Earlier in the year, we wrote about the marked rise in charities coming to us for help in the appointment of trustees to their boards. As we’ve set out on these searches in the faith-based sector, we’ve sometimes encountered a reluctance from eligible candidates to consider taking on trustee roles. Our clients similarly report to us the difficulty they’ve had in finding suitable trustees, leading them ultimately to work with us.

This has led us to reflect on what being a trustee is, and why it is a good thing to take on, and so for the next few months, we’ll be doing a mini-series on this topic. We’ll look at possible reasons why there’s a low ebb of candidates for trustee roles, the theological basis for trustees, and other reasons why being a trustee is worth it.

In this introduction blog, we offer a few reasons why there might be an ebb of willing trustees in some sectors.

Scandals in the sector

Scandals in the Christian sector have highlighted the importance of proper governance, and the consequences when it goes wrong. The primary focus of the charity board is to hold the senior leader(s) of the charity to account for the fulfilment of its mission, and to ensure that they break no laws or policies in the pursuit of the same. Candidates for trustee roles are increasingly aware of this responsibility – that it rests with the trust board if a person or persons in their charity fail to act as they should.

This is ultimately a good thing. It is dangerous to have a board filled with trustees unaware of their legal responsibilities and the realities of good governance. We want candidates who grasp the size of the task they are taking on. But it also means that these same candidates are less likely to take on roles which they view as risky, perhaps because the charity works with children and has complex safeguarding needs, or sits in a sector which has been particularly undermined by scandals.

Shifting attitudes post-pandemic

Alongside this, in the post-pandemic world, people seem less likely to commit to roles which take them away from home outside their normal working hours. Because of the improved understanding of what it means to be a trustee, candidates are correspondingly more aware of the time and energy these roles require. They are costly, and candidates appear more conservative in what they are willing to take on, particularly if it means travelling away from home outside working hours.

Decline of volunteering

Although the UK has historically had a strong volunteering culture, the last few decades have seen a gradual decline in this. There are recent influences such as the rising cost of living. There are also the broader cultural shifts (both positive and negative) of the last century that result in more pressured lives, including the geographical spread of families, absence of domestic help, women in the workplace, weakened local communities and the cost of housing. Boards are rightly pushing to have millennial trustees, but for many volunteering a few days a year feels a step too far.