Why become a charity trustee?

Since good corporate governance is essential for the success of any organisation, solicitors are sought-out members of boardrooms across all sectors. The quality of an organisation is dependent on the quality of its decision making. 

Broadly, there are three sectors in the UK: public, private, and the third sector, which covers charity and voluntary work. If you are thinking of gaining some board experience, I believe that joining a third sector board will help make you a better lawyer while allowing you to give something back to the community and society at large. Due to the cost of living crisis, fuel poverty and a rise in homelessness, the third sector has never been so important.

Board members of charities are trustees, as they are entrusted to protect public funds. They are regulated by OSCR, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator. If a charity is a limited company, trustees – as directors – will also need to be aware of their duties under the Companies Act 2006 and to HMRC. The Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Bill was introduced on 15 November 2022 and will give more power to OSCR to investigate former trustees and ex-charities, ensure the publication of all charity annual accounts and create a compulsory trustee database.

Forming a Scottish charitable incorporated organisation (SCIO) provides protection to trustees against liability and enables a charity to simply report to OSCR rather than both OSCR and Companies House.

Community action

I am currently the chair of a charity called the Pollokshields Development Agency (“PDA”), established in 1987. It provides facilities such as weekly lunch meetings for the community’s seniors, home schooling and after school activities, craft and cooking classes for women, language classes, mental health activities for men, and youth groups. Two of my immediate predecessors were practising solicitors. There may be a perception that charity board trustees are generally retired people. However, this is not always true: most board members at the PDA are in their 30s and 40s (although one board member is 90 years old). There are two other solicitors currently on the board, as well as a medical consultant, an electrical engineer, a Citizens’ Advice Bureau adviser, a businessperson and a media personality. The vice chair is also the vice convener of the Ethnic Minorities Law Centre and a board member of the West of Scotland Regional Equality Council. So, it is possible to be on multiple boards.

Work on a charity board can help solicitors develop as professionals. Being a charity trustee means being accountable to OSCR and Companies House. Dealing with this accountability will help a solicitor understand their own regulatory obligations to the Law Society of Scotland, Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, Scottish Legal Aid Board and, if the firm works for banks, the Financial Conduct Authority. Ensuring the charity’s funds are correctly managed will be good training when it comes to solicitors’ accounts and managing a client account. You also develop a keener insight into conflicts of interest, and this will help you recognise a conflict more readily in your professional life.

Board meetings are often attended by local councillors and professionals of other disciplines, and this is excellent experience in dealing with multiple stakeholders with (sometimes) competing priorities, and managing expectations of funders.

Learning curve

Being a charity trustee develops leadership skills, as staff members look to you for direction. You learn about managing staff as they are effectively employed by you. As a result, you will feel compelled to learn about employment law and regulations. Although you may have a manager who supervises staff, the ultimate responsibility lies with the board. All staff must have their right to work checked, and they must be aware of grievance policy and procedure. 

You have to learn quickly about IT and resource management, as without adequate IT backup the charity’s operations can come to a standstill very fast. You also become skilled in budgeting, management of public funds, project management, dealing with funders such as local authorities and financial institutions, ensuring liability insurance is in place, working in collaboration with other third sector organisations, and, of course, delivering services to the users. Make sure you read and review all policies on a regular basis and ensure that you are familiar with the charity’s constitution, ensuring good governance.

Excellent training in governance is available from the Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations, or SCVO. The Law Society of Scotland is also very supportive of charity work; a very comprehensive CPD programme took place in April 2022 entitled “Third Sector and Charity Law Conference”. I hope that a programme of this nature is planned again for 2023.

The work of a charity board member is very rewarding, as you get the chance to make a difference for the community. There is a feeling of contentment when you know that your work can help vulnerable members of the community.