September 2010
You can also view a colour PDF version of A Breath of Fresh Air: young people as charity trustees
The Charity Commission is the independent regulator for charitable activity. This is one of a series of reports that draws upon independent research that we have commissioned, as well as our own internal data, knowledge and experience of working with charities.
The purpose of these reports is to help increase understanding of an issue. They are part of our mission to help charities maximise impact and comply with their legal obligations, to encourage innovation within the charitable sector and enhance effectiveness.
Dear Reader,
There are just over 180,000 charities in England and Wales and each one is different, but one thing they do have in common is their reliance on their team of trustees.
Trustees are the driving force behind what is an enormously diverse sector and can be seen as the embodiment of active, responsible citizenship. Usually volunteers, they have ultimate responsibility for making the important decisions about the direction of their charities which carry out vital work at home and abroad.
For some time now we have been encouraging charities to consider the need for diversity on their trustee boards. Having a range of people from different backgrounds and with an assortment of skills and experience will lead to more effectively-run charities. As charities are increasingly called upon to provide a greater range of services to a wider diversity of people, this is more important than ever.
This report investigates one aspect of trustee diversity by looking at young people's attitudes towards trusteeship. We have spoken to young volunteers to explore why it is that those aged between 18 and 24 are so markedly under-represented on charity boards and to examine the barriers, real or perceived, that may prevent them from becoming trustees.
Estimates indicate that almost half of charities have at least one board-level vacancy and some may have difficulty in recruiting new trustees. This report suggests that many charities could benefit from enlisting new trustees from the vast, almost untapped resource of 18-24 year-olds.
Charities will reap the rewards of enthusiasm and a fresh perspective and, at a time of economic downturn and uncertainty around job prospects for young people, it is likely that the new recruits will gain experience that will help them develop in other areas of their lives. They will help generate and sustain the type of social action and engagement with which charities have driven social change for hundreds of years.
We would like all trustee boards to consider whether they have an effective and sufficiently diverse trustee board and to ask themselves how they might provide more opportunities for young people to get involved in running the charity. To this end, we have created a checklist for charities which provides trustees with a practical tool to help identify the questions and issues to consider when thinking about recruiting young people to their board.
Dame Suzi Leather - Chair Sam Younger - Chief Executive
This research report aims to develop sector knowledge and promote good practice in the recruitment and deployment of young trustees, a demographic group which is under-represented on charity boards across England and Wales.
The Charity Commission's guidance, Finding New Trustees: What charities need to know (CC30), highlights the advantages of a diverse trustee board including:
As good practice, the guidance recommends that when charities are recruiting new trustees, they seek to increase, or at least maintain, the diversity of their boards by recruiting people who can be under-represented, such as young people, people from black and ethnic minority communities, and people with disabilities.
Analysis of the Charity Commission's information on charity trustees shows that young people, defined as 18-24 year-olds, represent 0.5% of the trustee population across England and Wales, a figure that has remained the same over the past five years1 . Most of these young trustees are at the upper end of this age group. Yet this same age group represents around 12% of the adult population across the two countries. Further, many of these young trustees are potentially quite isolated as 80% of them are the sole young trustee on their charity's board.
The majority of young trustees are trustees of charities that have education/training as a charitable purpose and children/young people as the charity's main beneficiary class. This would indicate that most of the charitable sector still has a need to recognise the benefits of involving young people in their governance arrangements.
There is evidence to show that young people can make a positive contribution to charities' governance structures2 .However, despite various national and local initiatives over the last decade, there continues to be an under-representation of young people on trustee boards.
Previous research has identified the public's low level of awareness of trusteeship as a volunteering opportunity - less than 5% of people are aware that trusteeship can be a way to support a charity3 .This lack of awareness is likely to be a significant barrier when charities attempt to recruit trustees. Even when people do know about trusteeship, they can be unwilling to take on the trustee role because they think they lack the necessary skills, do not want to give up the time, or are concerned by the potential liabilities of trustees4 .
There is also evidence that some charities experience difficulties when they have considered involving young people in governance roles. In research, carried out in 2009,5 the following difficulties were cited:
Because of the under-representation of young trustees on charity trustee boards, the Charity Commission wanted to explore what it could do, in its role as regulator, to encourage young trusteeship, and to help to create more diverse boards.
The main objective of the research was therefore to identify potential solutions to the barriers that prevent more young people taking up and retaining trustee positions and to look at ways of encouraging more young people to become young trustees. We wanted to explore these issues through talking directly to young people themselves.
A snapshot of the Register of Charities6 was analysed to profile trustee ages within England and Wales and to explore the distribution of young trustees (18-24 year-olds) across the sector.
Six focus groups were then carried out: two with young people who were already charity trustees, and four with young people who were regular formal volunteers but not in trustee roles. The two trustee focus groups were mixed in gender, while the four general volunteer focus groups were separated by gender and status (ie whether in education or employment).
The aim in the focus groups with young trustees was to explore their routes into and experiences of the role. Young trustees were also invited to comment on the ways in which they felt they contributed to their board; the benefits of trusteeship both for them and their charity; the problems they had encountered and how they had overcome them; as well as any support they had been given.
The aim in the focus groups with young volunteers was to explore the awareness, perception and understanding of 'trusteeship' amongst young people who are already committed volunteers and who therefore might be considered to be a potential pool of future trustees.
The definition of 'young' for the purposes of this research was individuals aged 18 to 24 inclusive.
Full details of the research methodology can be found at Annex A.
Note: Age ranges are expressed as percentages of a total trustee figure of 810,306. Each trustee is counted only once, though some individuals are trustees for more than one charity.
As an outcome from this research, the Charity Commission has developed a checklist that charities can use as a practical tool when considering whether it would be appropriate to recruit a young person to their board, what would be the best way to do this and how they should support the young trustee once he or she is in the role. This checklist can be found at Annex B in this report. A list of resources for anyone who is interested in involving young people in governance and/or encouraging young volunteers can be found at Annex D.
Our research shows that, to encourage more young people to become trustees, charities should be ensuring that what and how they communicate is both engaging and creative, using newer methods such as social media. Charities need to demonstrate clearly the benefits of trusteeship to young people, as well as the benefits to charities of young trustees.
These are the findings from research carried out in focus groups with young volunteers and young trustees aged 18-24, as well as from discussions with sector experts.
One of the fundamental barriers to becoming a young trustee was a lack of awareness of the trustee role. Very few of the young volunteers that we talked to had heard the term 'trustee'. Only a minority had some idea about what it meant. Mostly, this minority thought that it was something to do with how a charity spent or distributed its money.
In general, these young volunteers had little idea about the different options that were open to them as volunteers. Most said that they had little interaction with the organisation beyond the remit of their current volunteer role.
Hence, while the young trustees assumed that others would see the value of the trustee role, the young volunteers were less sure of this due to their own lack of awareness of the role. They questioned whether an employer would know what a trustee was, given that most of them as young volunteers, had never heard the term before.
In order to discuss the pros and cons of being a trustee, the young volunteers were given the following Charity Commission definition:
What is a trustee?
Charity trustees are the people who form the governing body of a charity. They may be known as trustees, directors, board members, governors or committee members.
Trustees are responsible for controlling the management and administration of a charity.
The great majority of trustees serve as volunteers and receive no payment (other than to repay necessary out-of-pocket expenses incurred).
Trustees should work together as a team, and have collective responsibility for their charity.
Most young volunteers thought that, in view of its seriousness and importance, the trustee role sounded like a full-time job. They likened it to the commercial sector and to the control and management of a company:
'It's like a director of a company who makes all the decisions - you must have a lot of time to give.' (Young female volunteer, in work)
Very few of these young volunteers were expecting to increase their involvement with their organisation, and had the perception that the potential time commitment of the trustee role would be daunting. They would not want to take on such a role and then let people down:
'This commits you to something - so many hours at this time and you have a responsibility to the charity. If you let someone down, you're not letting yourself down, you're letting a charity down, which has quite big ethical repercussions. It's not something I would consider as a young person.' (Young female volunteer, in education)
Whether in work or education, these young people felt that their lives were in some sort of significant transition, and that their family or work commitments would increase over the coming years. This was particularly true of the students, who anticipated having a lot less spare time when they had to balance the demands of full-time work:
'I think my goal of a career will get in the way. My commitment [to the charity volunteered with] is going to go down, not up.' (Young female volunteer, in education)
These young people thought trusteeship was something more likely to interest older adults, who have reached a point in their lives when they can give more time and afford financially to do so. In contrast, these young volunteers had to balance giving their time with generating their own income:
'You've got to earn money as well, otherwise people will be giving you charity.' (Young male volunteer, in education)
When it became clearer to young volunteers that trustees worked together as a team and brought their own perspective or specialism to decision-making, they viewed the position as potentially more manageable. They realised that one trustee alone was not expected to be responsible for everything, and felt that this is an important point to convey in communication about trusteeship.
Young people believed that it would take many years of working with an organisation before they understood it well enough to help manage it. They were not sure that they would feel qualified to take on the role of trustee:
'I think you'd have to work with a charity closely for a number of years and have a relationship with someone senior to fully understand and have the knowledge.' (Young female volunteer, in work)
They believed that it would require a broader or deeper set of skills than they had acquired. They questioned whether they would command the necessary respect, influence or have access to enough networks to do the job well and to interact convincingly with others. They did not feel confident about taking on what appeared to them be a position for which they felt unqualified:
'With the recession, you need to have someone credible up there, fighting over funds.' (Young male volunteer, in work)
These young volunteers had not thought about why charities might want to recruit them as trustees. When it was suggested that some charities were interested in having young trustees because they brought fresh thinking and new skills, it helped young volunteers to believe that they did have something to offer the role. Some felt that there could be a concerted campaign to highlight this desire to recruit young trustees:
'I think it would help if you knew that they were interested in yourself.' (Young male volunteer, in work)
However, it was clear that some young volunteers simply did not want this kind of role. This was particularly true of some of the young men involved in sporting or active voluntary work, whose preference was for hands-on activity, not board-room style discussions.
A range of printed materials that aimed in different ways to explain and promote the role of trustee was explored with young people. A number of ideas for both the content and the methods of communication with young people came out of the ensuing discussion.
What to communicate
Importantly, communication should focus on 'selling' the role of trustee to young people. Information about legal responsibilities or the process of recruitment, for example, may be important, but it can also be counter-productive. It would be better to spark an initial interest and then to communicate relevant further information as they progress through the different stages of the recruitment process. If charities want to attract young trustees, the research indicates that young people first need to be inspired and to feel empowered to take the first step.
Young people wanted to hear about the personal benefits of trusteeship; for example, that they can acquire a broader set of skills and deeper understanding of how an organisation works, in a role where they can make a genuine difference as part of a team.
However, they also needed reassurance that they could fulfil the role, despite their youth and inexperience. It needed to be explained that they could bring fresh thinking, new ideas and a contemporary set of skills to the charity, and importantly, that the charity would welcome their contribution. The more young people felt they were genuinely wanted, the more likely they were to be interested.
How to communicate
When asked how they would 'sell' the role of trustee to their friends, many young people thought there was no substitute for peer-to-peer communication. They found information heard this way more credible, relevant and interesting; otherwise they had a tendency to switch off:
'When you're at school and people come in and talk to you, they're all a lot older and you do tend to switch off a lot of the time.' (Young female volunteer, in education)
This means that explaining trusteeship through the eyes of other young trustees is important. It also suggests that peer-to-peer recruitment could be an important tool and perhaps tapping into online social networks could be valuable. The role of schools, universities and the workplace as places for networking and disseminating information about volunteering opportunities, is helpful here. For example, as one sector expert pointed out:
'Schools are always on the lookout for good speakers - we need young trustees to go round to schools.'
While some trustee recruitment literature was tested in this research, it quickly became clear from the discussion that printed documents are not necessarily the best medium for communicating trusteeship.
Any communication aimed at young people should be clearly designed for this target audience in terms of visual presentation, language and content. For example, some young people said they would be unlikely to read anything that was too densely packed with written information.
Some thought a check-box approach might be helpful, so that they could run through the list of criteria and decide easily if trusteeship was for them.
The young people who took part in the research were more used to visual media and to accessing information electronically. They felt such media could deliver a story in a more real and compelling way:
'When you see it at first hand - if you were to put that into a five-minute film then you'd sit down and watch it rather than sit and read it, because then you'd see it in action.' (Young male volunteer, in education)
It was felt that the ideas young people had about communicating trusteeship could be appealing to potential trustees of all ages.
Many young people talked about accessing information online. There were debates about whether sites like Facebook should be used with views both in favour and against. The debate was not whether Facebook was relevant to young people, but whether it was an appropriate environment for charities. However, most thought that it should at least be considered.10
The following exchange between two young male volunteers illustrates the point:
'It sounds daft, but [why not] a Facebook page for a charity. It's all moving on and this kind of thing (literature) doesn't work nowadays.' '…people won't click on a group unless they're actually interested in it...' '…but they might invite someone else and before you know it, there's a million people who know about it!' (Young male volunteers, in education)
'It sounds daft, but [why not] a Facebook page for a charity. It's all moving on and this kind of thing (literature) doesn't work nowadays.'
'…people won't click on a group unless they're actually interested in it...'
'…but they might invite someone else and before you know it, there's a million people who know about it!' (Young male volunteers, in education)
Clearly, it is important to adapt the technology to suit an organisation, rather than the other way round. As one sector expert with significant experience of new media warned:
'We need to allow existing processes to guide the technology, rather than shoe-horn the process to fit the technology. We don't have to go wholesale into an IT-based approach.'
None of the young people in the trustee focus groups had set out to become trustees, and only one was directly recruited into a trustee role. In one of the two trustee focus groups, a minority did not even realise they were trustees until they were contacted for this research. Instead, they thought of themselves as board or committee members, without a complete understanding of what this meant.
Almost all had become trustees as a natural extension of their volunteering work. Typically, they were invited by their charity to take up the position, and regarded the invitation as a positive endorsement of the work they were doing.
This means of transition into trusteeship implies that that the existing pool of young volunteers is an important source of young trustees. It would appear that recruiting, maintaining and developing young volunteers is one of the most important ways to recruit young trustees.
Existing trustees and volunteer managers can act as trusteeship advocates, actively encouraging and supporting potential young candidates to apply for the role. This approach was endorsed by one sector expert we spoke to:
'We got a high proportion of young people applying for trusteeship because we got buy-in from youth staff across the organisation - they acted as a conduit, encouraging young people to stand for selection - convincing them that they could and should stand for the role.'
For both young volunteers and young trustees, there were many different pathways into volunteering. They became volunteers through family connections, the experiences of friends, personal interest in a charity's work or through the influence of school, university or work.
Family background also played its part. A significant number of these young people came from families that were involved in voluntary work, or had parents who worked in the caring professions.
However, educational establishments stood out as particularly influential. Many of these young people had been introduced to charities or the benefits of volunteering when at school or university.
Schools were very often a first introduction to fundraising or volunteering opportunities, either through school initiatives or the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme. The young people we spoke to felt that volunteering became a more serious option when they entered the sixth form. At this point, they were starting to make their own choices, to consider what universities or employers were looking for, and to think of their CVs:
'As you get older and get into the sixth form, you start to realise it's nothing to do with that [being cool] and you start to get involved. But younger than that, there is a social stigma attached to it.' (Young female volunteer, in education)
Similarly, colleges and universities were places where young people became aware of volunteering possibilities and their importance. Many of these institutions and students’ unions held databases of volunteering opportunities, effected introductions and raised awareness by inviting voluntary organisations to Freshers’ Fairs or to give presentations. People talked of how educational institutions promoted the importance of getting experience and building their CV. For some courses, such as medicine, some kind of volunteering experience appeared to be virtually mandatory.
Those who had experienced post-school education thought that their time in higher education was a prime period for voluntary organisations to recruit them because they were likely to have spare time outside of their studies for a predictable number of years. If made aware of volunteering possibilities and roles at the beginning of their studies, therefore, there was potential for their volunteering involvement to evolve:
'You've got three or four years where you can get yourself into a really good position...if you'd known this earlier [the role of trustee], it might have had an impact.' (Young female volunteer, in education)
The workplace was another influential environment, where some young people came into contact with volunteering for the first time. Usually, young people worked in a team with their colleagues to raise money or help disadvantaged groups. The employer was particularly influential in determining what help their organisation would give and employees could often decide which organisations to support. Some young people had also chosen, on their own, to volunteer for an organisation that gave them an insight into, or a different perspective on, their own profession such as legal aid work for a solicitor, or promoting sustainable building techniques for an architect.
These young people talked of how important it was for educational organisations and workplaces to make staff aware of the breadth of volunteering opportunities available. Some recognised there was a wide range of opportunities, not just in terms of the nature of the charitable work, but also in the different roles that volunteers could play. They felt that this was an area where greater awareness was particularly needed.
Finding a volunteering opportunity that tapped into a personal interest also made it more enjoyable for young people and meant they were more likely to remain involved. Children's charities and groups featured strongly for both the young men and young women in this research, with many of the young men involved with sport-related or outdoor activity organisations.
One of the key differences between the young volunteers and trustees participating in the focus groups was the young trustees' appreciation of what they brought to the voluntary organisation, over and above providing extra help.
Young volunteers believed they could make things more enjoyable and provide a perspective that was often closer to service users, especially when working with children. However, it was clear from the discussions that the young trustees had a greater sense of their worth to the organisation as young people. This appeared to be partly because they were in a more influential role, and partly because they felt more valued. Feeling they had an influence and were valued seemed to be an important factor in retention, and in making the move from volunteer to trustee. It appears that the more young volunteers can see they have something of value to offer, the better the chances of deepening their involvement.
As one sector expert declared:
'The key thing is to increase awareness and confidence - both among younger people and the organisations themselves.'
Young trustees' views on what they contributed to their charity boards
Young trustees identified the following contributions that they felt they made to their boards:
Those young people who were already trustees were aware that they brought new, innovative ideas to the table. Some felt that their perspective or their understanding of new technology was particularly useful: 'The age gap can mean a different understanding of how things work. Some things organisations might dismiss as too risky because they don't understand them.' (Young female trustee) 'I think being a young trustee brings a breath of fresh air.' (Young male trustee) Sometimes, young people challenged or disregarded the status quo and introduced new ways of doing things: 'The older people, they have different ways of dealing with the children. They're more direct and nine times out of ten the kid will win. So I've learnt to distract the kids and they go off happy, and the other youth leaders have started a different approach.' (Young male volunteer, in work) Knowledge of new technologies was an area of expertise that young people had and there were examples of them setting up Facebook pages for their organisation. Similarly, they felt they had a better grasp of modern design and graphics; important skills when their organisation wanted to promote a contemporary image.
Those young people who were already trustees were aware that they brought new, innovative ideas to the table. Some felt that their perspective or their understanding of new technology was particularly useful:
'The age gap can mean a different understanding of how things work. Some things organisations might dismiss as too risky because they don't understand them.' (Young female trustee) 'I think being a young trustee brings a breath of fresh air.' (Young male trustee)
'The age gap can mean a different understanding of how things work. Some things organisations might dismiss as too risky because they don't understand them.' (Young female trustee)
'I think being a young trustee brings a breath of fresh air.' (Young male trustee)
Sometimes, young people challenged or disregarded the status quo and introduced new ways of doing things:
'The older people, they have different ways of dealing with the children. They're more direct and nine times out of ten the kid will win. So I've learnt to distract the kids and they go off happy, and the other youth leaders have started a different approach.' (Young male volunteer, in work)
Knowledge of new technologies was an area of expertise that young people had and there were examples of them setting up Facebook pages for their organisation. Similarly, they felt they had a better grasp of modern design and graphics; important skills when their organisation wanted to promote a contemporary image.
Some also felt they brought energy to problem-solving which meant they had the stamina for looking at new or more ambitious ideas:
'Because a lot of our coaches are parents who are ageing themselves, it is an energy that you've got. It's not that they're bored, but they've tried all the different methods. So it's something new to them - updating their knowledge of what I know and then vice versa.' (Young female trustee)
Young people also thought that networking skills were something they could bring, through their proficiency with modern communications media. They thought that if organisations chose to take advantage of these skills, they could gain rapid access to social networks through their young volunteers and trustees. In some respects, the young participants in this research seemed to be natural networkers, willing to use their connections to benefit their organisations in whatever way they could: 'I think for me, it's connections…having that school connection [as a teacher]…I've been able to get people [in the school] on board for things like events.' (Young female trustee) 'I've got the charity more involved with the club, and even with the players as well. I've got other charities involved as well.' (Young male trustee)
Young people also thought that networking skills were something they could bring, through their proficiency with modern communications media. They thought that if organisations chose to take advantage of these skills, they could gain rapid access to social networks through their young volunteers and trustees.
In some respects, the young participants in this research seemed to be natural networkers, willing to use their connections to benefit their organisations in whatever way they could:
'I think for me, it's connections…having that school connection [as a teacher]…I've been able to get people [in the school] on board for things like events.' (Young female trustee)
'I've got the charity more involved with the club, and even with the players as well. I've got other charities involved as well.' (Young male trustee)
Where the charity served young people, young trustees recognised that they were there, at least in part, to provide a voice for the young people in key decision-making: 'They get most out of me on away days when they're talking about strategy…me and the other young trustees are there to keep the focus on young people, which can be difficult.' (Young male trustee)
Where the charity served young people, young trustees recognised that they were there, at least in part, to provide a voice for the young people in key decision-making:
'They get most out of me on away days when they're talking about strategy…me and the other young trustees are there to keep the focus on young people, which can be difficult.' (Young male trustee)
Case study
'Definitely do it, but find your feet first…'
Gurpreet Kaur Cheema is 24 years' old and works full time as an analytical chemist. In her spare time, she is also a trustee of a charity that serves the local community, both young and old, in Smethwick in the West Midlands.
Gurpreet's charity provides study support for younger people, evening youth clubs, and, during the summer holidays, a play-scheme for children. To help improve the employment prospects of adults, the charity also offers a wide range of courses, provides help with interview skills and CV-building, as well as providing help with job search itself.
Attention to detail, problem-solving skills, and working on her own initiative, are just some of the key skills that Gurpreet says she has been able to bring from her day-job to her trustee role.
Gurpreet's advice to would-be young trustees is:
'Definitely do it, but find your feet first. Take your time to find out how your charity works, asking questions about how they apply for funding and so forth. Never be scared to ask questions, even if they seem silly: they could be extremely vital.'
Having the chance to solve problems, to introduce new ideas and to have a say in how the centre is run all feature highly on Gurpreet's list of enjoyable activities during her time as a young trustee. In turn, the role has also helped to increase her confidence and leadership skills.
Young people obtained a strong personal reward from the volunteering work they did, whether they were a volunteer or a trustee. Many trustees and volunteers talked of the unique 'feel-good' factor that helping others gave them:
'[If I was trying to explain it to a friend, I'd say] it's not glamorous, but if you muck in, you're going to get a new feeling, a new vibe. Don't think it's going to be the best crack you've ever had, but stick with it, and you're going to feel something you haven't felt before.' (Young male volunteer, in work)
They believed that their volunteering experiences added balance or roundness to their character and gave them a sense of perspective on their own life:
'That's the important bit, it benefits you. I was moaning about the weather and you think 'what are you moaning about?' - it could be so much worse.' (Young male volunteer, in work)
However, important distinctions emerged between the value of being a trustee and the value of being a volunteer.
Young volunteers felt that their volunteering experience had brought them the following benefits:
Many young people said that volunteering improved the way they felt about themselves and built both their own self-respect and the respect they got from others. Some took pride in choosing what they described as a 'harder option' in their leisure time and believed that their effort reaped its own rewards:
'You could be sitting at home watching TV and you choose to do something and at the same time it's broadening your horizons and that's got to be something respectable.' (Young female volunteer, in education)
Young people were very aware that volunteering enhanced their CV or personal statement, which was particularly important in today's economic climate. The young women taking part in our research were especially articulate about this benefit of volunteering. Most of these young people believed that volunteering said something about them as a person and helped them to stand out in a competitive marketplace. They felt that employers were looking for 'more', that educational qualifications were not enough and that volunteering experience could strengthen their chances of securing employment: 'With most jobs they're asking for so much, to even get on the ladder. So like anyone that's at Uni, I mean there are hundreds of graduates now that have come out, they've got that degree but that's just not enough, so to do things in the summer holidays, additional things like volunteering, it helps so much, it makes such a difference.' (Young female trustee) Several had found that their volunteering experience had helped them in job interviews. A few young people cited instances where volunteering had been instrumental in helping them secure interviews and jobs.
Young people were very aware that volunteering enhanced their CV or personal statement, which was particularly important in today's economic climate. The young women taking part in our research were especially articulate about this benefit of volunteering.
Most of these young people believed that volunteering said something about them as a person and helped them to stand out in a competitive marketplace. They felt that employers were looking for 'more', that educational qualifications were not enough and that volunteering experience could strengthen their chances of securing employment:
'With most jobs they're asking for so much, to even get on the ladder. So like anyone that's at Uni, I mean there are hundreds of graduates now that have come out, they've got that degree but that's just not enough, so to do things in the summer holidays, additional things like volunteering, it helps so much, it makes such a difference.' (Young female trustee)
Several had found that their volunteering experience had helped them in job interviews. A few young people cited instances where volunteering had been instrumental in helping them secure interviews and jobs.
Given the need to do 'more' to promote themselves in the job market, volunteering was a way for young people to gain experience, which included: organisational and management skills; new or broader horizons from dealing with new challenges; and people-handling skills, particularly where they were working with diverse groups. Many talked of learning to be more patient, to deal with tricky situations and to gain respect. Young people recognised that it was easier to gain experience in the voluntary sector than in the commercial world. Part-time jobs or internships were difficult to obtain, whereas there were few barriers to entry in volunteering and, in general, voluntary organisations welcomed them with open arms: ‘To get a part-time job you’d need something good on your CV, but if you say you want to volunteer, you’re just welcomed with open arms and it’s kind of a first step on the ladder. Once you’ve got that on your CV then you can get a part-time job.’ (Young male trustee) There were a few who had struggled to find employment and had opted for voluntary work instead. They felt this was better for their personal well-being than doing nothing, or even than doing a paid job that they did not enjoy.
Given the need to do 'more' to promote themselves in the job market, volunteering was a way for young people to gain experience, which included:
Many talked of learning to be more patient, to deal with tricky situations and to gain respect.
Young people recognised that it was easier to gain experience in the voluntary sector than in the commercial world. Part-time jobs or internships were difficult to obtain, whereas there were few barriers to entry in volunteering and, in general, voluntary organisations welcomed them with open arms:
‘To get a part-time job you’d need something good on your CV, but if you say you want to volunteer, you’re just welcomed with open arms and it’s kind of a first step on the ladder. Once you’ve got that on your CV then you can get a part-time job.’ (Young male trustee)
There were a few who had struggled to find employment and had opted for voluntary work instead. They felt this was better for their personal well-being than doing nothing, or even than doing a paid job that they did not enjoy.
Given the considerable value to young people of volunteering, the young volunteers questioned the additional value of trusteeship, and whether employers understood the role. They thought that the value depended on the careers that they wanted to follow: 'I think it depends on your (intended) job. It wouldn't be much help to me in fashion.' (Young female volunteer, in education) In contrast, the young trustees interviewed believed that the trustee role said more about them than a general volunteer role would. Although they found it difficult to differentiate between the impact of being a trustee and being a volunteer when it came to gaining jobs or securing further education, they felt that the specific trustee experience, as opposed to volunteering generally, had brought them the following benefits:
Given the considerable value to young people of volunteering, the young volunteers questioned the additional value of trusteeship, and whether employers understood the role. They thought that the value depended on the careers that they wanted to follow:
'I think it depends on your (intended) job. It wouldn't be much help to me in fashion.' (Young female volunteer, in education)
In contrast, the young trustees interviewed believed that the trustee role said more about them than a general volunteer role would. Although they found it difficult to differentiate between the impact of being a trustee and being a volunteer when it came to gaining jobs or securing further education, they felt that the specific trustee experience, as opposed to volunteering generally, had brought them the following benefits:
Some said that the decisions they took as trustees were more difficult than those they took as volunteers, and that these tough (and not necessarily enjoyable) decisions formed part of a challenging, but invaluable, learning process: 'There are so many difficult decisions. The issues you're dealing with - can we move office, staffing...I'm not sure I enjoy making the decisions, but I do enjoy the result of it, which is the successful running of the organisation.' (Young male trustee) Greater involvement in the running of the organisation gave young trustees a breadth of experience that they considered highly valuable, in particular their exposure to financial accounting and to strategic decision-making: 'It's given me that higher understanding of how things work, which helps me now as a trainee solicitor. I feel I have more of an idea of what's going on in the management meetings than I would, had I not been a trustee.' (Young male trustee) 'You talk [in board meetings] about those realities of running an organisation. So, what is a set of annual accounts, the process of going through an audit? All those kinds of practical things…they're kind of interesting in terms of understanding how the world works.' (Young male trustee) Several young trustees believed that it would have taken considerably longer to gain such experience in the commercial sector. They doubted they would have been given such a high level of responsibility so quickly and therefore saw trusteeship as a way of gaining 'fast-track' experience of how organisations work: 'You just get a perspective on how organisations work that you simply wouldn't get until 30 years down a successful career.' (Young male trustee) This benefit had particular resonance with young volunteers when it was put to them. Being able to secure, relatively quickly, a breadth of experience that might not be available elsewhere, appeared to be strongest motivating factor for considering trusteeship among those explored in the focus groups. Young trustees, who may be starting out at the bottom at work, have the opportunity to think and act strategically in the boardroom. The experience of working as an equal with people from a range of ages, backgrounds and perspectives can be highly rewarding. As one sector expert described it:
Some said that the decisions they took as trustees were more difficult than those they took as volunteers, and that these tough (and not necessarily enjoyable) decisions formed part of a challenging, but invaluable, learning process:
'There are so many difficult decisions. The issues you're dealing with - can we move office, staffing...I'm not sure I enjoy making the decisions, but I do enjoy the result of it, which is the successful running of the organisation.' (Young male trustee)
Greater involvement in the running of the organisation gave young trustees a breadth of experience that they considered highly valuable, in particular their exposure to financial accounting and to strategic decision-making:
'It's given me that higher understanding of how things work, which helps me now as a trainee solicitor. I feel I have more of an idea of what's going on in the management meetings than I would, had I not been a trustee.' (Young male trustee) 'You talk [in board meetings] about those realities of running an organisation. So, what is a set of annual accounts, the process of going through an audit? All those kinds of practical things…they're kind of interesting in terms of understanding how the world works.' (Young male trustee)
'It's given me that higher understanding of how things work, which helps me now as a trainee solicitor. I feel I have more of an idea of what's going on in the management meetings than I would, had I not been a trustee.' (Young male trustee)
'You talk [in board meetings] about those realities of running an organisation. So, what is a set of annual accounts, the process of going through an audit? All those kinds of practical things…they're kind of interesting in terms of understanding how the world works.' (Young male trustee)
Several young trustees believed that it would have taken considerably longer to gain such experience in the commercial sector. They doubted they would have been given such a high level of responsibility so quickly and therefore saw trusteeship as a way of gaining 'fast-track' experience of how organisations work:
'You just get a perspective on how organisations work that you simply wouldn't get until 30 years down a successful career.' (Young male trustee)
This benefit had particular resonance with young volunteers when it was put to them. Being able to secure, relatively quickly, a breadth of experience that might not be available elsewhere, appeared to be strongest motivating factor for considering trusteeship among those explored in the focus groups.
Young trustees, who may be starting out at the bottom at work, have the opportunity to think and act strategically in the boardroom. The experience of working as an equal with people from a range of ages, backgrounds and perspectives can be highly rewarding. As one sector expert described it:
'Trusteeship involves making real, important decisions - strategic decisions about things that matter, that give real, lasting skills.'
Many young trustees felt that they had become more mature as a result of their work in this role. 'The role of trustee has forced me to grow up.' (Young male trustee) The knowledge they had obtained in their role gave them greater confidence: 'When I first started, I was completely shy. I'd just sit there. I have grown in confidence in that sense and it's helped me a lot to understand how things work in a business.' (Young female trustee) One trustee even said that his life had been turned around by his charity involvement: 'The things I've done and seen as a result of that charity - what the charity has enabled me to do - it's turned me around as a person, definitely.' (Young male trustee) Apart from becoming more mature, some felt the experience of taking on more responsibility had helped them at various life stages: 'I've taken on more responsibilities that actually helped me through life.' (Young female trustee)
Many young trustees felt that they had become more mature as a result of their work in this role.
'The role of trustee has forced me to grow up.' (Young male trustee)
The knowledge they had obtained in their role gave them greater confidence:
'When I first started, I was completely shy. I'd just sit there. I have grown in confidence in that sense and it's helped me a lot to understand how things work in a business.' (Young female trustee)
One trustee even said that his life had been turned around by his charity involvement:
'The things I've done and seen as a result of that charity - what the charity has enabled me to do - it's turned me around as a person, definitely.' (Young male trustee)
Apart from becoming more mature, some felt the experience of taking on more responsibility had helped them at various life stages:
'I've taken on more responsibilities that actually helped me through life.' (Young female trustee)
20 year-old Chris is a part-time student studying Automotive Engineering Design; he also works part time selling spares for classic cars. Chris is a trustee for a local Scout group based in Worcestershire.
Chris's local group works with children and young people aged between 6 and 25. As well as his trustee role, Chris also gets directly involved in running 1.5-2hr sessions one night a week for Cubs aged 8 to 11.
When it comes to his trustee role, Chris has found that age has been on his side, having been a Scout much more recently and understanding the minds of young people better than older people in the charity. As one of the younger leaders in his group, he finds he brings a different perspective from that of some of the older trustees. He cites the need for patience and determination in his role and he finds that fitting his scouting commitments into his busy schedule does not cause him too much of a problem. Chris has also found that his wide-ranging involvement has benefited him personally:
'It's given me a position of responsibility which makes me feel more grown up. Dare I say, it gives me a brief insight into the potential 'joys' of parenthood! It's a boost to give something back. No matter how rubbish my day has been, they always seem to cheer me up! I'm not sure how much of an effect it has, but I think it helps my CV a bit.'
In general, young people's experiences of being trustees were positive and certainly, they thought the rewards outweighed any problems. However, their experiences were not without frustrations.
Some of the frustrations reported by young trustees were:
Many of the young trustees we talked to had been very conscious of their initial inexperience, and felt they had to prove themselves in order to earn the respect of the other board members. Some were careful about what they said at their first few meetings, choosing to keep quiet until they felt more confident about their contribution.
Only a few had received any formal induction into their role, and none of them had been assigned a mentor. Some were given Charity Commission materials and one went on an induction weekend, but most appeared to work out the role as they went along. Even now, some said they would struggle to explain what a trustee was. Many said they would have welcomed more information about their role earlier on.
One of the frustrations for these young trustees was not being taken seriously by other board members. There were examples of their ideas being disregarded because of their age and inexperience, of other trustees feeling they could sway their votes, and even examples of other trustees wishing them to fail. Some believed that older trustees might feel threatened by their presence and questions:
'There's a certain amount of ambition that a lot of young people seem to bring to these things, and all the older members might just kind of shoot you down but it's not your fault for being ambitious, it tends to be their fault for being negative and pessimistic.' (Young male trustee)
Some young trustees were also disappointed by the response of service users and their families: for example, the parents of youth club members who questioned whether, in view of their young age, the young trustees were responsible enough to be doing their role.
The only other difficulty raised was that of time management, in terms of being expected to be available at short notice. Young trustees had busy, demanding lives and felt that these other demands on their time were not always respected. Meetings, for example, could be scheduled or changed at late notice, or made at inconvenient times for those in full-time work. Young trustees could then be made to feel guilty about their lack of commitment if they were unable to attend. Sometimes these frustrations were dealt with by the chair, but mostly young trustees just stuck it out and found a way of dealing with it. Reassuringly, none of the frustrations were big enough to stop them from doing the work that gave them so much reward.
The only other difficulty raised was that of time management, in terms of being expected to be available at short notice. Young trustees had busy, demanding lives and felt that these other demands on their time were not always respected. Meetings, for example, could be scheduled or changed at late notice, or made at inconvenient times for those in full-time work. Young trustees could then be made to feel guilty about their lack of commitment if they were unable to attend.
Sometimes these frustrations were dealt with by the chair, but mostly young trustees just stuck it out and found a way of dealing with it. Reassuringly, none of the frustrations were big enough to stop them from doing the work that gave them so much reward.
The Charity Commission extracted data from the Register of Charitiesto obtain an up-to-date profile of trustees in England and Wales.11
Following an initial literature review, a series of telephone interviews was carried out with ten sector experts. The findings from this stage helped confirm the aims and scope of the research, as well as the most appropriate methodology to be used. In particular, the findings from this stage helped to inform the focus group discussion guides.
Six focus groups were conducted, two with young trustees and four with young volunteers. All participants were aged 18-24 inclusive, and young people of ethnic origin were also represented in each group.
Initial desk research had shown that the entire 18-30 age group, when compared with the adult population as a whole, is under-represented nationally within the charity trustee population across England and Wales. A specific reason for focusing on the 18-24 age group was based on the assumption that our research findings might help encourage greater numbers of young people under 25 become charity trustees. In time, this could feed through and help balance out the national trustee profile to reflect better the age distribution of the adult population in England and Wales. The minimum age for directors of charitable companies is 16. However, the trustees of a trust or of an unincorporated association are in a different position - under trust law, trustees within this context must be of a minimum age of 18 years. For this reason, and in order that the research findings could be applied to all charities, we therefore decided to make our minimum threshold 18.
Initial desk research had shown that the entire 18-30 age group, when compared with the adult population as a whole, is under-represented nationally within the charity trustee population across England and Wales. A specific reason for focusing on the 18-24 age group was based on the assumption that our research findings might help encourage greater numbers of young people under 25 become charity trustees. In time, this could feed through and help balance out the national trustee profile to reflect better the age distribution of the adult population in England and Wales.
The minimum age for directors of charitable companies is 16. However, the trustees of a trust or of an unincorporated association are in a different position - under trust law, trustees within this context must be of a minimum age of 18 years. For this reason, and in order that the research findings could be applied to all charities, we therefore decided to make our minimum threshold 18.
Young trustee focus groups Young trustees were sourced randomly from the Charity Commission's database of trustees as at 13 October 2009. Two focus groups were held: Focus group 1 Mixed gender, Central London Focus group 2 Mixed gender, Birmingham Young volunteer focus groups Four focus groups were conducted with young volunteers, two in South West London and two in Manchester. The rationale for a focus on young volunteers, as opposed to young people generally, for this second set of focus groups was based on the view that, those who had already demonstrated an inclination to volunteer formally for a charity (but not volunteering in the form of trusteeship), were most likely to be open to the idea of trusteeship as a future potential opportunity. Only those young volunteers who could be said to be regular formal volunteers were invited to participate in the focus groups. The Helping out national survey in 2007 showed that 57% of 16-24s were formal volunteers and 43% of these were regular formal volunteers. The definitions for formal and regular volunteering as used in Helping out were applied to the recruitment process for our own focus groups: Formal volunteering: Giving unpaid help through groups, clubs or organisations to benefit other people or the environment (for example, the protection of wildlife or the improvement of public open spaces). Regular volunteering: Formal volunteers carrying out formal volunteering activities at least once a month in the past 12 months. A further factor influencing the composition of the young volunteer focus groups was that the literature review and desk research carried out at stages 1 and 2 of this research had found differences in the level and types of volunteering amongst young people in terms of gender and whether they were in education or work. For example, the Helping out survey showed that, across the population, 43% of women are regular formal volunteers compared to 35% of men. Accordingly, the structure of the focus groups was designed to enable us to explore these demographic variations and was set up as follows: Focus group 3 Males, in education Focus group 4 Males, in work Focus group 5 Females, in education Focus group 6 Females, in work
Young trustee focus groups
Young trustees were sourced randomly from the Charity Commission's database of trustees as at 13 October 2009. Two focus groups were held:
Focus group 1 Mixed gender, Central London Focus group 2 Mixed gender, Birmingham
Young volunteer focus groups
Four focus groups were conducted with young volunteers, two in South West London and two in Manchester.
The rationale for a focus on young volunteers, as opposed to young people generally, for this second set of focus groups was based on the view that, those who had already demonstrated an inclination to volunteer formally for a charity (but not volunteering in the form of trusteeship), were most likely to be open to the idea of trusteeship as a future potential opportunity.
Only those young volunteers who could be said to be regular formal volunteers were invited to participate in the focus groups. The Helping out national survey in 2007 showed that 57% of 16-24s were formal volunteers and 43% of these were regular formal volunteers. The definitions for formal and regular volunteering as used in Helping out were applied to the recruitment process for our own focus groups:
A further factor influencing the composition of the young volunteer focus groups was that the literature review and desk research carried out at stages 1 and 2 of this research had found differences in the level and types of volunteering amongst young people in terms of gender and whether they were in education or work. For example, the Helping out survey showed that, across the population, 43% of women are regular formal volunteers compared to 35% of men. Accordingly, the structure of the focus groups was designed to enable us to explore these demographic variations and was set up as follows:
Focus group 3 Males, in education Focus group 4 Males, in work Focus group 5 Females, in education Focus group 6 Females, in work
The age profile of the young trustees and volunteers who took part in the research is shown in the table below.
Age
Number
Percentage
18
8
19
4
9
20
3
7
21
2
5
22
16
23
24
12
28
TOTAL
43
100
The focus groups explored each young person's story of volunteering or trusteeship - how they came to be involved with their charity and how they became trustees, what their experiences had been of these roles and any difficulties they had encountered. We asked them to tell us what they thought the benefits were of their involvement and their particular role in the charity - both the benefits to them and to their charity. With young volunteers, we wanted to know if they had heard of the term 'trustee' and what it meant to them. We followed this initial exploration of their understanding of trusteeship with an explanation of what a trustee is and what the role entails. The aim was to understand the perceptions they had of the trustee role and to explore how motivated they were by the idea of the role once they were better informed about it. We also showed them some existing trustee recruitment material to explore whether it worked in terms of effectively informing them about and awakening an interest in the role. This focus on existing recruitment literature was then widened to discuss the most effective media that could be used to communicate trusteeship as an opportunity to young people.
The focus groups explored each young person's story of volunteering or trusteeship - how they came to be involved with their charity and how they became trustees, what their experiences had been of these roles and any difficulties they had encountered. We asked them to tell us what they thought the benefits were of their involvement and their particular role in the charity - both the benefits to them and to their charity.
With young volunteers, we wanted to know if they had heard of the term 'trustee' and what it meant to them. We followed this initial exploration of their understanding of trusteeship with an explanation of what a trustee is and what the role entails. The aim was to understand the perceptions they had of the trustee role and to explore how motivated they were by the idea of the role once they were better informed about it.
We also showed them some existing trustee recruitment material to explore whether it worked in terms of effectively informing them about and awakening an interest in the role. This focus on existing recruitment literature was then widened to discuss the most effective media that could be used to communicate trusteeship as an opportunity to young people.
An effective trustee board is likely to have trustees with a variety of skills, knowledge and experience. Young people can bring particular perspectives, and a new enthusiasm for the cause. Being on a trustee board will also benefit young people, for example, by having the opportunity to develop useful influencing, decision-making and management skills.
This checklist is intended to help charities identify the questions and issues to consider when thinking about recruiting young people to their board, what would be the best way to do this and how they could support young trustees once they are appointed. 'Young' in this context means anyone aged 16-24. There are additional considerations when recruiting anyone under 18, as explained in Part B of the checklist.
A: Thinking about recruitment
B: Legal and related considerations
C: How do you identify and encourage young people to apply for trustee roles?
D: How will you support young trustees?
Support could include, for example, a mentoring or buddy system and induction/training that is tailored to an individual's learning needs and abilities.
Please refer also to:
The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. Its aim is to provide the best possible regulation of charities in England and Wales in order to increase charities' effectiveness and public confidence and trust. Most charities must register with the Commission, although some special types of charity do not have to register. There are some 180,000 registered charities in England and Wales. In Scotland the framework is different, and the Commission does not regulate Scottish charities.
The Commission provides a wide range of advice and guidance to charities and their trustees, and can often help with problems. Registered charities with an annual income over a certain threshold must provide annual information and accounts to the Commission. The Commission has wide powers to intervene in the affairs of a charity where things have gone wrong.
More information about the Commission, together with a range of guidance for charities, can be found on our website. Readers may find the following guidance helpful:
(RS10)
British Youth Council (BYC) is led by young people for young people, aged 25 and under, across the UK. It connects with a community of member organisations and network of Local Youth Councils to empower young people to have a say and be heard. BYC produces a range of publications and programmes for young people wanting to learn about governance, and for voluntary organisations looking to engage with young people. www.byc.org.uk
Changemakers champions young people in leading their own social action and change. Since 1994 more than 100,000 young people have participated in Changemakers programmes and hundreds of organisations have adopted their youth-led philosophy and approach. www.changemakers.org.uk
G-Nation supports UK teenagers to get involved in charity, community, social enterprise and campaigning action. The G-Nation awards recognise schools' charity activity. G-Nation Challenge gives £50 (and curriculum materials) to simulate forming a charity or social enterprise inside a school. www.g-nation.co.uk
NUS is the umbrella organisation for students' unions, who provide hundreds of trustee opportunities for young people, thousands of volunteering opportunities through clubs, societies and volunteering programmes at universities and colleges, as well as raising millions of pounds to go to charity through RAG events.www.nus.org.uk
Participation Works is a consortium of six national children and young people's agencies that enables organisations to effectively involve children and young people in the development, delivery and evaluation of services that affect their lives. Participation Works offers training and consultancy on youth participation, as well as specific support for managers, practitioners and young people. www.participationworks.org.uk
Trust Youth is a new charity providing opportunity for practical citizenship and awareness of the charity sector in schools. They help students to set up mini-charities in their school, which raise funds and awareness for one of Trust Youth's partner national charities (including the British Red Cross, RSPCA and Age Concern). www.trustyouth.org
UK Youth Voice is a youth-led organisation within UK Youth that is dedicated to giving 16-25 year-olds a voice. Although a part of UK Youth, Voice is in charge of its own finances, meetings, and organisational structure. The Voice Panel is made up of two young people from each region of England, one young person from the Channel Islands, and two young people from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. www.ukyouth.org/whatwedo/UK+Youth+Voice
v is an independent charity dedicated to helping young people volunteer in ways that matter to them. Its mission is to make volunteering opportunities so diverse, compelling and easy to get involved with that giving up time to help others becomes a natural lifestyle choice for 16-25 year-olds in England. v20 is a group of 20 young people (aged 16-25) recruited annually from all over England. v20 members work at the heart of v, acting as consultants and playing a significant role in delivering v's messages and work. Four v20 members form the largest constituency among v's board of trustees and they participate in all decisions. www.vinspired.com
Young Achievers operates annual volunteer awards in arts, community, environment and sport. All trustees are young people. It is run by a consortium of youth-sector organisations including YouthNet, UnLtd and CIVA. www.youngachievers.co.uk
Youth of Today is a consortium of organisations (the National Youth Agency (NYA), Changemakers, The Young Foundation, UK Youth Parliament, British Youth Council, the Prince's Trust and the Citizenship Foundation) that offers skills, opportunities and networks to help young people aged 13 to 19 become leaders of change. www.theyouthoftoday.org
Generation V: Young people speak out on volunteering - Institute for Volunteering Research, July 2004. Available at: www.ivr.org.uk
How to involve children and young people in governance - published by the National Children's Bureau, 2009. Available at: www.participationworks.org.uk
Involving young people - written by Tesse Apeke and Marta Maretich for NCVO, January 2001. Available at: www.ncvo-vol.org.uk Trust youth - a booklet about recruiting young trustees, produced by the BYC in partnership with the Governance Hub and the Children's Rights Alliance for England (CRAE); published by NCVO, September 2006. Available at: www.ncvo-vol.org.uk
What young people want from volunteering - Institute for Volunteering Research, 1998. Available at: www.ivr.org.uk
Young people and governance - Findings from research carried out by the British Youth Council on behalf of Participation Works - Participation Works, May 2009. Available at: www.participationworks.org.uk
Young people help out - Volunteering and giving among young people - research by the Institute for Volunteering Research, May 2008. Available at: www.ivr.org.uk
Young people, volunteering and youth volunteering projects: A rapid review of recent evidence - research by the Institute for Volunteering Research, December 2009. Prepared for v as part of the scoping study for v's formative evaluation. Available at: www.vinspired.com
Please refer to Annex E for a list of other publications and reports that are mentioned in the main report and/or were used to shape the aims and scope of the research.
At the time of writing, there were no services specifically aimed at helping charities recruit young trustees. However, a number of organisations from the charity or not-for-profit sectors provide services that allow charities to advertise their trustee vacancies or provide help with finding new trustees of all ages. There are many different organisations that provide these services, some of which are given below.
Getting on Board encourages people to develop board-level volunteering careers alongside their professional careers and provides a database of candidates for trustee vacancies. www.gettingonboard.org
Trusteebank offers a free service to advertise or view trustee vacancies. It also provides information about becoming a trustee and on recruitment and induction practices. www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/trusteebank
Trusteefinder is a free service from Charity Trustee Networks which can help organisations reach potential new trustees. Trusteefinder builds on the services of www.do-it.org and volunteer centres. www.trusteenet.org.uk/jobs-search
TrusteeWorks is a bespoke recruitment and governance consultancy from Reach and Prospectus. www.reachskills.org.uk/trusteeworks
In addition to the resources mentioned in Annex D, the following are mentioned in the main report and/or were used to shape the aims and scope of the research:
The benefits of volunteering for employability - Institute for Volunteering Research, 21 April 2009.
Board matters - A review of charity trusteeship in the UK - New Philanthropy Capital, May 2009.
A British Youth Council report 'Recognise and respect us' - Overcoming barriers to youth volunteering - Cabinet Office/Office for the Third Sector, 2008.
Charities Act 1993
Charities Act 2006
Citizenship survey: 2007-08 (April 2007 - March 2008), England & Wales - Cohesion research statistical release 4 - DCLG, 2008.
Communities in control: Real people, real power - Standing for office: Time-off entitlements - A consultation - DCLG, September 2008.
Evaluation of v's programmes 2006-2008 - v (Russell Commission Implementation Body), April 2009.
Evaluation report for the Get on Board trustee recruitment campaign - Governance Hub, 2007.
Helping out: A national survey of volunteering and charitable giving -prepared for the Office of the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office by the National Centre for Social Research and the Institute for Volunteering Research, September 2007.
The Morgan Inquiry report - The Morgan Inquiry, June 2008.
A national framework for youth action and engagement - the Russell Commission, March 2005.
Positive aspects of being a trustee - self-selecting survey undertaken by CTN in April/May 2009.
Recent trends in charity governance and trusteeship - Cornforth, Chris, 2001.
Research synthesis: Student volunteering - Background, policy and context for the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) Student Volunteering Initiative - NCCPE, 2009.
Rethinking charity trusteeship - Palmer P and Harrow J, ICSA, 1994.
Review and development of the Code of Good Governance: A research report into the awareness, impact and success of the Code of Good Governance - Madden Michele, Saxton Joe, Vitali Chiara; commissioned by the Governance Hub and delivered by nfpSynergy, June 2008.
Support and resource needs of trustees and chairs in voluntary and community organisations - Governance Hub research carried out by Office for Public Management (OPM), June 2006.
Tomorrow's world - telephone omnibus survey, British Market Research Bureau, August 2006.
Vanishing volunteers: Are young people losing interest in volunteering? - Gaskin, Katharine, Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR), 1998.
Who volunteers? November 2008 - nfpSynergy.
Who volunteers? Volunteering trends: 2000-2007 - A briefing from nfpSynergy - nfpSynergy, January 2008.
Young trustees - Do-it webpage about young trustees in the Scouts.
We would like to thank everyone who has co-operated in the production of this report, especially the sector experts and the young trustees and volunteers who gave their time to participate in this research and to share their experiences.
Special thanks also go to Sue Pedley and Meg Abdy who were commissioned to carry out this research.
1. See Start as you mean to go on: Trustee recruitment and induction (RS10); Charity Commission, 2005) showing the age profile of charity trustees in 2005.
2. See, for example, the article on the Do-it website about young trustees' involvement in the Scouts. This article emphasises the benefits of diversifying boards and having young people representation.
3. Tomorrow's World telephone omnibus survey 2006 - British Market Research Bureau.
4. Communities in control: Real people, real power - Standing for office: Time-off entitlements - A consultation (DCLG, September 2008).
5. Young people and governance - Findings from research carried out by the British Youth Council on behalf of Participation Works (Participation Works, May 2009).
6. The snapshot was taken on 13 October 2009.
7. Based on figures sourced from the Mid-2008 Population Estimates: England and Wales; estimated resident population by single year of age and sex provided by the Office for National Statistics (Crown Copyright).
8. The minimum age for directors of charitable companies is 16. However, under trust law, the trustees of a trust or unincorporated association must be a minimum age of 18 years. Please refer to the Commission's web guidance Involving young people in running a charity (Trustees under 18 - can it be done?) for more information on the legal position of trustees under 18.
9. The percentages here do not add up to 100% because charities may have Register details with more than one charitable purpose listed
10. In Annex C we have mocked-up a webpage that shows how a young trustee's personal profile and trustee experience could be presented in an online forum for young trustees.
11. The data was extracted from the Register of Charities in England and Wales as at 13 October 2009.
12. Under trust law, the minimum age for trustees of a trust or unincorporated association is 18 years. The minimum age for directors of charitable companies is 16. Please refer to the Commission's guidance Involving young people in running a charity (Trustees under 18 - can it be done?)for more information on the legal position of trustees under 18.
13. See vinspired's Get to know the Volunteers' web area: http://vinspired.com/users
14. Please see also our easy-read guidance Being a trustee (available as a PDF only).
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