The 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.
Happy New Year
This is our first edition of Governance Weekly for 2017, so Happy New Year to everyone.
Why not commit to some New Year Resolutions for you and your board or committee? Here’s 10 resolution ideas to get you started…
- Every charity trustee, new or old, fresh or experienced, should be familiar with everything that’s in the Charity Commission’s publication – the Essential Trustee. It was also refreshed last year, so it’s probably time to make sure that you and everyone at your committee meetings takes the opportunity to read and absorb the latest copy.
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And while you’re at it, an ‘easy read’ version of the Good Trustee Guide from NCVO has recently been published. They are specifically produced for people with learning difficulties, but they are a quick and easy introduction for anyone so take a look at these new publications.
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Talking about change: the national Code of Good Governance has been excellent but unchanged for many years now, and late in 2016 a new, totally reworked version – the Charity Governance Code – was launched for consultation. No matter what minor changes result from the consultation itself, this document should now be the framework that each and every charity and non-profit board should judge themselves against. So make it a key resolution for this year for your board to assess yourselves against this new Code and see where improvements could be made.
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If your organisation is a Member or Friend of VANEL then each and every one of your board members is entitled to receive a copy of our monthly “View from the Top” e-newsletter covering all things governance, trusteeship and leadership related. If you’re not getting it already then resolve to subscribe – just contact Karl at VANEL with your email and details and you can start getting this e-news directly.
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Technology and digital is not going away any time soon. So, as a trustee or as a collective board, why not use 2017 to embrace digital and understand more about how technology might be able to support and empower your organisation. VANEL has a “Technology for Trustees” course on offer, or you could at least start with a read of “12 Questions about digital for trustees“.
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Why not decide from the outset that during 2017 you’ll assess your approach to governance and work on developing it further. One way could be to choose one of our 5 S’s of Governance (Support, Stretch, Strategy, Scrutiny and Stewardship) and apply it at each of your board meetings. One meeting, one S, one way of thinking. Maybe you’ll spot where your board is strong and where it is weaker and could do with development?
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Think diversity for 2017. Why not start by thinking about getting a younger trustee onto your committee? The more diverse the approaches to challenge and decision making the better, so why not include a younger perspective? If you need help with this then speak to VANEL about our IGNITE youth leadership programme or our Young Leader support Network. We can help you get a younger perspective onto your board.
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Think ‘challenge’ for 2017. Coasting along, doing the same things each meeting is ok, but does it help manage risks, improve your organisation’s prospects, boost sustainability and so on? Being a challenging board is beneficial, so think challenge throughout the year. VANEL will be holding a “Governance Challenge workshop” in March, so why not register your interest now?
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Keep your good practices going through laying down cultural change in your organisational governance this year. You can do this by getting your induction processes right and instilling values, behaviours, approaches and practices into each and every new trustee that joins you. Take a look at how your Induction process (and perhaps your Trustee Handbook) works. VANEL can help with this and we’re running a few training courses that could help you.
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And finally, embrace the fact that your trustees, board members or committee members are all volunteers first and foremost. Support them as you would any other volunteers in your organisation. Acknowledge them, support them, mentor them, train them, encourage them and praise them. In 2017 VANEL will be launching our Supporting Volunteers Award ‘g’ version – governance. SVAg will be in experimental ‘beta’ very soon, so if you’re interested in supporting your board and governance practices by supporting the volunteers who are on the board then contact Karl for early access to SVAg.
So that’s 10 resolutions to get you started. Over to you.
Need any help with any of these resolutions? VANEL is here to help via our Trustee Network. Contact Karl direct to discuss.
Governance Training from VANEL
We’re rearranged a number of dates for various Governance training sessions for the next few months, so dates are below and if you are interested in any of these please contact Karl Elliott direct.
“Induction and Refresher Training for Trustees” – for newer trustees, this two hour course covers all the basics you need to know. Tuesday 31st January 2017, 3pm-5pm at VANEL offices, Grimsby. £10pp (£15pp for non-members)
“Technology for Trustees”. In this increasingly digital world, what do trustees need to know and how can they tackle the better use of technology for their organisations? Friday 10th February, 10am-11.30am, £5pp (£10pp non-members)
We’ll be holding a “Governance Challenge Workshop” in conjunction with our “Better Boards” training session. For chairs or other trustees looking for ways to develop the board or the governance practices and approaches. Late February 2017, 3pm-5pm, £10pp (only available to member organisations)
In addition to these scheduled sessions we can also provide bespoke governance training for your board – bespoke both in terms of content that you need and timing and venue that is suitable for you. Just contact Karl to discuss.
Mentors needed
We’re looking for experience charity trustees to mentor younger, less experienced young people as they take us new trustee opportunities. These younger people bring enthusiasm, energy, fresh ideas, new perspectives and different skills to the role, but are less experienced in board, committee and charity approaches and issues so having a more experienced mentor for them to ask advice from can be extremely valuable.
As a mentor you don’t have to be in the same organisation as the young trustee – you’re there to answer more general issues rather than organisational specifics, but we also provide opportunities to provide this general support, advice, guidance and encouragement via our online Trustees Network website.
If you’re potentially interested in this opportunity to share your skills, please contact Karl for a discussion.
Trustee Opportunities
We’re always interested to match people to local trustee opportunities and as a Volunteer Service we hear both from volunteers seeking positions and from groups and charities seeking to fill board roles. Some of this is done on a ‘match up’ basis – people are seeking a very specific type of trustee role, or boards are seeking individuals from a particular area or with particular skills and abilities. But occasionally groups ask us to promote their trustee vacancies.
So if you’ve got trustee or board opportunities, please just let us know and we’ll share and promote them.
We do already have a few groups that have places available on their boards and would be interested in hearing from the right individuals. If you’re seeking an opportunity get in touch and we’ll see if there is a match. And, of course, if you are a group with a vacancy on your committee or board then let us know.
And finally…
NCVO have recently launched a new website. Not strictly governance related but there is a relevance. Boards are responsible for maintaining the good reputation of their charities/non-profits, and over the past year or more the perception in the public eye of charities has been poor. To try and address some of these public questions, NCVO has launched “how charities work” to provide that explanation. Might be worth a look & I’d be interested to hear perceptions and responses to this from local trustees. The website is www.howcharitieswork.com. What do you think?
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
www.vanel.org.uk/aboutgovernance