What should I think about before becoming a trustee?
Most people have skills, knowledge or experience which they can bring to a charity. Trustees should have a strong personal commitment to the charity’s aims and objectives. It is also essential that there are no legal or other barriers to a trustee's appointment.
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Where can I get help finding a charity that I could be a trustee of?
There are many different organisations that advertise trustee vacancies or provide matching or recruitment services. Below are links to some of these organisations from the charity or not-for-profit sectors. (We cannot show links to commercial organisations providing such services.)
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Getting on Board encourages people to develop board-level volunteering careers alongside their professional careers. They do this by working with employers, professional bodies and individuals across the UK. For information on how you, your employees and colleagues can find voluntary sector trustee roles and Get on Board, contact info@gettingonboard.org or call 01449 744166.
ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) is a professional membership organisation, supporting over 138,000 chartered accountants around the world. ICAEWjobs.com advertises voluntary, unpaid jobs at charities. You do not have to be a member of ICAEW to view or apply for jobs advertised here.
NCVO Trustee Bank displays a range of civil society board vacancies for individuals to browse online. You can contact the organisations that interest you directly. For those who’d like to know more about trusteeship there is information and advice on becoming a trustee as well as a directory of other trustee recruitment services.
Trusteefinder is a free service from the Small Charities Coalition which will help you find a trustee vacancy. You can search through thousands of trustee vacancies across the country by your areas of interest and how far you are willing to travel. Trusteefinder builds on the services of www.do-it.org and volunteer centres.
TrusteeWorks is the new personalised trustee service from Reach, the skilled volunteering charity. It enables you to choose for yourself what kind of organisation you would like to get involved with, whether it be a local group or a national charity. You can specify your skills, interests, time commitment, location and experience and TrusteeWorks will find the right opportunity for you. TrusteeWorks will support you through the trustee journey, giving you the confidence to get the most out of your role.
Other Board-level volunteering opportunities
There are other kinds of organisations besides charities that need volunteers to be members of their boards. For example, you could volunteer as a school governor or as a board member on an NHS trust.
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School Governors’ One-Stop Shop (SGOSS) is a small charity dedicated to recruiting school governor volunteers across England. They offer a FREE service for volunteers, schools, Local Authorities and employers. They can help anyone who wants to find out more about volunteering OR any school that has vacancies on their Governing Body. Visit their website for more information and to apply online today.
The Appointments Commission is responsible for public appointments throughout the health service and wider health and social care sectors. If you would like to find out about these alternative public roles, visit their website.
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