Starting Out as a Young Trustee
Lucy became a trustee at Home Start on our fifth cohort of the Young Trustees Programme. She’s put together some advice for anyone interested in becoming a young trustee.
I’m Lucy, a young professional in my late 20s who has been working in the charity sector for the last seven years, and have also been involved as a volunteer with local charities (while you don’t need to have any charity experience to be a trustee, it is strongly encouraged). I had been considering becoming a charity trustee for some time when I discovered the Oxford Hub had a scheme, and I wanted to use my skills to shape the direction of travel for a good cause.
Before finding the scheme, I wasn’t sure how to approach charities - I didn’t know where to find vacancies for trustees and whether I would even have the experience that they needed. Through the Young Trustee Programme with Oxford Hub, I was matched with a charity and given training alongside other young trustees, which made this step much more reassuring. I was so excited when I found out my matched charity and that they had been looking for someone to help out with marketing advice, something that I’m already experienced in!
I’ve written some tips from my experiences as a new Young Trustee and I hope they might be helpful for you.
- Find out about the charity
Once you find out which charity you have been matched with, start by completing some online research — initially by looking through their website and social media channels. I also went on Mumsnet and other external sites to get an idea of what people really think of the charity. Are there any articles in the press about the charity? Videos or documentaries? The Charity Commission website is a very useful place and you can read lots of old annual reports, find out who the board are and see where the charity’s income is coming from. Take a look at some of the other trustees and staff through Linked In or their web profiles.
I asked my ‘network’ whether they had any experience of the charity, and they did! A friend had been supported by the charity when she was younger, others had worked for the charity in the past. Take a look at similar charities and look at any similarities and differences.
Finally I did some firsthand research; I went to the AGM and to some family group sessions to really see the great work the charity is doing. I would also suggest asking for materials for various audiences e.g leaflets for the general public, applications for funders, in order to see how the charity present themselves.
2. Build a relationship with your board mentor
Your board mentor is a key connection to your new charity — someone to guide you, answer your questions, make introductions and generally be your guide. My initial meeting with my mentor helped me understand more about the charity and gave me the opportunity to ask any questions. Some boards are more hands-on and others are more strategic, so it’s a good opportunity to find out what the expectations for your role will be. This is the time when you can really show what you can offer the charity too, and what you are most interested in. I have a passion for volunteering, digital and experience in fundraising — and my charity has also got subcommittees for different areas, so I have now joined the relevant subcommittees.
3. Ask about the onboarding process
I had quite a long application form to fill in, an induction and an interview planned as well as the usual meetings to get to know me. If you know what to expect at the beginning, you can factor it into your time. Are you going to need Safeguarding training or anything else relevant to your position on the board? Do you need a DBS check? Which policy documents do you need to read, sign and return? They usually will then need to formalise the appointment at a meeting before submitting your name to the Charity Commission.
4. Talk things through with your workplace
My workplace are very supportive and really see the value that the Young Trustee Programme brings to my day job. They have been flexible about timings, as have the charity I am a trustee for. Often trustee meetings are scheduled in the day if the board aren’t working full time — however don’t be afraid to ask them to try and accommodate you. For example, the subcommittee I am part of will start meeting at 4pm instead of 10am to minimise time taken out of the working day. Other people on the board might find it helpful too, often if boards have lots of retired members then it might have not considered having some evening meetings. Try and get dates for meeting as far in advance as possible to make sure you can plan any leave days to take etc.
5. Remember, you have a lot to give!
You may have heard of Imposter Syndrome — an internal dialogue of self doubt, and fear of being exposed as a fraud.This is something which about one third of young people experience (up to 70% of successful people have experienced it at some point in their lives). If you experience any self doubt as part of the young trustee process, try and silence the inner critic in your head! You’ve been accepted by the charity, they wanted someone like you and are likely to be incredibly grateful for your time. You have a different perspective to offer to improve and shape the charity.
6. Build relationships with staff
My experience as a member of staff with a board of trustees means that I know it’s really important if you want to be a good trustee to try and get to know your team and understand the pressures the staff are under. This really does depend on the size of your organisation, but there will be some key relationships to foster — potentially related to your specialism on the board. The chair usually holds a close relationship with the CEO. In some organisations you will have direct contact with staff, and some you won’t. You need to make sure that you are being helpful with any communication, rather than being more of a nuisance.
One of the staff members added me on LinkedIn and messaged me to say how pleased she was that I was joining the board, which I really appreciated. I managed to meet many of the staff, trustees and contacts at their AGM. I also spent a few hours with one of the coordinators at a family session which was a really nice way to get to know her a bit better. Some boards will have strategy days or socials with both staff and trustees.
6. Make sure to give yourself time to reflect
It can be pretty full on at the beginning, getting to grips with the charity, being a trustee, training sessions and any sign up processes. Take a moment to think about everything, you’ll often find that this can make it easier to complete your work.
Don’t commit to too many projects, committees, training, and events straight away. Take your time to see what you will have time to do and prioritise. It might be that some things can wait a bit longer until you’ve got your feet under the table properly.
This is also a great time to note down any ideas you have, your first impressions (this will be similar to how other people will see the charity, so think about what is good or bad and any changes you can suggest.)
7. Put time aside to do the written work
Look at your Oxford Hub training work booklet to see what information you’ll need as early as possible in the month, so you can get all the information you need from your mentor to complete the book.
It is then advisable to set up a meeting or a call with your mentor to fill these gaps at least one or two weeks before the training session to allow yourself time to complete the work. You won’t always have everything you need — I hadn’t had a trustee meeting before one meeting so wasn’t able to comment too much on board culture, but you can always go back and look at that section later on.
I have been so impressed at the resources and programme put in place by the Oxford Hub, which is very reassuring as a new trustee. They have also set up communication between the Young Trustee group which is a helpful sounding board when needed and provides great peer support (something I have even suggested could be useful to the charity I am a trustee for).
8. Ensure good communication
Set out expectations about what is expected from you and what you expect from the board and the organisation.This is a good time to show them the Oxford Hub workbook, give them timelines of when you think your project will start. Do you think you might stay beyond the initial year commitment?
There can be a tendency to ask for you to be involved with lots of different activities — you need to be clear about how much time you can commit, and how much of it can be during the working day. Just because you’ve been asked that doesn’t mean they expect you to be able to make it all!
You will have work to do for the scheme so you might not necessarily be able to take on lots of work immediately. Will you have enough time to be in every sub committee alongside the regular board meetings and work? Where can you add the most value to the organisation?
It might be worth making a list with mentor and any staff of the training requirements, expected meetings and tasks that might pop up.
9. Get stuck in!
Do some volunteering at your charity’s events or fundraising. Share your initial ideas and thoughts! I have marketing experience through my day job so I had some really simple suggestions that could be actioned straight away. I’m also taking on a half marathon for the charity in March. Simply sharing any posts on your social media profile can be a great way to get the word out about the charity, and is not too difficult to do.
I have found the experience very rewarding and empowering so far, I feel like I can really shape things in a positive way and have some skills to bring to the table, as well as a younger perspective. It is also valuable for my professional development, and confidence at work.
We’ve just placed 18 young trustees in our sixth cohort of the programme! If you are interested in taking part in the summer cohort, you can find out more and register your interest at https://www.oxfordhub.org/activities/young-trustees-programme.
