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Trustee Debates

In September 2011 we began our bi-monthly Trustee Debates.  We want to give all our member trustees an opportunity to meet around topics of interest to them in setting where they can discuss and share ideas with colleagues who are facing the same challenges.

So far the debates have been welcomed and we have been encouraged by the attendance and positive feedback we have received.

• 'The Trustee Debate was both useful and informative.'

• 'I like the timing, after working hours but not in the middle of the evening when we should be at home.  Venue handy, sandwiches nice!'

•  '......it was attended by a whole range of representatives of different charities of different sizes, funding arrangements and working practices.'

The first debate in September was on Partnership and Consortia and we were fortunate to have two experienced speakers: Janie Keeble from Westbank who has recent experience of forming a complex partnership within the sector and James Evans a partner in Foot Anstey who tackled the legal side of partnerships.

• 'It was also good having a lawyer to speak on this subject,that would inevitably involve legal input.'

• ' ..........it was good to get infomation on how these could be more formal, along with the posible pitfalls of both situations.'

The second debate in November was in Trustees Week and focussed on how to Strengthen your Board, we looked at a range of activities to help identify the current Boards' strengths and highlight any gaps, followed by a presentation from the Volunteer Centre on how to approach recruiting new trustees, in particular younger trustees. CLICK HERE to view the Charity Commission publication: 'A Breath of Fresh Air: Young People as Charity Trustees' [PDF 437KB]

• '........I found it useful to think about the specific issues involved in recruiting more trustees to our board. The format worked well for me, and was a good balance between giving us information and allowing time for questions and discussion.'

• '..........the speakers were good and the Toolkit pack is a brilliant template for future use'