How can we help you be a trustee?

I was trying to describe my job at SCVO to someone the other night and ended up explaining what the third sector is, what a charity is, and what a trustee is. He looked dubious when I said trustees are volunteers. He looked horrified when I said trustees are the ones in overall control and management of a charity. “Why on earth would you want to be a trustee?” Good question.

there are times when it’s a hard and even scary role, so where do trustees turn?

Being a Trustee is a big responsibility and it can be difficult. But evidence tells us most people don’t start out as a trustee thinking about future challenges. They usually have an existing link to the organisation and they become a trustee because they want to help. They start as enthusiastic novices and the rest they learn as they go. OSCR estimates there are around 183,000 charity trustees in Scotland. That’s a huge number of folk committed to supporting the work of charities at the highest level. But there are times when it’s a hard and even scary role, and where do trustees turn then? Another good question, and one that takes me full circle back to my job at SCVO. In a nutshell, I try to find out what people in the third sector need and want to know to run their organisations, and then I try to find the right way for SCVO to help. SCVO’s Information Service currently offers support to trustees via a helpline, online information and resources, and training and events. Do trustees find this stuff useful? Could we do better? You tell me. We’re running a series of workshops to understand more about when, where and how trustees access information and support to help them in their role. We’ll use the feedback to shape the support that SCVO provides for trustees. Book now for the Trustee Workshops in Edinburgh (22 Nov) and Glasgow (28 Nov), or for our Chairs Workshop in Dundee (30 Nov). If you can’t make a workshop but would like to have your voice heard, please complete our short survey.