
I would like to provide my expertise via Skills Match
Do you have time and an expertise you can share with a charitable organisation?
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The Sector Support programme connects charities with professional expertise on a pro bono basis alongside guiding organisations towards effective trustee recruitment. Businesses and individuals provide one-to-one support on specific themes including law, property, digital-systems and governance. Consultants also offer expertise as guest speakers at webinars and training events on themes of broader interest.
The Skills Match programme at Community Foundation connects individuals and businesses with charitable organisations to provide expertise to enable charities to pursue their ambitions. Support can be via training, bespoke support and longer-term mentoring. Another way to support the sector is to become a trustee of a charity you care about via Trustee Match.
You can join our Skills Match and Trustee Match programmes by clicking one of the four options below.
Ellen Drummond, Regional Director, Charity People designed and facilitated a webinar on the topic of ‘Trustee Recruitment: A Step by Step Guide’.
Rowlands Gill Community Centre were embarking on a major capital project and Naylors Gavin Black LLP provided valuable support.
When Kids Kabin requested guidance to modernise its website and carry out an accessibility audit, Book Direct provided this support.
We have a collection of expert interviews on our Sector Support YouTube playlist covering a range of topics including demystifying trusteeship, inclusion and diversity, recruiting younger trustees, LGBTQIA+ representation on boards, challenges for disabled people in pursuing a trustee role and women in governance.
Each video is 5-10 minutes long and gives you ideas you can implement right away.
Watch the playlistThe choice is yours. It may be that there is a regular amount of time that you can provide on an ongoing basis or perhaps you would like to be informed on an ad-hoc basis about requests for your expertise. In either case, there is no expectation that you will have capacity and will choose to support every request. It is important that you feel inspired by the request and the work of the organisation as this is a voluntary contribution.
The initial conversation is to identify whether the consultant is a good match for your organisation in relation to ethos, understanding of your work and rapport during this meeting. Wherever possible, Skills Match will provide alternative options for support and guidance. When this is not available on a pro bono basis, there is the option to apply to the Vital Communities Sector Support Fund for possible funding to cover the consultancy fee.
This varies between organisations and you will be provided with this information including the timing of meetings, during the process of identifying a role of interest. The minimum time commitment for any trustee role is preparation for and attendance at meetings. Further time commitment will be outlined by the organisation when they register the opportunity with Trustee Match.
Timings of meetings and expectations of the role must be convenient in relation to your other commitments and this will be discussed as part of the Trustee Match process.
As part of the recruitment process for a trustee role, you may be invited to meet the team and observe a board meeting to gain first-hand experience of the organisation and decision-making in action. This will help to guide your selection of a role and often it is the atmosphere and formality of an organisation that confirms a decision to pursue a role with confidence that it is a ‘good fit’ for your own criteria and expectations.
In some cases, the reality of being a trustee doesn’t meet the initial experiences of the organisations. You are always in control of your trusteeship and support is available via Trustee Match if you feel that you may need to step back from a trustee position at any stage. If you have a concern about your experience with a charity, the charity’s own policies will guide your next steps.
In advance of every training session, you will be invited to submit questions for the speaker in advance via the Sector Support Manager. This will be asked by the Sector Support Manager at the start of the Q&A without reference to your organisation. The guest speaker may also invite a one-to-one conversation following the event.