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1. Being a trustee of a charity can be a time-consuming business. Yet most research
suggests that those who serve as trustees get far more out of the experience than they
believe they put in. Many charities report difficulties in finding suitable new trustees
and a significant proportion are worried about succession issues and are concerned
that there will be no trustees to whom they can pass the trusteeship baton. In this
article, Jo Coleman, a Partner in IBB Solicitor’s Charities team, looks at why it
might be getting more difficult to find the next generation of trustees and also
considers what trustees might do to plan for a smooth and successful succession.
TEN steps to finding
new trustees Times have changed. People are living
longer but are also finding that they have
to work much longer. With the abolition of
the default retirement age, the army of new
volunteer trustees that used to be created each
year is disappearing. At the other end of the
generational spectrum, more of us than ever
are juggling parenthood, full time work and
sometimes care of elder relatives, so have little
time to dedicate to voluntary pursuits.
Work has also expanded to fill our days and
the era when the work day ended and people
still had time to pursue other activities in the
evenings has all but disappeared. Where this
leaves us as a society I will leave for others
to consider, but there is no doubt that it
is having a very real impact on the ability
of individuals to step up and volunteer as
trustees.
Although we are operating in a different
world, there are nevertheless certain steps
to ensure that the trustees you are able to
find are suitable and help to take the charity
forward. In this article, I set out ten key steps
to successful trustee recruitment.
STEP ONE:
Check the rules
The starting point for any Board about to
consider appointing new trustees is to check
the relevant requirements in their governing
documents. Is there a maximum number
of trustees? How must new trustees be
appointed? What length of term will they
serve? Once you know what the rules are you
can move to the next step.
STEP TWO:
Undertake a skills audit
Consider what skills, knowledge and
experience are needed to make sure that your
charity is well governed and run effectively,
efficiently and appropriately to its size and
complexity. In fact, undertaking a periodic
IBB SOLICITORS CHARITIES TEAM
Briefing
this article provides a general overview only and should not
be relied upon as the rules may vary depending upon the specific
circumstances of your case

2. IBB SOLICITORS CHARITIES TEAM
Finding new trustees / 2
review of the skills of current trustees is a
good way to identify any gaps that need to
be filled and is a valuable exercise in its own
right.
The Charity Commission recommends that
trustees regularly review the skills of the
trustees board and don’t wait for a vacancy to
occur. A number of different skills matrices
exist to help with this process. An example is
set out on the back page of this briefing.
STEP THREE:
Createaroledescriptionforthenewtrustee
Make sure you are very clear in the role
description for any new trustee what skills
you are looking for and that you also explain
clearly how much time an individual is
expected to commit to fulfilling their new
duties.
STEP FOUR:
Embrace diversity
Whilst some tend to want to appoint ‘people
like us’ to trustee boards, a diverse board is
more likely to contain a broader range of
skills, knowledge and experience. The Charity
Commission suggests that when making
new appointments trustee boards should
have regard to the impact on the diversity
of the board. Boards should seek to have a
balance between men and women, between
professionals and business people, between
young and older people, all of whom would
bring different perspectives to the charity.
To enhance your diversity you may find that
you need to look critically at the method of
recruitment and the timing and location of
your meetings.
STEP FIVE:
Agree the process
There are a number of ways in which trustees
can recruit new trustees:
• Word of mouth
• Personal recommendation
• Internally from amongst existing
volunteers
• Advertising on local websites, notice
boards or newsletters
• Advertising in local or national
newspapers or specialist sector
magazines
• Using trustee brokerage services
• Engaging a recruitment agency or
headhunter to find trustees
Not all methods will be appropriate in all cases
and the methods available also vary in cost,
time and effort.
STEP SIX:
Make the application stage meaningful
Design an application process that helps you
elicit as much information as possible at the
outset so that you do not have to waste time in
endless interviews.
STEP SEVEN:
Establish an interview panel
Ensure that the Panel understands what the
charity needs and the sort of person and skills
you are looking for.
STEP EIGHT:
Check the candidates are eligible
Ask the candidates to complete a Trustee
Declaration form which confirms that they are
eligible to act as a charity trustee and would
not be disqualified in any way.
A trustee declaration form is available at
http://goo.gl/6nF3u. You should also ask
candidates to identify any potential conflicts
of interest.
STEP NINE:
Ensurethecandidatesunderstandtheroles
andresponsibilitiesofacharitytrustee
Candidates should be referred to CC3: Charity
Trustees: What you need to know and any
other Charity Commission Guidance that is
pertinent to your particular area of activity.
There are also many other guides available on
trustees’ duties. Prospective trustees need to
know what they are getting into.
STEP TEN:
Provide an induction pack and
consider training options
New trustees should receive key documents
which should include:
• A charity’s governing document;
• The charity’s latest annual report and
accounts;
• minutes of recent trustees meetings;
• conflicts of interest policy;
• other key documents.
You should think about making training
available to your new trustees to help them in
their role.
It may also be helpful to implement a form
of mentoring scheme, so that longer serving
trustees can meet with new trustees away from
board meetings to help explain how things
work. In our experience, it can often take 18
months for a new trustee to work out what is
going on, if they are only interacting with the
charity at board meetings.
Further information
For further guidance please refer to the
Charity Commission guide CC30 Finding
new trustees.

3. IBB SOLICITORS CHARITIES TEAM
Finding new trustees / 3
08456 381381
ibblaw.co.ukmembers of:
Skill/experience Trustee 1 Trustee 2 Trustee 3 Trustee 4 Trustee 5
Access to resources (eg funds)
Advocacy and influencing
Contacts and affiliations
Financial
Fundraising
IT
Leadership qualities
Legal
Marketing/communications
Sector experience
Strategic planning / project management
Technical skills
example skills matrix *
* Depending upon the work undertaken by your charity, you may want to expand on certain of these areas
when undertaking your audit.
If you or your Trustees would like to
discuss the issues raised by this note
and the potential issues in your charity,
please contact:
Jo Coleman,
Partner, Charities team
IBB Solicitors
01895 207809
jo.coleman@ibblaw.co.uk
This briefing note is only intended
to provide general guidance and
is not intended to constitute
legal advice.