Trustees’ Week 2019 is now in full swing, running from Monday 4 – Friday 8 November, and it’s a chance to thank your existing trustees, recruit new trustees, and make a pledge for trustee diversity.

The brand new Young Trustees Movement, launched in October 2019, shows just how important it is to create a younger generation of trustees, aged 30 and under. The statistics, from the Young Trustees Movement, a 2017 Charity Commission survey of 19,000 trustees, and analysis from 2017 by CharityData, speak for themselves:

• There are over 1 million trustees in the UK, including 850,000 in England and Wales.
• 86,000 UK trustees are aged 16-34.
• The average age of a trustee in England and Wales is 59.
• 92% of trustees are white.
• 75% of trustees are described as richer than average.
• 64% of trustees are male.
• Over half (51%) of trustees are retired.
• 1 in every 12 trustees is called David or John.
• Currently less than 3% of trustees are aged 30 and under; less than 1% are aged 25 and under.
• Trustees report lacking a range of skills on their boards, including relevant legal, digital, fundraising, marketing and campaigning skills.

The aim of the Young Trustees Movement is to double the number of trustees aged 30 and under by 2024.

Trustee diversity, and diversity and inclusion in VCSE organisations and community projects, is a major objective for Voscur. Equality is one of our core values and one of our strategic aims; the Young Trustees Movement complements this. The ideal board of trustees has a diverse range of skills and experience, but also characteristics, and age should not be ignored.

If you want to support younger trustees, why not make a pledge this Trustees’ Week to take action?

We would also like to hear from Voscur members and non-members about your trustees – do you want to share a success story? Do you need board member training to build trustee confidence? Get involved:

• Email our communications team to share your stories.
• Book onto the Being an Even Better Board Member training course, on Tuesday 19 November 2019, and meet other trustees.
• Email our training and events team to discuss bespoke training for trustees, or to discuss attracting new board members.

Join in with Trustees' Week using the hashtag #TrusteesWeek on Twitter.