In this blog, Linda, our Chairperson and a trustee of Horsham Matters, shares what being a trustee involves and what goes on behind the scenes.
At Horsham Matters, we currently have a Board comprising of 6 trustees. We come from a variety of different backgrounds, including Finance, People Management, Business and the Church. We are all volunteers but tend to be less visible to the public than other volunteers, given the nature of our roles.
I’ve lived in Horsham for over 30 years and have been Chair of Horsham Matters since the start of 2023.
What do trustees actually do?
It’s a question charities are often asked and it’s tempting to answer: “it’s complicated!”. But here goes…..
In law, trustees have ultimate responsibility for the running of a charity – it is down to us to make sure that the charity is doing what it is meant to do; that it is has clear direction, that it is financially sound; that it is complying with the law; that it has the right team in place and that all the systems, processes and policies are in place to enable it to run effectively. All of that gets wrapped up in words like ‘governance, compliance and strategy’. There is a clear distinction between ‘governance’ and ‘management’. We delegate day to day management of the charity to Kelvin Glen (our Chief Executive Officer) and his team, but overall responsibility rests with the trustees. This is a great responsibility, but we are all deeply committed to the mission of Horsham Matters and want to do all we can to enable it to meet the needs of people in our area.
How do we do all this?
Well – we have regular board meetings with Kelvin and other members of the management team, to review what is happening, to look at the accounts, to read client testimonials, to read and approve policies and to make key decisions. Once a year, we meet with the team to discuss, debate and agree our strategy for the future. In addition, some of the trustees volunteer their time in other ways, in order both to support the charity and to build understanding of day to day operations: James volunteers in the foodbank and Helen volunteers in the warehouse, we have all done shifts in the shop. All trustees bring different areas of expertise – for example we have a finance committee, chaired by Carolyn, which spends many hours poring over the monthly income and expenditure and annual accounts. As Chair of the Board it is also my privilege to be line manager to Kelvin, so we meet most weeks.
It is a joy when we can attend events and meet supporters, the staff, team and other volunteers to share and learn. Life as a trustee is rarely dull – there is always some new challenge to consider. Yet we are blessed with a very collaborative and caring group of trustees, supported by an amazing team of staff and volunteers.
We will be looking for one or two new trustees over the coming year, so if this is something that could appeal to you, please do reach out and email Kelvin at kelvin.glen@horsham-matters.org.uk
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