Swindon Trustee Network
To receive governance updates and sector relevant resources. We aim to host regular in-person meetings in Swindon. Whether you are a trustee, director or committee member, anyone can sign up to the mailing list. Email Alana at VAS on alana@vas-swindon.org with your details.
TRUSTEE OPPORTUNITIES IN SWINDON
Check out the Volunteering Swindon section of our webpage (link to page https://vas-swindon.org/services/volunteering-swindon/)
SHARE A TRUSTEE VACANCY
Local – Volunteering Swindon section of our webpage and in our VAS ID e-newsletter. Email volunteeringswindon@vas-swindon.org and vasid@vas-swindon.org
ICAEW Volunteers – You can post volunteer roles free of charge on our dedicated ICAEW Volunteers portal.
ACEVO – Charity leadership body Acevo’s website includes a job board for charities to advertise vacancies for trustees, as well as for paid roles. The number of roles being advertising can be limited, though.
NCVO trusted supplier – Trustees Unlimited is one of the UK’s leading trustee and board recruitment agencies. They can help find the right trustees for charity boards of all shapes, sizes, and locations.
NCVO members can post an advert on the Trustees Unlimited website for free or receive a 20% discount on their SNAP Intelligent Trustee Matching service.
Learn more about Trustees Unlimited
FURTHER RESOURCES & GUIDANCE
Our webpage has a section on funding & governance which is free to anyone. You can look through specific Governance related topics and factsheets.
As a Charity Trustee you may need additional support and information from time to time. The Charity Governance Code is a good place to start. There is lots of information within this link on good governance for your charity.
This short video covers The Essential Trustee Key Points.
The Charity Commission have also complied 5 minute videos covering the following topics available through YouTube:
- Safeguarding for Charities and Trustees
- Charity Purposes and Rules
- Making Decisions as a Charity
- Managing Finance
- Managing Conflicts of Interest
- Reporting – What to send to the Charity Commission
If you would like further information, or clarification, please contact Alana Fiorelli Alana@vas-swindon.org or use the contact form below.
The Role of Trustees
Trustees are unpaid volunteers who have overall control of a charity, ensuring that it continues to serve the cause or people it was set up to support. A charity’s Board of Trustees, and sub-groups, meet regularly to oversee the work of the charity and ensure it is accountable and legally compliant.
- Trustee Guidance – Some useful guidance and quick guides for Trustees can be found on the Charity Commission website under Charity Commission guidance.
- Trustee Diversity
- In an ideal world, Trustee Boards represent the communities served by the charity. The Charity Governance Code has suggestions on building a diverse Trustee Board.
- Trustee Skills Audit – It’s important to have a balanced Trustee Board which can bring a range of skills to a charity. This simple, one page questionnaire can be used to audit your Trustees’ skill sets and identify any gaps in expertise.
Guidance on how to diversity your Charity’s board
Is your organisation’s Trustee Board representative?
Would you like to know how to diversity your Trustee Board?
Getting on Board have released this guidance on how to do exactly this.
Download the free booklet here.
There is also lots of useful free resources and a Trustee recruitment guide as well as a place to advertise Trustee vacancies free. Visit their website for further information.
Guides include:
- Helping you improve your board
- How to recruit trustees for you charity
- Open recruitment
- Recruitment process planner
- Audit templates
- plus much more
These guides can be found here https://www.gettingonboard.org/free-resources-for-charitable-bodies
There is also a section containing useful information for aspiring trustees which can be found here: https://www.gettingonboard.org/free-resources-for-aspiring-trustees
Governance App
The Governance App is a free and easy way for your board of trustees to review and improve its governance, together.
- Gather responses from your whole board
- Get a performance score out of ten in seven different areas
- Highlight where board members have different views on performance
- Have targeted discussions about what’s going well and where to focus on improving
So if you’re looking to review your governance but don’t quite know where to start, can’t afford the time or expense of a consultant or facilitator and want an easy way to involve your whole board in the process, register now!