Why should I become a charity trustee?
Why should I become a charity trustee?
Executive Committees are known as Trustee Boards. This came into effect for members in Scotland in July 2023, and all others from April 2023. 'Executive Committee' and associated wording will still be visible on Compass and the website as we move to our new way of volunteering.
To learn more about what we are doing to improve how we volunteer at Scouts, visit the Volunteer Experience webpages.
Being a charity trustee within the Scouts is an exciting new challenge, which can give you the opportunity to develop a unique skillset from other volunteer roles within the Scouts. While being well supported on a Trustee Board, you will be able to see benefits to yourself in becoming a local charity trustee. These might include:
- acquiring experience and skills you might not otherwise have the opportunity to gain until much further into your education or career
- your CV and/or university application forms will benefit
- you are able to help shape the development of the Scouts both locally and nationally
By being a young person on a Trustee Board, you can help to aid the Scouts by:
- allowing the Scouts to take on board new ideas and perspectives
- having our decision-making boards more diverse and representative of the membership
- enabling us to be more youth shaped in partnership with adults in all parts of the Scouts - not just in leadership or management roles
What support can I get?
We are aware that being a charity trustee may appear daunting at first, but with the right support, we know young people can become invaluable members of the team.
It would be helpful for you to be paired up with a mentor. This will be someone who you can turn to for help and support as you develop into your role. You should talk to your line manager about finding an appropriate mentor.
Alternatively, if you have someone in mind, then why not approach them and ask if they would be happy to take on that role for you. We won’t just throw you in the deep end either - there is full training available for taking up a charity trustee role.
On taking up a place on the Trustee Board, you should complete the Getting Started training (including the Trustee Introduction module), and get these validated by your Training Adviser. If you would like to develop your knowledge further, there is also a suite of optional training especially for Trustees. Please speak to your County Training Manager about this if you wish to find out more.
Getting started in the role
Before your first meeting, it might be helpful to contact the Chair for copies of the previous few meeting minutes to get a feel for the discussions that are normally held. You should get a copy of the agenda and any reading you need to do before the meeting in good time. Ask your Treasurer or Chair about your local expenses policy. Find out about what the expected time commitment would be - typically, meetings last a couple of hours and are held 6-8 times a year.