Charities find diverse trustees through internet link-up

A link between the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations and an executive jobsite is enabling small and large charities to recruit more diverse trustees.

By using the internet, charities have been able to attract candidates from a wide range of backgrounds, age groups and geographical areas. Nicole Penn-Symons, chief executive of the Disabled Living Foundation, said she would continue to use the service to ìaccess disabled people and people of diverse ethnic origins to bring more balance to the boardî.

A significant number of charities have made successful appointments as a result of the service, according to analysis by ACEVOís partner, exec-appointments.com. They set up the service to address the criticism that too often charity boards are predominantly white, middle-class and middle-aged. Last summerís Tyson report called for more diversity on boards by recruiting non-traditional candidates.

Stephen Bubb, ACEVO chief executive, said: ìToo many charity trustees, like their corporate counterparts, are recruited at the golf club. Charities need to recruit diverse trustees with the right skills, but many canít afford national advertising. Tailored services are a cost-effective way of finding the best people.î

By using the service, the Disabled Living Foundation was able to interview a broad range of candidates. Ms Penn-Symons said three were appointed who were ìexactly the right fit and are already actively supporting the foundationî.

Wendy Hayward, vice chair of the Childrenís Information Centre, said: ìThe calibre of the candidates was excellent and we have now appointed three of them. We have gained directors who add breadth and experience to the board and whom we would have had difficulty reaching through other media.î

Carol Campbell, bursar at the Hospice of St Mary of Furness, said: ìIn a rural, fairly isolated area like Cumbria it is extremely difficult to attract new skills as we are constantly trying to pull from the same pool of people. The advertisement with exec-appointments.com enabled us to appoint two new trustees for the first time in eight years and they have brought a range of skills to the trustee board that we could only dream of.î

Betty Thayer, chief executive of exec-appointments.com, said: îOurs is the only service of its kind in the UK. We set out to provide a premier service for executives who were looking to broaden their career options and horizons. At the same we met the head of a small charity who did not have the right kind of trustees or the funds for a large recruitment campaign. They had run out of options. We decided to set up the service and it has been very successful.î

The exec-appointments.com initiative is supported by one of its key advertising partners, Classic FM. Thayer added: ìWe run the classicfm.com Classic Jobs section on their website where we frequently feature trustee positions to their audience of nearly seven million listeners and 500,000 web visitors.

ìBoth the charity and commercial sectors are realising that they need to access a wide pool of talent to ensure their boards are dynamic and diverse. Our feedback shows that the service is proving to be a fast, efficient and low-cost way for charities to attract high quality trustee candidates.î