A new report published this week by Pro Bono Economics (PBE) has revealed that many charity boards remain “incomplete“.
Less than four in 10 charities (37%) responding to the survey reported having a full board of trustees, leaving almost two-thirds (63%) reporting vacancies in some form.
As a result of the high vacancy rates, many organisations are now becoming overly reliant on very small teams to provide support in particular areas, which increases the risk of trustee burnout, according to the report.
“The closure of Getting on Board, the trustee recruitment and diversity charity, could not have come at a worse time,” the report says, referring to the news in October that the charity announced its closure amid “acute resourcing pressures” and an “increasingly challenging funding environment”.
Small charities left especially vulnerable
According to the report, small charities are finding it especially difficult to access the trustees they need.
Almost one in 10 reported that their boards were being “depleted”, which poses a long-term threat to small charities’ survival and negatively impacts the daily workloads of remaining staff and volunteers.
Smaller charities are also less confident in their board’s readiness.
Nearly six in 10 said they had the right blend of skills, compared to more than four in five large charities and nearly three-quarters medium-sized charities.
However, charities said they were most confident that their boards are capable of carrying out “traditional” functions like financial management and budgeting, identifying and managing risk, and legal and regulatory compliance.
Over half would describe their boards as either proficient or expert in these areas while almost one-third charities of all sizes rated their boards as experts in financial management and budgeting.
Beeing fit for the future holding most charities back
Meanwhile, funding was one of the most pressing challenges experienced by the charity sector, with 76% of charities citing income as their top concern. Many current boards do not appear to be adequately equipped to take on this challenge.
Some 44% charities in the report identified fundraising and income generation as a critical skills gap on their boards. Similarly, 39% suggested that marketing and communications were skills that are lacking.
Meanwhile, further research conducted by the Charity Commission in partnership with PBE offered some more positive findings, namely that eight in 10 trustees said they were likely or very likely to recommend their role to others.
Speaking yesterday at a Trustees’ Week event organised by accountancy and business advisory firm BDO, the regulator’s chief executive David Holdsworth said: “Trustees are a driving force in charities whose work is often unseen, taking place behind-the-scenes of charities’ front-line work.
“Trustees’ Week gives us a welcome opportunity, once a year, to bring their work into the limelight, to celebrate and thank trustees for the contribution they make, and support and encourage more people to step up and take on the rewarding role.
“These early findings offer us some confidence that while trusteeship is no doubt demanding and can be challenging, most of those who serve as trustees do so, at least in part, because they too benefit. To all who are not already trustees – please consider volunteering today.”
