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Are you inspired to become a trustee?

It has been another busy Trustees’ Week and we’ve been joining in the celebrations of the great work that trustees do and encouraging others to get involved and make a difference. Being a trustee can be a rewarding experience, both for the individual and for the charity they are supporting.

 Charities benefit from the knowledge, skills and experience of their trustees, while trustees can develop new skills, meet new people, and get involved in a cause that matters to them.

Our Services and Enterprise Director, Tania Cohen, tells us about her experience as a trustee of Womankind Worldwide. “Womankind Worldwide (http://www.womankind.org.uk/) is an international women’s rights and development charity working to help women transform their lives in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

I volunteered for the charity 2002 – 2010 and was initially involved supporting the fundraising strategy development and implementation as an advisor and committee member. As a relatively young charity in 2002 just entering its teenage years, like many charities, it was struggling to generate enough unrestricted funds to have the stability and flexibility to do some of the things that it wanted to do. This meant that many of the staff were on fixed term contracts and had to leave when project funding ended – losing momentum and experience.

There was little flexibility to do strategic projects that grant funding could not be secured for. The investment in fundraising over the last decade, particularly individual giving, paid off. I returned in 2013 as a trustee to a larger, more mature, and flourishing charity. Although money is tight, the better balance in the income has made a strong and more strategic organisation and it is achieving more than ever with even more ambitious plans to come over the next few years. I became a trustee of Womankind Worldwide because I am passionate about the charity and how it delivers its work, and as an existing donor I wanted to add to this by using my skills and experience to support the charity. I’m so proud to be able to make a contribution and to be involved with a fantastic organisation.”

For more information about Trustees' Week and how to become a trustee, visit http://trusteesweek.blogspot.co.uk/p/information-for-charities.html and follow @TrusteesWeek on Twitter.

This post was last reviewed on 13 August 2018 at 14:58
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