Trustees' Week 2024 - Anyone can make a difference

There are a surprising number of things Winston Churchill never said. Renowned for his ability to turn a phrase, his quotes littler the internet. "Jaw, jaw is better than war, war"? He never said it. "If you're not a liberal when you're 25, you have no heart. If you're not a conservative by the time you're 35, you have no brain"? Nope, that wasn't him.

So how about "You make a living by what you get; you make a life by what you give"? Sadly not him either - but if he had said it, many of us would have agreed with him.

I think it's this sort of sentiment that inspires many people to become charity trustees when they retire. You've spent maybe 40 years acquiring skills, knowledge and experience and, even though you're happily leaving behind the pressures of work, you still want to do something useful.

Of course, being a charity trustee is not just for people who have retired. People of almost any age have something they can contribute to help charities run better.

In fact, here at Connected Voice, we've recently worked with Denton Youth and Community Project (DYCP) to train a group of young people to become trustees. They'll take on the responsibility for making sure the charity is run effectively and is accountable to the young people it serves. Not only that but, as they become adults, the experience they're acquiring now will encourage them to consider taking up a trustee role with other charities in the future. In doing so, they'll get a sense of fulfilment whilst society benefits. Everyone wins!

To a significant extent, charities underpin civil society, enabling communities to grow and flourish as well as meeting many people's more basic needs. But without trustees, none of the amazing work charities do could happen; and, sadly, demand for trustees usually outstrips supply.

Have a look at the Connected Voice Jobs page and you'll see there are always vacancies to fill, with 10 at the time of writing. To address this, we work hard to keep an eye out for potential trustees, so we can point them in the direction of a grateful charity. What's more, we provide training and support to trustee boards to make sure they know how to meet their responsibilities and have the confidence to lead their charities into the future. You can sign up for our next free course on this here.

So, are you ready to make a difference! If so, we'd love to hear from you. Just get in touch.