What is a trustee? 

Trusteeship is hugely important to the smooth running of charities, as they are ‘the persons having the general control and management of the administration of a charity’. The main purpose of a trustee is to ensure that the charity is run in the interests of the people and communities it is there to serve. This could include safeguarding physical aspects of the charity, such as property, and non-physical aspects, such as branding, reputation and communication. They might look at whether their charity is achieving its stated missions, measuring the impact of outreach and programmes, or weighing up the financial situation of the charity.  

Why should I consider becoming one? 

It is estimated that almost half of all charities are looking for trustees. However, the current landscape of trusteeship is pretty homogenous:  

• Less than 3% of trustees are under the age of 30 
• 29% of high-income charity boards are all white, compared to 4% in the FTSE 100 
• 51% of charities do not have a single minority ethnic woman on their board 
• 92% of trustees in the charity sector were white in 2018 
• Men outnumber women 2:1 on charity boards, despite women making up 68% of charity sector employees 

We are therefore encouraging students at City to consider becoming a Young Trustee for a UK charity. As young people, you bring unique perspectives that charities need to diversify their strategies and programmes, and reconsider their biases. In turn, you’ll gain unique skills that you can’t get in any other role by learning about the governance of the charity sector. If you'd like to talk more about becoming a Young Trustee with our Senior Community Volunteering Officer, you can book a 1-2-1 appointment here.

How do I become one? 

The Young Trustees Movement has been working tirelessly to change these statistics. The Movement came out of a research project funded by The Blagrave Trust, and The Social Change Agency led the research and started the movement. Their mission is to double the number of trustees aged 30 and under on charity boards. They list regular trustee vacancies that have stated they are seeking a young trustee (under 30). They also put on free events to support young people to get on charity boards, and guides for charities to diversify their trusteeship.  

You can browse all the current trustee vacancies advertised on their website here. Bring your skills and experiences to enact meaningful change today!