?

The Young Trustees Movement run a one hour training session on how to reflect on your practices as a board or committee and address any assumptions or practices that might be a barrier to working inclusively.

Members of your board can book onto a training via this link. By the end of the session, attendees will:

• Understand the power of young trustees

• Have a framework to understand how to approach board diversity.

• Plan practical next steps.

What happens when your young trustees get older and you no longer have young trustees?

The short answer to this is setting term limits! Having terms limits can be a useful way to ensure that your board develops over time and that new ideas and perspectives can be brought in.

You can read a blog from Bill Yuksel – who stepped down from his role as Young Trustees Movement Ambassador with the hope of creating space for younger people to lead the movement and amplify their voices. Find out why he thought this was important here.

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If you would like to view the full recording of the Charity People and Young Trustees Movement session on ‘Why and how to recruit younger trustees to your board or find out how Charity People can help with your trustee search, please contact Philippa Randle on philippa@charitypeople.co.uk