Advertising

The advertising process

Many organisations and charities only advertise trustee positions to their own networks and people they already know, although advertising to your community is good it is also a wise idea to go further than this to try and attract a more diverse set of people and skills. Hiring only from friends and family can make it difficult to form professional relationships, get them to do formal applications and give appraisals and criticism.

What to include in your advert

• What your charity does.
• What skills and experience you’re looking for and why.
• Short explanation of what a trustee does.
• What the time commitment is.
• Any benefits- out of pocket expenses, training.
• Where the meetings are held. In person or remotely?
• How to find out more information.
• How to apply.
• Closing date for the application and interview dates.

Where to advertise your position:

• Trustee listing websites are a good place to start such as, Reach, Do-it, The Small Charities Commission and Women on Boards.
• It is also a good idea to go beyond this to look for people who haven’t already made up their mind about being trustees to try and access and persuade a more diverse group of people. Places such as Getting on Board, Team London, The Fore, Charity Job, The Guardian Jobs and Third Sector are good for getting the word out to a bigger range of people and catching someone’s eye.
• Advertise on your own social media sites, in your newsletter and on your own website. You can also put up posters in hospitals, universities, volunteer centres or send emails around to membership bodies that might include people you’re interested in recruiting.

Targeted recruitment:

If you have a person specification in mind, think about whereabouts you might find the kind of person you need and target places where you will be able to reach them with your position. Targeted advertising is about proactively recruiting and going after people rather than just expecting them to find you. Think about employers that might have people you are interested in, membership bodies and clubs, target business parks, professional associations, and Facebook and LinkedIn networks. You can also target publications, websites and online networks. You can contact the admin of Facebook and LinkedIn groups and ask them to post your advert for you as a great way to reach your intended audience.

Example text to send to an admin:

“I am a trustee of (organisation name). We run several projects for (your community and what you do). We are currently looking for new voluntary trustees and one of the areas of expertise we would like is (). I wonder if you could assist us by circulating the attached advert to any relevant networks or colleagues please. As well as being extremely rewarding and impactful, being a trustee is also a great personal and professional development opportunity.”

For more information on recruitment from start to end, the Getting on Board ‘How to recruit trustee boards’ guide covers everything you need to do.