I wish I’d taken this opportunity earlier: my experience as a charity trustee

In 2019 I decided I wanted to take on a new challenge and do something to give back to the community and feel a sense of purpose. I heard about the volunteering activities that my colleagues and I at Lloyds Banking Group could get involved in with Lloyds Bank Foundation and their charity partners, including becoming a charity trustee. I thought this could be exactly the kind of challenge I needed.

I started to do some research – talking to others about their experiences of being a trustee to understand more about the commitment. I attended a trustee networking call where I heard other trustees talking about their roles and decided I wanted to be a part of this. My contact at the Foundation talked me through the type of opportunities that might be suitable and sent me details of a few roles to consider.

I took my time exploring the options and found a charity where my skills matched the key criteria they were looking for. The charity, Chapter Mental Health, is a mental health charity supporting individuals, communities, and workplaces to promote positive mental health across the West Cheshire area.

As we were in lockdown at the time, I couldn’t visit the charity in-person so I had video calls with the CEO and the Chair of Trustees to see if it would be a good match for both me and them. As a first-time trustee I didn’t know what to expect but I needn’t have worried - everyone made me feel at ease and I could instantly see how valuable my commercial experience could be to the charity and how I could make a difference. I started by joining a Board meeting as an observer to see how they operated and help me make a final decision. After that meeting I decided to take the plunge, officially becoming a trustee for Chapter in October 2020.

New opportunities

I quickly found that I could add a view to most discussions around the table and, since I am used to chairing governance committees in my day job, I became known for keeping things in order in board meetings, making sure that trustees voted on things when needed and that governance was all in order.

Since I work in risk management, my experience of writing policies and procedures and chairing governance committees was really valuable to Chapter – I became the go to person for reviewing policies and providing input on how the charity could improve these. I was also able to share my experiences of people management and human resources. I’m quite a hands-on person, so I loved being able to help with the recruitment of a new Operations Manager for the charity, including writing an interview script and undertaking the interviews with the CEO.

In May 2021, I was proud to be asked if I would take on the role of Deputy Chair for the Board, having been a trustee for less than a year. I jumped at the opportunity as I loved working with Chapter and felt this new role would bring me new challenges and opportunities. I began to work more closely with the CEO, Chair of Trustees and the Operations Manager as we drew up a new five year strategic plan. This activity was outside my comfort zone as I’d not done this type of thing at an organisational level before, but I loved being able to use my knowledge and insight to shape something so instrumental to the charity’s future.

Navigating challenges

In October 2021 we celebrated Chapter’s 30th anniversary which was a real highlight for all involved. Sadly however, our CEO, Daniel Rogers, died suddenly and unexpectedly a few months later. This was devastating news and the emotional impact on all the staff, volunteers and trustees was huge. The staff and volunteer team continued to deliver their frontline services while the Board’s immediate priority was to ensure that the strategic direction and operational plans continued to be delivered. This was at the forefront of our decision making as we reviewed our structure and delivery of services.

This was also a challenging financial time for Chapter with the UK economy in a period of high inflation and low growth. We recognised a need to review and revise our strategy, to further de-risk our finances and to focus as much resource as possible on front-end services so that we could best meet the needs of the people we support. This required some tough decisions to reduce staffing in support roles that were not service user facing. I had never been in this position before and it gave me real insight into the challenges of a Board role.

Despite the challenges, looking back it’s encouraging to realise that the actions we took helped provide a clear focus on what we wanted to achieve going forward, and strong foundations on which to build for continuing success in the future.

Reflections on the journey

After four years serving on the Board, I decided it was time for me to look for a new challenge and step down from my role at Chapter. During my time as a trustee, I have learned so much both on a personal and professional basis and I wish I had taken on an opportunity like this much earlier in my career. Personally, it has helped me to grow in knowledge – for example, learning how different a charity is to a commercial organisation like Lloyds Banking Group, what the charity commission does, what rules a charity needs to abide by etc. I have also grown in confidence as I’ve had to take on new challenges, dive in and have faith in myself and my contributions.

On a professional level, I’ve been able to bring my experience as a trustee back into my day job and consider things like what impact the decisions we make will have on customers, and how we could be doing things in simpler, smarter or more efficient ways. It’s also given me a new-found respect for the Board members at Lloyds Banking Group and the challenges they face when deciding the strategic future of the organisation.

If you’re considering becoming a charity trustee…

For anyone considering becoming a charity trustee, I would say go into it with your eyes open and do your research on the charity and what the role of a trustee involves. Being a trustee isn’t a tick box exercise and to get the most out of the experience you will need to get involved, do things outside your comfort zone and learn – but in my experience the benefits far outweigh the commitment.

I would also say choose your charity wisely – it needs to be something that excites you or you have a passion for. Mental health is really important to me as both me and close family members have experienced mental ill health which meant that a mental health charity was the right fit for me.

Understanding the local area where your charity operates is also important. It’s helpful for trustees to be able to meet with staff and volunteers, so you don’t want location to be a barrier. I was lucky that I could join a charity virtually for a large period of time as a result of the pandemic. However, not being close to the charity became a challenge when I wanted to join events in person.

Finally, I’d say just give it a chance - you know so much more than you think you do. Your commercial experience will be hugely beneficial to a small charity, and they will really value the skills and knowledge you can bring.

Lloyds Banking Group employees can find out more the Foundation's trustee programme and other opportunities to volunteer with charities by emailing volunteering@lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk. 

Looking to recruit new trustees?

If your charity is currently funded by us, we can introduce you to employees from Lloyds Banking Group who are interested in becoming a charity trustee. You will have the opportunity to specify any preferred skills you are looking for in a trustee and we will try to find the best fit for your organisation.