A new movement to encourage more young people into charity trustee roles has been launched with the aim of doubling the number of young trustees by 2024.
The Young Trustees Movement, launched by the Social Change Agency and supported the Blagrave Trust, Esmee Faribairn Foundation, Co-op Foundation, Zing and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation,aims to increase the number of people under the age of 30 on charity boards through practical advice, guidance and a campaign for wider trustee diversity.
The leaders of the movement are calling for the increase in young trustees to be achieved through the following steps:
1. Mobilising charity leaders and young people to join & commit to the movement through a 'pledge'.
2. Supporting movement members to make their pledge a reality. This will be done by creating physical and digital hubs that provide:
- Step by step practical and achievable guidance/resources e.g a template meeting agenda, recruitment pack, etc.
- Online learning, including a ‘Young Trustees in training’ programme
- Best practice and shared learnings from 'failures and mess ups'
- A space to connect and signposted to people and organisations within the movement
- Campaigning opportunities targeted at behaviour change in charity boards
3. Creating a counter-narrative to challenge the current status quo of
governance and perceptions of who a trustee should be.
“With dire statistics such as one in twelve trustees being called either John or David, less than 3 per cent of charity trustees being under 30 and less than 1 per cent being under 25, it’s no secret that board diversity is an issue," 19-year old young trustee, Kira Lewis said.
"People have been talking about board diversity for decades. What we need now is to combine this with meaningful action. There is already brilliant work being done in this space - but there is so much more to be done.
"I’ve joined the movement to accelerate the pace of change, be part of a supportive network and to shine a light on best practice. If you work/volunteer in the charity sector - we NEED you to get involved by pledging your commitment to the Young Trustees Movement."
You can make your pledge here.
