By Dr Beth Kitson, Research and Policy Analyst
A full and well-rounded board is not just a legal requirement for charities – it is their backbone. Trustees provide strategic vision, financial oversight, and essential governance expertise. The best boards are also in tune with the communities they serve.
They bring together a diverse mix of skills, knowledge, and experience, which enhances a charity’s ability to fulfil its mission and create meaningful change. Trustees Week (4 – 8 November) is a time for the sector to celebrate the time and commitment trustees across the country give.
Trustees Week also provides the opportunity to reflect and discuss on trusteeship – where charity boards are succeeding, and where there is space for further action and development. Findings from the eighth quarterly VCSE Sector Barometer, carried out with Nottingham Trent University’s National VCSE Data and Insights Observatory, show that high vacancy rates and skills gaps in fundraising, impact evaluation, and digital expertise may be holding many boards back.
In today’s challenging landscape, rethinking both board composition and the specific skills and perspectives required could be crucial to ensuring that charities thrive into the future.
Many charity boards are incomplete
“Around half of our Trustees were lost in 2023… This included many experienced and skilled members. It has proven very difficult and slow to replace them.” – charity leader
As overall volunteering rates decline, finding volunteers to be trustees is difficult too. Less than four in ten (37%) of charities responding to the survey reported having a full board. This leaves almost two-thirds (63%) reporting vacancies of some form.
The closure of Getting on Board, the trustee recruitment and diversity charity, could not have come at a worse time. Responses to the Barometer reveal just how much need there is for more people to come forward to volunteer as trustees. High vacancy rates mean many organisations are now overly reliant on very small teams to provide support in particular areas. This can create risks of trustee burnout and potentially compromised internal board relations. As one charity put it:
“If one Trustee leaves, the answers (on how we’re doing) are suddenly very different.” – charity leader
Almost one in ten (8%) of small charities report that their boards are depleted, with numerous positions open. Having a depleted board has an outsized effect on small charities, as board members of smaller charities are typically more hands-on in the daily tasks and operations. Alongside the longer-term threat to small charities’ survival, board vacancies can also impact the everyday workloads of remaining staff and volunteers.
This can impact small charities’ ability to plan for the future. Two-thirds (67%) of charities overall believe their boards currently have the right mix of skills, knowledge, experience and diversity to tackle current and future challenges. That leaves just over one in five (21%) still believing their boards fall short.
But smaller charities are less confident in their board’s readiness. Just under six in ten (57%) of small charities say they have the right blend of skills, compared to more than four out of five (81%) large charities and nearly three quarters (73%) of medium-sized charities. Indeed, nearly three in ten (28%) small charities do not feel they have the right balance to fully meet their goals.
Many organisations think that their boards are well-equipped in financial management and budgeting, identifying and managing risk, as well as legal and regulatory compliance. Over half of charities would describe their boards as either proficient or expert in these areas. Almost one-third (31%) of charities of all sizes rate their boards as experts in financial management and budgeting.
However, once again, there is a sharp contrast between small and large charities. One in five (20%) of small charities rate their boards as experts in financial management, compared to over half (56%) of large charities.
There could be several reasons behind this. Small charities might find it more difficult to reach financial experts. They might focus less on finances, especially if they are volunteer-led rather than staff-led, or do not need to worry about more complex financial matters like property. Financial management therefore might not be as complex to manage. However, a lack of experts in finance might hold them back from growth in the future.
Funding is one of the most pressing challenges the charity sector is experiencing, with more than three-quarters (76%) of charities noting that income is their top concern. Many current boards are not adequately equipped to take on this challenge. Over four in 10 (44%) of charities have identified fundraising and income generation as a critical skills gap on their boards. Similarly, just under four in ten (39)% suggest that marketing and communications are skills that are lacking.
Responses to the Barometer also highlighted the need for some board members to be more proactive, and to acknowledge the wider challenges facing the sector. As one CEO put it:
“The Board can sometimes default to spending time on operational matters rather than focusing on strategy, especially in relation to funding/commissioning challenges”. – charity leader
Charities completing the Barometer highlighted three core actions they were taking to ensure their boards had a broad range of skills and members.
First, was a skills audit, which many charities use to identify specific areas where the board may be lacking and prioritise expertise that is needed most. Currently more than four in ten (42%) of organisations conduct a skills audit on an ad hoc basis only, while over one fifth (21%) have never undertaken one.
Second, many charities were also investing in development opportunities for trustees. Complementing the skills audit, when done well this has the potential to allow trustees to play an active role in their own growth and align that growth with organisational need.
In light of Getting on Board’s closure, there are big questions in the sector as to how other infrastructure bodies might step in to support small charities in this space, providing the resources and training that could help not only motivate current board members, but also make trusteeship more attractive to future candidates.
“The Board is settled, well established and operates effectively. We have experienced difficulties recruiting individuals with specific knowledge who also diversify and enrich the board with new perspectives and views. However, the board is aware of this shortcoming and recognises the need to change the way it operates to accommodate and encourage this cohort to become involved.” – charity leader
Third, collaboration. Addressing the shortage of trustees cannot be done in isolation. Small and large charities alike benefit from collaborating with their partners across civil society and the private sector. These partnerships can raise awareness, provide resource, and encourage professionals to take on trustee roles.
Ultimately a strong and capable board is the backbone of any thriving charity, but strength needs to be built and maintained, through training, development and collaboration. The data released this Trustees Week has the potential to start rich conversations about getting and keeping the right skills on board.