A month to go until Trustees’ Week 2013- please get involved!

In almost exactly a month’s time, Trustees’ Week 2013 is starting. I’ve been involved for a couple of years now and every year more people get involved and this time we want it to be bigger than ever. Having a look at the site itself will give you the best flavour of what it is about and some of the organisations which support it. If you have a positive story about Trusteeship that you would like to share, or you would like to get publicity for your event for the Week, please get in touch with the Charity Commission.

The organisation I am the Chief Executive for, the Small Charities Coalition, is on the working group for the Week and the voluntary organisation I founded, Young Charity Trustees, also has an input.

I see the Week as having three main aims:

– To celebrate Trusteeship and thank those that are already Trustees, which is something that people give their time to freely and make an amazing difference. (I even wrote a poem last year about this).

– To make more people aware of Trusteeship, increasing the number of talented, dedicated people on which charities can draw on and ultimately resulting in more diverse boards that better represent the people they serve.

– To show that Trusteeship is something of value that needs to be invested in: Trustees deserve high quality training, support and mentoring opportunities.

If we are really going to make an impact we need to reach outside the charity sector. Last year for example there was coverage in two major papers and there was a general feeling that more people were becoming interesting in hearing the message of the Week. So please, get involved. There will be events in your area, (or if there aren’t please start some) and resources to help you. If you have any questions and I can help, please let me know. Also, please follow on Twitter to be kept up to date with the latest information.

Here is a general introduction to Trusteeship:

Three videos where I explain a bit more about why diverse Boards are important: