Welcome to Trustees' Week, now in its 12th year! There are over 250,000 trustees in Scotland who guide the work of our vibrant voluntary sector.
Throughout this week, we're featuring daily blogs by Abi Clarke, our Development Officer, who has based her blog topics from conversations with various organisations across Moray over the last 6 months.
Read Abi's fourth blog below.
This year for Trustees Week the theme is ‘how trustees can make a difference in changing times’.
This, I feel, is so relevant.
We are living in a time of constant change, with economic challenges, as well as rising costs, that for many households, is adding to the financial and personal stress within our families.
With this, charities are increasingly busy helping those in need as well as supporting our communities to have the feelings of courage, hope and positivity during these times.
However, charities are also feeling the pressure too, with a big increase in demand for their services, increased costs, and lack of donations and/or attendees at fundraising events.
As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, trustees are responsible for their charities through the good and the bad…and more so recently, as I have witnessed some charities having to make tough decisions about their future.
So, this week is a great opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate all the fantastic work which our trustees are part of, as well as their skills, passion, and commitment.
This is a time to encourage more people from your community to come forward and get involved as a trustee. I’ve spoken about equality within our boards and from my own personal perspective, would like to encourage other younger women from different ethnic backgrounds, to bring their different ways of achieving – to bring their knowledge and practice, so that it can help boards unlock that much needed capacity.
I know for some charities, this can feel quite a bleak period in time; there’s a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of your trustees. But how we adapt to change can also show how resilient an organisation can be.
If we reflect back to the beginning of COVID-19 in March 2020, when we were all forced into the digital world, coping with lockdowns -- as an organisation, you found new ways, new processes; it stretched all of us and we made a place for being innovative. We endured some painful changes, and through this, we have learned.
Financial challenges, rising costs, heavy workloads and personalities are not easy to manage in changing times and this can affect a board’s dynamic. Resolving disputes within a charity board is a reality – this link provides some top tips on how to support you with this.
This week also highlights the wide range of local trustee volunteer opportunities available. In our Trustees Hotlist below, you’ll find roles which require specific skills such as a fundraising or financial background, and more general roles, that are seeking and prioritising people with wider skills sets.
If you would like more information on your board, or governance, I’m happy to chat with you, as ever. Just send me an email.
