BoardMatch 25 and counting

Written by Liz Magill, Community Development Project Manager, Connect

On October 10th, ELBA hosted its 25th BoardMatch event where employees of ELBA’s and The BIG Alliance’s business partners had the opportunity to hear from and meet 12 community organisations who are recruiting for charity trustees. BoardMatch events are hosted three times a year and form a part of the BoardBuilders programme. This programme aims to support charities in trustee recruitment. We know that 50% of charities are actively recruiting trustees across England and Wales at any given time. And we have seen that demand increase amongst the small and medium charities that ELBA and The BIG Alliance work closely with. An effective board of trustees should be able to draw on a diverse range of skills, knowledge and experience to help fulfil its roles. Business professionals play a vital role in ensuring the fulfilment of those roles and good governance – they do that by bringing the skills used in their day jobs to their trustee role.

In addition to the BoardMatch events hosted throughout the year, ELBA also shares open trustee roles on an ongoing basis at no cost to our community partners. This allows for charities and social enterprises to reach a wider audience when recruiting and for our business partners to be shown opportunities outside of the BoardMatch events. With the demand for trustees being so high, ELBA strives to support as many of our community partners as possible in recruiting trustees.

Since the beginning of the BoardBuilders programme, ELBA has helped to place over 420 trustees at east London and Islington community organisations. While becoming a trustee is a large commitment, it has incredible impact. It allows for increased engagement with your own community and is a meaningful way to contribute to amazing work being done. Additionally, becoming a trustee allows you to further develop your own professional skills and is an opportunity for development outside of your day-to-day job. ELBA is proud to have been able to help place so many trustees. As the programme has grown, ELBA is now also providing additional support and resources to alumni of our BoardBuilders programme. This includes a quarterly newsletter and hosting quarterly workshops or events for trustees that were placed through BoardBuilders. ELBA is hoping to create an engaged and supportive network of trustees and to be able to provide resources to support them in the incredible work that they are doing in their communities. Keep your eyes peeled in the new year for registration for BoardMatch26, to be hosted in early March. Hope to see you there!

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