The Association of Chairs is expanding its charity leadership support by launching a membership scheme for boards of trustees.

The move comes a year after the closure of trustee support charity Getting on Board.

AoC chair Joe Saxton said there was a need for the organisation to offer support to a wider group of charity leaders rather than only helping individual chairs.

“We have heard from our members, time and time again, that being an effective chair means having an effective board,” he said.

“Trustees should be given the opportunity to have ongoing learning and development. Offering board membership is an ideal way for charity CEOs to encourage stronger governance.”

Board membership includes access to events, training, peer networking and supplier discounts.

A Charity Commission and PBE report last month found that boards are not representative of the people they support and are more likely to be white and retired. This also found gaps in experience of boards, with more supported needed in areas such as marketing, tackling fraud, campaigning and legal issues.

“It’s clear there is a huge need for non-profit board support, and the Association of Chairs wants to help meet that need,” said AoC interim chief executive Liz Lowther.

“There is some great training and resources out there already, but we’ve confirmed with partners that there’s plenty of room for more, particularly following the sad closure of Getting on Board last year.”

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