A weekly roundup from VANEL on good governance, charity trusteeship and non-profit leadership. News, information, resources and ideas. Complemented by our monthly “View from the Top” e-newsletter (Trustee Network members only), our “aboutgovernance” online discussion space for leaders and trustees and our @aboutgovernance Twitter feed.
The NCVO Governance roundup for September is here. Always worth a read. This month: Risks for board members, new guidance for trustees, asking whether you suffer from ‘dysfunctional politeness’, new digital advice for charities, latest news, upcoming events and more.
Building Boards for a Digital age is a new initiative from Reach Volunteering, NCVO and other partners. It sets out a new set of resources and information which has been launched to get boards thinking about digital skills. More about these Digital Skills at www.reachskills.org.uk/digitalboards a new set of resources and information.
The Charity Commission has just released new guidance to support charity boards and trustees to think more about digital for the future. “Making digital work: 12 questions for trustees to consider” outlines 12 key areas for trustees to consider. Whether you are a registered charity or not, these questions are relevant to any board or committee.
What makes a good charity? NPC has explored this question in depth again this year and have published a report (here) of the same name. Something every trustee, committee member and board should be reading. After all, we should be ensuring we know whether our organisation is ‘good’ or not (and perhaps take some proactive steps to improve it if not?). Only a couple of sections relate directly to governance, but it’s all worth a read.
And finally, don’t forget that it’s nearly time for National Trustee’s Week. This year this is from 7th – 13th November 2016. (Quick article introducing the week is here). Activities will be taking place across the country, and, as always, VANEL will be involved with a range of Trustee and governance related activities. Read on for more details about our events. VANEL’s theme for this year is “Your Trustees are Volunteers too” – something which often gets overlooked. Take the opportunity to do something proactive with your board, trustees, committee members (or yourself) this week.
To launch Trustees’ Week, NCVO and BWB have their Trustee Conference 2016 on Monday 7th November to start the week off. Entitled “Governance in the Spotlight”, it has an excellent range of keynote speakers, workshops and more throughout the day. It’s down in London, but always worth a visit if you can find the time and money. VANEL won’t be there this year, but we’ll be following proceedings and sharing and feeding back from the themes at the conference throughout the Trustees’ Week (keep an eye on @aboutgovernance).
Opportunities for Trustees
North East Lincolnshire Carelink are in the position of losing two of their longest serving board members, as their Chair and Treasurer have expressed a wish to stand down at the AGM in November. They are consequently looking for some new board members. Please spread the word, and if you are interested, please contact Lynda Bringloe, Chief Officer at Carelink who can follow through with you and their board. (01472 312312 or www.care-link.org.uk).
VANEL have had discussions with a number of our Members and Friends who have explained that they are looking to recruit new trustees. We are looking out for individuals to connect with these groups, so should you be interested, please contact Karl Elliott (karl@vanel.org.uk) and we can discuss the groups and how to make the connections.
VANEL are here to help you with your Governance requirements
We still have a couple of places left on our “Induction and Refresher training for Trustees” session next week. Tuesday 18th October at 3pm-5pm at VANEL offices at the Willows in Grimsby. £15 per person for Members/Friends or £20 otherwise. More information here or contact Karl Elliott to book (01472 361043, karl@vanel.org.uk). If you are brand new to the role of Trustee, or perhaps a little uncertain as to your roles and responsibilities, or simply need a refresher to see what you are missing, then book yourself on!
VANEL will be heavily involved in Trustees’ Week between 7-13th November. Keep an eye on @aboutgovernance and this “Governance Weekly” update for details as they emerge. Our theme for the week is “Your Trustees are Volunteers too”. It very often gets overlooked that Trustees, board members and committee members give their time freely into an often underpraised but quite responsibility role. We’d like to talk about this during Trustees’ Week and give trustees their due respect.
On Friday 11th November (during Trustees’ Week) we shall be holding a morning of short workshops. Three workshops tackling different aspects of the Trustee role:
10am – “Get on Board” looking closely at the Induction Process by which Trustees join your organisation
11am – “Valuing Volunteer Trustees” focusing on the support and development of the board – particularly focusing on the individuals.
12noon – “Technology for Trustees” continuing the digital theme as a workshop looking at how the board can lead or support the adoption of technology.
Come along for 1,2 or 3 of the sessions – but please book and let us know your plans. All are held at VANEL offices at the Willows and book via Karl Elliott again. Sessions are free to VANEL Member and Friend organisations, otherwise £5 per person per session.
During Trustee’s Week we’ll also be focusing a lot on younger trustees. VANEL is continuing to work hard to get more people under 25 interested in the role of a trustee, and to get more charities and groups actively interested in getting young people onto their boards. Watch out for news nearer the time about what we are doing, but if you are in the 18-25 age bracket or your charity is interested in younger people getting involved, then get in touch with Karl for a conversation. One thing we will be doing is holding a “Mock Board Meeting” during the week where younger people can start to learn about the mechanics of charity board meetings. More details soon.
Follow @aboutgovernance and #vaneltweek to keep up with our plans.
To discuss governance, trusteeship or leadership, or to subscribe to the Trustee Network, please drop me a line.
Karl Elliott, Development Manager
www.vanel.org.uk/governance – for resources and information
www.theviewfromthetop.org.uk
www.youngleadersmatter.org.uk
@aboutgovernance