From enhancing your CV to developing skills essential to your day job or giving back to causes close to your heart – the reasons for becoming a charity trustee are many and varied. But regardless of your motivation, don’t let stereotypes about the typical charity trustee put you off.

Serial trustee Sophie Hamlet, an audit manager in Grant Thornton’s not-for-profit team in London, first volunteered her services as a trustee in 2019 and today, as we kick off Trustees’ Week 2024, she sits on four separate charity boards. “Honestly, I find it so rewarding,” she explains. “Some people enjoy going to see gigs. For me, it’s going to board meetings and giving back some of my knowledge to organisations that need the support.”

A lover of the arts, and theatre in particular, all four of the small charities that Sophie volunteers with as a trustee have a theatrical flavour to them - in particular, there’s a running theme of improving access to the arts. “Theatre is something that is very close to my heart,” she explains. “As a teenager I was very introverted. Doing drama at A-level taught me a lot about how to express myself and interact with people. If the arts didn’t exist, I wouldn’t be able to do the job that I do today.”

Improving access to the arts

South London-based Baseless Fabric Theatre focuses on improving access to the opera and shattering some of the elitist connotations associated with the art form. It uses street opera and opera taster workshops in schools to improve accessibility but also to allow children to explore ways to express themselves through music and singing. 

Sophie is also a trustee of Total Insight Theatre, which uses theatre workshops and performances to tackle important social issues, including mental health, knife crime and bereavement for young people. “It’s a way to help encourage the young people themselves to try and find a way out of difficult situations. Last year the charity launched the Total Insight Academy, to improve access for those looking to pursue a career in the arts. 

Meanwhile, another small charity in Sophie’s portfolio of trusteeships, community-based theatre company Icon Theatre, was awarded National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) status in the last round of Arts Council funding, meaning that Icon will receive £263k a year for the next three years. Icon is the name behind Ghost Ships, a recent immersive theatre production set in the Historic Dockyard Chatham, which recharts the dockyard’s history through stories about the people who built and sailed its ships around the world. Sophie is also a trustee and vice chair of the Greenwich Theatre in south-east London. 

CV-enhancing opportunities

She admits the motivation to become a trustee was driven not just by her passion for the arts but also because she recognised that it would be good for her CV. “I knew it would enhance my understanding of the inner workings of these sorts of organisations and I don’t think there’s any shame in that – but that can’t be the only reason why you do it. You need a passion for it as well.” 

Conscious of the impact of funding cuts to the arts that is threatening the survival of many, access to professional services is often an area that tends to fall by the wayside, Sophie says. “Many of these charities have a lot of working knowledge of the organisation in their finance teams, but it’s often too expensive for them to keep that wider financial reporting knowledge up to date or to pay for advice so there’s a knowledge gap.”

For anyone considering being a trustee, the starting point is identifying a charity doing something close to your heart. “First and foremost, find your passion. If there is a particular organisation that you have in mind, reach out to them to see how you can get involved.” It’s essential to ensure the organisation is a good fit, Sophie says. “Have a conversation with them, go for a cup of coffee and a chat to decide whether or not it is something that you both want to take further.”

Trustee responsibilities

There’s a lot of great advice on the Charity Commission website about what the responsibilities of a trustee are – as well as what they are not – so you can arm yourself with an informed understanding of what the role entails. If you’re not sure you have what it takes to be a trustee, you probably do. Sophie adds. 

“A lot of people think you need lots of time because a lot of trustees tend to be retired and male, so people think that’s what a trustee looks like. When I first became a trustee I was in my early 30s and I definitely had the knowledge and skillset to give something of value.”

At a time when the benefits of diversity of thought are well recognised, encouraging people from a wide range of backgrounds and with different experiences under their belt is to be encouraged, she says. And the perception of an onerous time commitment shouldn’t necessarily be a dealbreaker, Sophie says. “I'd say you’re probably looking at about 10 hours a quarter maximum, and that would be a really active trustee.”

Celebrating successes

The flip side to what you give is what you receive in return, and for Sophie, that is the joy of giving something back in its purest sense. “I help these organisations grow and develop, and I get to celebrate that success with them, which is an incredible feeling.” 

At the same time, being a charity trustee has given Sophie an unrivalled perspective of the workings of the charity sector, which has benefitted her day job, she says. “A lot of my client interactions are with audit committees who are volunteers themselves, so it gives me insight into how an organisation might be working, and enables me to potentially make suggestions based on my experience.” 

• ICAEW’s free online trustee training modules provide an overview of charity trustees’ legal and financial responsibilities and their strategic and operational considerations. Find out more and sign up.

Further reading: Supporting charity trustees with CPD