Celebrating the people who lead from behind the scenes
There are nearly a million trustee positions across UK registered charities today*, with volunteers giving their time, expertise and judgement to help organisations they believe in. At a time of rising demand, tighter funding and increasing scrutiny, that contribution has never been more important, yet trustees rarely receive the recognition they deserve.
At cardfactory Foundation, our Board is entering an exciting new phase, making this a natural moment to reflect on the role itself: what it demands, how it has evolved, and what strong trusteeship looks like today.
Trusteeship is changing
Trustees have always been responsible for governance, accountability and compliance. Those responsibilities remain fundamental, but today’s boards operate in a far more complex environment. Economic uncertainty, rising demand, evolving regulation and greater public scrutiny mean trustees are increasingly expected to help organisations navigate change, strengthen resilience and maximise long-term impact.
The Charity Excellence Framework’s 2024 benchmarking survey found governance performance has declined since 2022**, particularly in areas relating to organisational purpose and board effectiveness. Rather than reflecting a lack of commitment from trustees, it highlights the increasingly challenging environment charities are working within and the growing importance of strong leadership at board level.
Trusteeship has become more demanding
Few people have witnessed that evolution more closely than Darcy Willson-Rymer, CEO of cardfactory and a trustee for numerous charities over many years, including 12 years with Stop the Traffik, where he spent four years as Chair.
Reflecting on his experience, Darcy believes the expectations placed on trustees have expanded significantly: “Historically, trusteeship was often driven by goodwill and a desire to support a cause. While those motivations remain important, today’s trustees are expected to oversee safeguarding, financial sustainability, impact measurement, cyber risk, data governance and organisational resilience, often alongside the traditional responsibilities associated with governance.”
That growing complexity means charities increasingly need trustees who can bring specialist skills, independent thinking and strategic perspective.
“Governance comes first,” Darcy explains. “Beyond that, trustees can bring expertise, challenge and support. They should act as critical friends to the executive team while also serving as advocates and champions for the organisation.”
Trustees have a responsibility not only to support a charity’s purpose, but to ensure it is equipped to survive and thrive in the years ahead.
Great trustees bring both heart and head
While professional expertise has become increasingly important, many trustees are drawn to charities because of a deeply personal connection to the cause.
For Sheila Campbell, CEO of Heart Children Ireland, that connection is woven throughout the Board itself: “The lives of the trustees on our board have all been directly impacted by congenital heart disease,” she explains. “They were either born with the condition, work in cardiology, have a child with it, or have lost a child who had it.”
That lived experience brings passion, understanding and authenticity to decision-making. But, as Sheila points out, it must be balanced with objectivity.
“The business acumen that trustees bring is invaluable, allowing us to remain well advised, financially responsible and well connected in a way we could not afford to be otherwise.”
A similar sentiment is echoed by Mandy Giddins, founder of Giddo’s Gift, who credits the charity’s impact to trustees whose personal connection to the mission drives their commitment: “I feel the strength of Giddo’s Gift lies in our trustees who care deeply about our mission because of their personal connection to it.”
Across the sector, the most effective trustees tend to combine those two qualities: genuine commitment to the cause and the professional expertise needed to help organisations grow sustainably.
Great boards are built intentionally
If trusteeship has become more complex, building effective boards has become more important than ever.
Darcy believes one of the key responsibilities of a Chair and Chief Executive is identifying the skills a board needs in order to help a charity succeed.
Every organisation is different. While some governance and business skills are universally valuable, boards should ultimately be shaped around the specific needs of the charity they serve.
“Trustees should be appointed for the skills and perspectives they bring,” he says, “rather than simply because they are interested in the cause or have a prominent profile.”
That thinking is increasingly reflected across the sector. At John Eastwood Hospice Trust in Nottinghamshire, Fundraising Innovation Manager Lisa Todd has seen first-hand how board composition has evolved in response to changing pressures facing both healthcare and charities: “Because we work in partnership with the NHS, their current financial struggles mean we’ve had to step up and change how we support the hospice,” she explains. “We can no longer just provide oversight, we have to be much more proactive.”
To meet those challenges, the hospice has deliberately built a board with expertise spanning clinical care, NHS leadership, legal services, business, accountancy and property, alongside deep local knowledge.
That breadth of experience has helped ensure the organisation remains financially stable and prepared for the future.
Governance is more than compliance
One of the most important shifts in modern trusteeship is the growing recognition that governance is not simply about compliance. At its best, governance helps organisations become stronger, more sustainable and more impactful.
For Darcy, one of the most valuable lessons trusteeship taught him was understanding the distinction between governance and management.
Trustees provide oversight, challenge and accountability, executive teams run the organisation day to day. While there will always be areas where the two intersect, understanding and respecting those boundaries is critical: “I used my time as a trustee to learn that discipline,” he reflects. “Whenever I felt tempted to step in and solve a problem directly, I treated it as an opportunity to practise maintaining the appropriate distance and exercising influence through governance rather than management.”
Healthy challenge is equally important. The most effective boards encourage robust debate, welcome differing perspectives and test assumptions, but challenge should strengthen decision-making rather than create dysfunction.
As Darcy notes, trustees should be able to disagree openly, debate rigorously and then unite behind agreed decisions. Once a decision is made, the Board’s role is to provide clear direction and collective support.
Never losing sight of impact
While governance, oversight and accountability remain central to the trustee role, the most effective boards never lose sight of why their organisations exist in the first place.
Tarek Khlat MBE, Chair of Centrepoint, the UK’s leading youth homelessness charity, believes one of the most important responsibilities of a trustee is ensuring the mission remains real and tangible:“The best trustees I’ve worked with never let the cause become abstract,” he says. “They ask the question that’s slightly uncomfortable, they make space for the people who’ve actually lived through what you’re trying to fix, and they care just as much about the books balancing as they do about the mission.”
His reflection captures a tension many trustees face. Charities need strong governance, financial discipline and robust oversight, but they also need leaders who remain connected to the lived experiences behind every decision.
“Being a trustee today means holding ambition and discipline in the same hand, and not letting either one win.”
That combination of rigour, curiosity and compassion helps organisations focus on meaningful outcomes rather than simply measuring activity.
At the cardfactory Foundation, trustees are valued not only for the oversight they provide, but for the culture they help shape.
“The best trustees don’t just ask the right questions in the boardroom,” says Pushpinder Gill, Head of the cardfactory Foundation. “They help shape the right culture beyond it.”
Under the leadership of Chair Brian Waring, the Foundation has strengthened its governance, strategic direction and long-term ambitions. Bringing extensive board-level experience and a deep commitment to social impact, Brian has helped build a culture that balances challenge with support while keeping the Foundation firmly focused on meaningful outcomes.
Brian concludes: “I’ve always believed that if you’ve been fortunate enough to have opportunities in life, there’s a responsibility to help create opportunities for others. That’s what trusteeship means to me. It’s about bringing your experience, judgement and perspective to help an organisation navigate challenges, grow stronger and create greater impact.
“Ultimately, you’re only ever a custodian for a period of time. The real measure of success is whether you leave the organisation in a better position than you found it, and whether, as a result, more lives are changed for the better. If you can say that, you’ve done your job as a trustee.”
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