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Trustees' Week- find out how you can get involved

With the launch of #onemilliontrustees video competition; Trustees’ Week 2014 (taking place on 10-16 November), is firmly on our radar. 

What is Trustees’ Week?  

Now in its fifth year, Trustees’ Week is a nationwide campaign organised by the Charity Commission and partner organisations, to celebrate all the wonderful things that trustees do for charities. TW 2014 is to be officially launched at the NCVO Trustee Conference on 10 November. The theme for this year’s campaign is based around ‘development’ and ‘governance’, close to CFG’s heart. Development is about how taking on a trusteeship can play an essential role in expanding career opportunities. We would encourage all of our members to consider whether becoming a trustee could be a great move for their careers. Good governance is at the heart of trusteeship. We believe that strong financial management is at the heart of good governance and have a number of training events well suited to aspiring or already established trustees.

What will CFG be doing?  

Watch out for all things governance themed in CFG during the month of November including: SORP training for trustees and good governance themed open Members’ Meetings around the country, blogs, and more.

What can you do to get involved?  

There are a number of ways that you can get involved in Trustees’ Week 2014; here are just a few ideas:

1.    Tell your trusteeship story in the #onemilliontrustees video competition: create a short video about your experience of being a trustee, the ups and downs, what you have worked on and what you have learnt. Why did you become a trustee, and what made you choose your charity? Has the experience been what you expected, and what would be your advice for other trustees? (Closing date for submissions is 12 September 2014.)

2.    Hold your own ‘tea with a trustee’ event to tell others in your company or organisation about your experience of being a trustee.

3.    Thank your trustees - in TW2013 one organisation produced a video last year thanking all their trustees, which was promoted far and wide.

4.    Volunteer or take part in events hosted by Trustees’ Week partners

5.    Follow live updates on the Trustee Week website or dedicated twitter handle @trusteesweek using hashtag #trusteesweek

6.    Share your knowledge on trusteeship by writing a blog or article and sharing it with the Trustees’ Week website 7.    Spread the word about Trustees’ Week by sharing information about the campaign on your website Many of us at CFG HQ are trustees for charities large and small.

Here are some of our experiences:

Caron Bradshaw, CEO of CFG: “Being a trustee is enriching and challenging. I learned so much about leadership, finances and the importance of adaptability from my early trustee roles. I've served as a trustee in a variety of roles since my 20s.”

Tania Cohen, Director of Services and Enterprise: “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. The ups are the opportunities to be involved with a fantastic organisation that I am very proud of. The downside is the challenge of being a trustee for an international charity so not being able to see the work directly – but we regularly meet our international partners when they visit so get an opportunity to hear about it and connect with the work.”

Tom Kelman, Director of Resources: “I became a trustee of a small health organisation for the people, their commitment and their sense of purpose and have found what I have expected and much more. I get a sense of task satisfaction and the feeling of giving something back and supporting worthy causes in ways other than simply giving money. My advice for other aspiring trustees is to make sure that you have the time to give it your best and do not take on too much else you will let the other trustees and the charity down”

This post was last reviewed on 13 August 2018 at 14:50
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