Research and analysis

Trusteeship – a positive opportunity: understanding skills, experience and demographics in England and Wales

Published 29 April 2025

Applies to England and Wales

PBE is a think tank that uses economics to improve lives. Through analytical expertise and a close connection with the social sector, we help charities, funders, firms and policymakers tackle the causes and consequences of low wellbeing in the UK. PBE works closely with the economics profession to achieve its aims, building relationships between over 600 economist volunteers and supporting over 600 charities and social purpose organisations since 2009.

The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. We aim to be the expert Commission that is fair, balanced and independent so that charity can thrive. This helps to create and sustain an environment where charities further build public trust and ultimately fulfil their essential role in enhancing lives and strengthening society.

Summary

Trustees are at the heart of every charity, large  or small. They are responsible for ensuring their organisation meets its legal and financial obligations while delivering on its charitable purposes. Generous with their time, expertise and energy, the vast majority of trustees are unpaid volunteers. Despite the personal sacrifices  involved, most are overwhelmingly positive about trusteeship. This research demonstrates that trustees experience multiple benefits from their role – from a stronger connection with their community and the ability to help  shape society, through to career-enhancing development opportunities for people of working age.

Given the pivotal role trustees play, better understanding who  they are – their skills, experiences and demographic characteristics – is essential. This knowledge provides context into how  boards function, the diversity of perspectives shaping decisions and where there are gaps. This helps charities, policymakers and the Commission to take well-informed steps to support existing trustees, and to encourage more to step forward.

To better understand who  serves on today’s charity boards, the Charity Commission for England and Wales (the Commission) has been  working with Pro Bono  Economics (PBE), experts in social sector-based research, to conduct a new national survey of charity trustees. The survey was developed in consultation with organisations from across the charity sector. Fieldwork was undertaken by BMG Research  in July and August 2024; PBE’s analysis of the findings forms the basis of this report.

One of the primary takeaways from the research is the extent to which trustees benefit from their experience. Although trusteeship is a significant voluntary undertaking, the majority would recommend it to others (80%). Many trustees reported experiencing multiple and profound benefits, from feeling they are positively impacting the world (60%) to feeling more connected to a community or movement (65%), highlighting the rewards of responsibility. Overall, just 1% of the trustee population surveyed would not  recommend the role to others.

Trustees are also resoundingly positive about their experience in post. More than nine  in ten believe their contributions to board meetings are heard and respected (94%). The majority also agree that they feel valued and supported by fellow members of the board (93%), and that their contributions are welcomed and respected by staff and volunteers (91%). A large majority also have a strong understanding of their role and responsibilities (95%) and feel confident sharing their views in board meetings (95%).

While trustees, unquestionably, feel confident and well-equipped to discharge their duties, it is important to understand the skills and experiences that underpin and inform trustee decision making, including where there are gaps. Understandably, there will be some variation in the types of skills a board requires, with some skills being more or less relevant, and contingent on factors such as an organisation’s size, income and complexity. The findings suggest, among other things, that boards could benefit from more people with legal skills and experience, as several charities currently rely on external professionals to fulfil  this function.

Trustees come from all walks of life. While trusteeship is open to all ages (16+ or 18+), older  people currently fill most of these roles. People from an Asian background, people of mixed ethnicity and other ethnicities are less likely to hold trustee roles, in comparison with the general population. However, the ethnicity of older  age groups in the general population differs to the population as a whole and when we look at those over the age of 60, the only significant difference between trustees and the wider population of that age group is a lower percentage of people from Asian backgrounds (1% of trustees compared to 4% in the older  population). In the younger age group (under 60) there are proportionally more trustees who  are Black (7% compared to 5% in the population) and proportionally fewer  who  are Asian (5% compared to 11%).

Trusteeship is unique and vital to society. Charities would not  exist without people stepping up to the plate to volunteer their valuable time and expertise, and this research demonstrates that there is a pay-off, despite the commitment. Trustees say they are rewarded with an array of enriching personal and professional benefits.

The charity sector – a force for good

England and Wales are home to over 170,000 registered charities. ^{[footnote 1]}  They have an aggregated turnover of £94 billion per annum, and assets of £340bn, employing 3% of the UK workforce. ^{[footnote 2] [footnote 3]}  The charity sector is a significant part of the economy, contributing £17.8bn to the UK economy in 2020/21, equating to, approximately, 0.8% of total gross domestic product. ^{[footnote 4]} 6.7 million people – roughly one in nine  of the population of England and Wales (11%) – volunteer for registered charities ^{[footnote 5]}, and over 900,000 voluntary roles are undertaken by trustees.

The charity sector encompasses a broad range of organisations with significant variation in size, income and purpose. In every community, charities bring people together. Whether improving the nation’s health, boosting economic growth or supporting our arts and cultural heritage, the sector plays an essential role in service delivery and tackling some of society’s toughest challenges.

While the upward trend in demand for services and costs continues, income pressures and other challenges relentlessly test the sector’s stability and resilience. Despite the pressures and disruption of recent years, public trust in charities is at a 10-year high. This is testament to the unwavering dedication and professionalism of charity trustees, volunteers and staff. ^{[footnote 6]}

About this research

The Commission has been  working with PBE, a registered charity and think tank specialising in social sector-based research, to conduct a new national survey of registered trustees. The research aims to better understand the existing trustee population and inform ways to encourage and target more people to take up a trusteeship in the future.

The 2017 report, Taken on Trust, provided valuable high-level information about the skills and experiences of trustees in England and Wales. Given its age, it is beneficial to develop a new, more comprehensive dataset. In developing our trustee survey, we consulted with organisations across the charity sector, ensuring our questions would effectively represent the trustee population’s demographic traits, skills and experiences. Due to differences in survey design, focus and analytical approach, direct comparisons with datasets such as Taken on Trust are limited but are made in cases where they are still informative.

The survey was conducted by BMG Research and was produced in English and Welsh. We sampled trustees by their organisation’s annual gross income, oversampling in certain groups to ensure at least 200 responses from trustees of charities, within each annual gross income band. The data was then reprofiled to ensure the weighted base sizes reflected the overall profile of trustees on the Charity Register.

Table 1. Sampling methodology of the Charity Commission for the England and Wales Register of trustees

Annual gross income	Trustee emails 2024	Percentage of trustees	Achieved survey responses
£0–£10,000	205,834	28%	363
£10,001–£25,000	108,572	15%	235
£25,001–£100,000	142,219	20%	369
£100,001–£500,000	145,873	20%	346
£500,000–£1,000,000	30,242	4%	209
£1,000,001–£5,000,000	33,067	5%	354
£5,000,000+	19,006	3%	283
New  charities yet to complete accounts	37,910	5%	35
Total	722,723	100%	2,194

As weighted to the Commission’s Charity Register, the largest proportion of trustees came from organisations reporting an annual gross income of less than £10,000 (28%) (Table 1). The smallest group in the sample reported an annual income of over £5mn (3%).

The trustees who  responded to the survey came from a wide  range of charities, spanning various charitable purposes and regions. In addition to providing insight into the skills, experiences and demographics of trustees, the data also provides helpful insight into board structures, including trustee tenure.

Based on the findings, the most common principal focus areas of the organisations served by respondent trustees are culture and recreation (31%), education (30%) and health (22%). Only 2% of trustees are from organisations that focused on law and advocacy.

Figure 1 shows that those who  responded to the survey are most likely to be from an organisation operating in the South East (19% of trustees) and the South West (16%). By income, the most common regions in which the largest organisations (£5mn+) operated are nationwide (34%) and the South East (24%). The most common regions in which the smallest organisations operated are the South West (20%) and the South East (18%), partially due to these areas having more charities overall. However, the South West also had a higher proportion of micro organisations (less than £10k annual income) than any other region at 37%, compared to 28% overall.

Figure 1. Almost a fifth of trustees (19%) oversee organisations principally operating in the South East of England.

Proportion of trustees in England and Wales by operating region

South East	19%
South West	16%
National	13%
London	13%
North West	11%
International	10%
East of England	9%
West Midlands	9%
East Midlands	9%
Yorks and Humber	8%
Wales	6%
North East	5%

Notes: Fieldwork was conducted by CCEW  and  BMG  Research and in English and Welsh. The first  mailing was on 31 July 2024 and the second was on 9 August 2024. The survey was sent to 19,929 trustees, yielding 2,432 completed responses (2,1 94 valid responses after cleaning). Responses are weighted according to the annual gross income of the respondent’s organisation to ensure the results are representative of the population of charities in the CCEW’s Register.

Source: PBE analysis of CCEW and BMG Research, July to August 2024.

A charity’s governing document may  specify the minimum and maximum number of trustees each individual charity should have. Guidance from the Commission suggests that charities should aim for a minimum of three unconnected trustees. Charities need  enough trustees to govern their charity effectively, ensuring the board is small  enough to run meetings efficiently, while enabling effective discussion and decision making. The appropriate size of a trustee board often depends on factors such as the charity’s income level, the scope of its work and the complexity of its operations. The majority of trustees surveyed reported serving on boards of between four and 10 members (74%). Just over one in 10 (12%) trustees reported being on a board with three members or fewer. Perhaps unsurprisingly, small  and micro-organisations are more likely to have leaner governance structures.

The majority of survey respondents are either chairs (21%) or treasurers (16%). This distribution broadly aligns  with earlier  research and likely reflects the email addresses held  on the Commission’s Register. This selection bias may lead to skewed results in our data due to respondents’ specific positions and their perceptions of their boards. This should be considered when interpreting the results, especially to the attitudinal questions about their experiences in post.

Regarding tenure, our research found that the sector is reasonably balanced between long-serving trustees and those who  are new to their boards. We found the majority of the trustee population have served on their boards for four years or more (55%). Nearly a quarter of trustees have been  a member of their board for more than 10 years (22%). At the same time, just over a third of trustees have been  a member of their board for two years or less (36%). One in every eight trustees was new to their board, having been  a member for less than a year (13%).

This balance between experienced and new trustees in the trustee population can also be seen in the number of people who  are completely new to trusteeship. Half of the trustees surveyed said their current role is their first experience as a trustee (50%). Trustees from micro and small charities are slightly more likely to be new (55% and 53%, respectively) when compared with the very largest of charities with an income of more than £5mn (36%). Charities that are new, and had not  completed accounts yet, are much more likely to have first-time trustees (63% versus the average of 50%). However, given the smaller sample size of responses from new charities, there is some uncertainty in how  representative these figures are.

Overall, the structure and distribution of charitable organisations and their trustee boards is wide  ranging. Expectedly, more trustees serve smaller charities, as there are more of these organisations. The notable proportion of newer trustees may create an opportunity for fresh perspectives and ideas; however, there are benefits of the expertise offered by these individuals mixing with longer-standing, more experienced board members.

Do good, feel good: the rewards of responsibility

The vast majority of trustees are immensely positive about their experience of trusteeship, and would recommend it to others, demonstrating the rewards of responsibility. Trustees report multiple personal and professional benefits, such as feeling more connected to their local community, feeling more fulfilled, and meeting new and interesting people.

Trustees are also resoundingly positive about board dynamics, and their relationships with staff and volunteers. Most trustees feel both prepared and confident to contribute during board meetings. However, while most trustees feel their contributions are respected, not all believe their contributions are valued equally compared to others on the board.

A primary takeaway from this research is that trustees feel positively about trusteeship. When asked how  likely they are to recommend being a trustee to others, trustees from all backgrounds and experiences responded supportively. On a scale of zero to 10, 28% of trustees reported ‘10’, meaning they are extremely likely to recommend the role. Overall, eight in 10 (80%) trustees answered with ‘seven or above’. Only 1% said they are not at all likely to recommend being a trustee.

Among the many benefits that trusteeship brings is the opportunity to grow and develop professionally. However, for those further along in their careers, professional development may not be a key motivator or relevant benefit. As Figure 2 highlights, just over a quarter of trustees reported developing new skills (26%) and nearly  one in five said the role enabled them to develop leadership experience (19%). Nearly one in 10 (9%) reported that the role supports their career development (noting many trustees are likely well established within their careers or are retired).

Figure 2. Trustees experience a wide  range of benefits as a result of their roles.

Proportion of trustees reporting benefits as a result of their role.

Use existing skills in new context	66%
More connected to community	65%
Feeling of positive impact	60%
Meet interesting people	41%
I feel more fulfilled	38%
Meet people I wouldn’t normally	33%
I have developed new skills	26%
Leadership experience	19%
Career development	9%
Other	6%
None of the above	2%

Notes: Fieldwork was carried out between 31 July and 16 August 2024. The survey had 2,194 valid responses, weighted by organisational income for a sample representative of  the population of charities in the CCEW’s Register. Respondents could tick all that apply.

Source: PBE  analysis of CCEW and BMG Research, July to August 2024.

Career-associated benefits are particularly significant for younger trustees. As Figure 3 shows, over half of those aged under 30 said trusteeship supported their career development (57%). However, not only the youngest trustees experience career-related benefits. Almost four in 10 trustees in their 30s cited career development as a positive aspect of their role (38%), and just under one-third of trustees aged  between 40 and 44 also experienced these benefits (32%).

Figure 3. Younger trustees are far more likely to cite ‘career development’ as a benefit of being a trustee.

Proportion of trustees reporting career development as a benefit by age

30 and under	57%
31-39	38%
40-44	32%
45-49	24%
50-54	23%
55-59	15%
60-64	6%
65-69	2%
70-74	1%
75+	0%

The decrease in trustees citing career-associated benefits with age might well reflect the increased likelihood of exposure to these skills and experiences through senior  professional roles. Trustees that are mid-career – aged  between 30 and 50 – are more likely to have gained experience in strategic and governance settings through their professional lives. While career-associated benefits might not be as pronounced for older  trustees, trusteeship continues to offer benefits, from leadership development, advocacy and public speaking through to building a portfolio, if a trustee is considering a career change or enhancing their CV.

For many, trusteeship offers a chance to give back to society. In our survey, this was particularly prominent in comments from trustees aged  60 and above, who  considered that serving as a trustee was an opportunity to do so. This highlights the personal sense of fulfilment that many trustees feel when sharing the experience that they have gained throughout their lives:

I can use my 30 years’ experience to help the organisation.

Serving my community and the world as a result.

Regardless of age, being a trustee improves how  people feel about their lives and their sense of connection and purpose. For many, the opportunity to have a tangible impact on society is profoundly rewarding. Of those surveyed, six in 10 reported that the role made them feel like they are impacting positively on the world (60%) and nearly  four in 10 feel more fulfilled because of their trustee role (38%).

Trusteeship is also a means to expand social circles and build new relationships. Just under half of survey respondents reported that being a trustee helped them to meet interesting and like-minded people (41%), and one-third felt the role enabled them to meet people they would not normally have the opportunity to meet (33%).

Overall, nearly  two-thirds of trustees reported that being a trustee makes them feel more connected to their local community or to a movement that’s important to them (65%). Trustees consistently reported that their role improves how  they feel about their lives, their sense of belonging and purpose, and helps foster  connections with others who  share their commitment to making a difference.

In general, larger charities outperformed others, with the highest scores for most benefits being from trustees from these organisations. However, trustees from smaller charities reported a greater sense of connection with their local community.

As a member of the board, trustees are resoundingly positive about their contributions to the organisations they are supporting

Regarding participating in board meetings, the majority of trustees feel they understand the content of the papers presented (93%). More than nine  in 10 trustees feel their contributions to board meetings are heard and respected (94%) and feel confident sharing their views at board meetings (95%), underscoring a sense of value and purpose in their role.

Trustees reported good relationships across their organisations. The vast majority feel valued and supported by fellow members of their board (93%). These relationships are pivotal in fostering a cohesive and effective governance team. Beyond the board, trustees report feeling their contributions to their organisations are welcomed and respected by staff and volunteers (91%).

While the majority of trustees feel their contributions are respected, not  all believe their contributions are valued equally in comparison to others on the board. Trustees on the smallest boards (three or fewer  board members) or in micro organisations (<£10k income) are least likely to agree their contributions to board meetings are respected (86% and 92% agree, respectively) compared to the average (94%), as seen in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Trustees from larger charities are more likely to agree that their contributions to board meetings are heard and respected.

Level of trustee agreement that their contributions to board meetings are heard and respected by charity income band.

Trustee agreement	£10k or less	>£10k-£25k	>£25k-£100k	>£100k-£500k	>£500k-£1m	>£1m-£5m	>£5m	New charity; no accounts completed
Strongly Agree	58%	65%	69%	71%	69%	74%	77%	62.86%
Agree	33%	30%	26%	25%	26%	21%	21%	20%
Neutral	3%	1%	1%	1%	0%	2%	0%	3%
Disagree	0%	0%	1%	0%	NA	1%	0%	NA
Strongly disagree	3%	3%	2%	3%	3%	2%	1%	9%
Not applicable	2%	0%	1%	NA	0%	NA	0%	6%

Notes: Fieldwork was carried out between 31 July and 16 August 2024. The survey had 2,194 valid responses, weighted by organisational income for a sample representative of  the population of charities in the CCEW’s Register.

Source: PBE analysis of CCEW and BMG Research, July to August 2024.

We also found that trustees from new charities that have yet to submit their accounts are the least likely of all income bands to feel their contributions to board meetings are respected. Just 83% agreed or strongly agreed with the statement. Although this is still a positive result, the gap between this and the population average is noteworthy. However, an important caveat is the small  sample for new charities, which limits the extent to which we can say this finding is representative.

When we delved deeper into this question, we found that those who  had been  a trustee before are slightly more likely to agree that their contributions to board meetings are respected, compared to first-time trustees (96% compared to 92%). This highlights the importance of experience in shaping trustees’ confidence and perceived impact, as well as the potential challenges faced by newer trustees in, effectively, navigating their roles and board dynamics.

Existing trustee skills: strengths, gaps and opportunities

The trustee population feels confident and well-equipped to exercise their duties, recounting high levels of understanding and preparedness. More than nine  in 10 trustees reported understanding their roles and responsibilities (95%) and feeling qualified to fulfil  them (93%).

While the majority of trustees feel their boards are adequately resourced to discharge their duties, boards could potentially benefit from broadening skill sets, particularly legal skills and experience.

Trustees have independent control over, and legal responsibility for, their charity’s management and administration. This requires both general competencies and, in some  cases, specialised expertise, contingent on the charity’s purpose, activities and complexity.

In this context, the majority of trustees believe their boards have significant skills or experience in delivering services and meeting relationship needs with stakeholders. Trustees report ‘significant skills or experience’ on their board in areas such as ‘expertise in the services delivered by their organisation’ (71%) and ‘meeting the needs of clients/beneficiaries’ (65%), indicating that most trustee boards feel they are equipped for the delivery of their charity’s purpose and activities.

Respondents reported high levels of both strategic and governance skills among their fellow board members. In both skill domains, 90% reported that their boards had some skills/experience, significant skills/experience or that they accessed these skills elsewhere. Around half of trustees felt their board had significant skills or experience in governance (51%) and strategy (48%).

A critical role for all trustees is to ensure their charity complies with charity law requirements, and other laws applicable to the organisation, and has good governance. The findings showed that some boards could potentially benefit from more people with legal skills and experience. Figure 5 shows that a significant proportion of boards source  legal expertise externally (with 23% selecting the response option ‘We get these skills elsewhere’). This captures whether the board has access to these skills overall but does not quantify how readily available, or efficient, the skills are. They may be for some, but could be costly and limiting for others.

Figure 5. There is a mixed picture of skills present at the board level with most trustees reporting significant skills and experience in service delivery.

Perception of skills and experience at board level as reported by responding trustee.

Skill level	Significant skills/exp	Some skills/exp	No skills /exp	Skills sourced elsewhere	Not sure	Total
Service delivery	71%	24%	2%	2%	2%	100%
Needs of beneficiaries	65%	28%	2%	2%	4%	100%
Finance	59%	30%	3%	8%	1%	100%
Governance	51%	37%	5%	2%	4%	100%
Strategy	48%	41%	5%	2%	4%	100%
Safeguarding	48%	40%	4%	4%	4%	100%
HR	42%	44%	5%	5%	4%	100%
Volunteer mgt	38%	46%	9%	2%	5%	100%
Fundraising	35%	51%	7%	4%	3%	100%
Digital	31%	54%	6%	6%	3%	100%
Trading	30%	44%	14%	3%	8%	100%
Legal	26%	36%	12%	23%	3%	100%
Marketing	25%	49%	15%	6%	5%	100%
Campaigning	23%	48%	18%	3%	7%	100%
Fraud	22%	47%	15%	6%	9%	100%

Notes: Fieldwork was carried out between 31 July and 16 August 2024. The survey had 2,194 valid responses, weighted by organisational income for  a sample representative of the population of charities in the CCEW’s Register.

Source: PBE analysis of CCEW and BMG Research, July to August 2024.

In our survey, we also asked trustees to state in which region their organisation primarily operated, which allowed us to compare the prevalence of skills across different regions of England and Wales. Understanding regional trends may help  identify areas for targeted support.

We found that trustee boards across England and Wales vary in their access to legal, finance, strategy and governance skills. Of these skill areas, respondents are most likely to report that their boards had no legal skills or experience (12%). This was most pronounced in the East of England where 17% of boards had no legal skills, compared to 12% of all boards.

Figure 6. There is significant variation between regions in terms of perceived skills gaps on boards.

Proportion of trustee boards reporting no access to legal, finance, strategy and governance skill domains by region.

	Legal	Finance	Strategy	Governance
East of England	17%	7%	8%	9%
South East	14%	4%	6%	8%
Wales	13%	7%	8%	9%
West Midlands	13%	3%	6%	5%
South West	12%	3%	5%	7%
London	12%	4%	3%	3%
East Midlands	11%	1%	3%	1%
North East	9%	5%	6%	3%
Yorks & Humber	9%	3%	6%	5%
North West	8%	1%	4%	3%

Notes: Fieldwork was carried out between 31 July and 16 August 2024. The survey  had 2,194 valid responses, weighted by organisational income for a sample representative of  the population of charities in the CCEW’s Register.

Source: PBE analysis of CCEW and BMG Research, July to August 2024.

89% of organisations operating internationally have access to legal skills, with either skill and experience on the board or the ability to source  these elsewhere, compared to the overall trustee population (85%). Trustees from international and nationally operating charities are most likely to have significant legal skills and experience on their board (36% and 33%, respectively, compared to 26% overall). This likely reflects the scale and complexity of the operation of national and international charities, such as having to navigate complex legal frameworks and cross-border regulations.

Trustees are also charged with managing their charities’ resources responsibly, taking steps to protect their charities’ interests when investing or borrowing, complying with any restrictions when spending funds and ensuring that their charities’ assets are only used in furtherance of their objects.

While the majority of trustees reported their board had significant finance skills and experience (59%), this was also the skill set with the second- greatest reliance on external sources (8%). Wales and the East of England also had the joint highest proportion of trustees reporting ‘no skills/experience’ in finance/accounting on their boards (7%, respectively, compared to 3% of all trustees).

Trustees are most likely to report their boards had ‘no skills/experience’ in campaigning (18%), marketing and detecting and avoiding fraud (15%, respectively). In terms of campaigning, this is, perhaps, unsurprising given a significant proportion of charities do not campaign. However, the greater a charity’s income, the more likely it is to have these skills on its board or the ability to access these skills elsewhere.

There is an overall low prevalence of artificial intelligence (AI) skills for the trustee population (8%). While, perhaps, unsurprising in a rapidly evolving field of technology, this could, in part, be related to the overall age profile of the trustee population, with older  workers less likely to receive, or have access to, AI upskilling compared to their younger counterparts, as reflected in Figure 7. ^{[footnote 7]}

Figure 7. Younger trustees are more likely to report having AI skills.

Proportion of trustees reporting AI skills by age.

Age	AI skills
30 and under	21%
31 - 39	22%
40 - 44	17%
45 - 49	17%
50 - 54	14%
55 - 59	10%
60 - 64	9%
65 - 69	5%
70 - 74	3%
75+	4%

Notes: Fieldwork was carried out between 31 July and 16 August 2024. The survey had 2,194 valid responses, weighted by organisational income for a sample representative of  the population of charities in the CCEW’s Register.

Source: PBE analysis of CCEW and BMG Research, July to August 2024.

Across the list of 37 skill domains in the survey, just 3% of the trustee population responded that they didn’t have any of the skills listed. Interestingly, trustees from boards with over 20 members are more likely to report having none of the skills listed (11% versus 3% overall). However, this could be due to an inherent limitation in this survey, which relies on trustees making their own  assessment of the skill sets on their boards and, in turn, trustees’ knowledge and perception of their board peers. The respondents’ familiarity with their fellow board members (and how  easily quantifiable or evident skills are to the respondent) may impact the findings.

We also asked what qualifications the individual respondent trustees hold, and around 10% of trustees, on average, held  a qualification in each of the individual skills. The most commonly held  qualifications are in basic computer skills (23%), leadership (21%) and safeguarding (21%). The least commonly held  qualifications are in public affairs (3%), charity law (2%) and campaigning (2%).

Table 2. Basic computer skills and leadership are the most common qualifications held  by trustees.

The most and least commonly reported qualifications among trustees.

Top 5 qualifications
Basic computer skills	23%
Leadership	21%
Safeguarding	21%
Financial planning/budgets	18%
Accounts	16%

Bottom 5 qualifications
Cybersecurity/AI	3%
Bid writing	3%
Public affairs	3%
Charity law	2%
Campaigning	2%

Notes: Fieldwork was carried out between 31 July and 16 August 2024. The survey had 2,194 valid responses, weighted by organisational income for a sample representative of  the population of charities in the CCEW’s Register. Results from multiple choice question listing a wide range of skills, only some of which are shown here.  See annex for full list of skills.

Source: PBE analysis of CCEW and BMG Research, July to August 2024.

We found gaps in the incidence of formal qualifications between higher- and lower-income charities. For instance, 26% of trustees from charities with an income over £5mn hold a qualification in accounts, compared with 12% of trustees from charities with an income of £10,000–£25,000.

Interestingly, we found that trustees from smaller organisations are more likely to hold IT qualifications. Just over one-third of trustees from charities with an income of less than £10,000 (33%) hold  an IT-related qualification, compared with 14% of trustees from charities with an annual income over £5mn.

Individual trustees from charities with an income of less than £100,000 are less likely than higher-income charities to report having a skill in the majority of domains, with the exception of volunteer management and fundraising. More than three quarters of trustees of the largest charities reported having strategic, recruitment, change management, budgeting and risk management skills, compared to around half, or less, of those from charities with an income lower than £10,000.

Trustee boards have the potential to be innovative hubs, as trustees frequently draw on experience gathered from different sectors and contexts. This is felt to be one of the benefits of trusteeship, with two-thirds of trustees reporting that being a trustee allows them to ‘use their existing skills in a new context’ (66%). This highlights a unique opportunity to build cross-sector talent pipelines, ensuring that charities can meet their needs while enriching the lives of the people generously giving their time and experience.

Who  are today’s  trustees?

The existing trustee population is, importantly, made up of people from all walks of life, which shows that the voluntary impulse runs deep  and broad in society. A mix of backgrounds and perspectives on a charity’s board is likely to contribute to more well-rounded decision making and healthy challenge and debate.

There has been  a shift in the gender balance over the last eight years, although the extent of change varies depending on factors such as income. In 2024, around two in five charity trustees (43%) in England and Wales were female (in 2017, 36% were female). Chair and treasurer roles were more likely to be occupied by men,  with 65% and 63% of males in these roles, respectively. In comparison, 58% of secretary roles were filled  by female trustees. The role of vice chair  is the most gender balanced, with 48% of trustees in this role being female.

Figure 8. There are more male than female trustees, particularly in the Chair and Treasurer roles.

Population of England and Wales, and proportion of trustees in England and Wales, by role and gender.

Role	Female	Male
Secretary	58%	42%
Treasurer	37%	63%
Vice chair	48%	52%
Chair	35%	65%
Population (Eng & Wales	51%	49%
All trustees	43%	57%

Notes: Fieldwork was carried out between 31 July and 16 August 2024. The survey  had 2,194 valid responses, weighted by organisational income for  a sample representative of the population of charities in the CCEW’s Register.

Source: PBE analysis of CCEW and BMG Research, July to August 2024 and ONS population estimates for England and Wales.

The gender balance on trustee boards is not uniform by charity size, and there is a relationship between the gender of respondent trustees and the annual gross income of their organisations. As Figure 8 shows, trustees from smaller income organisations are more likely to be female, with this proportion decreasing as charity income rises. ^{[footnote 8]} Findings from the survey suggest that trustees from new charities are far more likely to be female than those from other organisations, but the small  sample size means that findings relating to this subgroup carry high uncertainty.

Figure 9. Smaller charities tend to have more female trustees, proportionally.

Proportion of trustees in England and Wales by organisation’s annual income and gender.

	New charity (No accounts)	>£5mn	>£1mn-£5mn	>£500k-£1mn	>£100k-£500k	>£25k-£100k	>£10k-£25k	£10k or less
Female	67%	32%	40%	36%	41%	40%	39%	48%
Male	33%	68%	60%	64%	59%	60%	61%	52%

Notes: Fieldwork was carried out between 31 July and 16 August 2024. The survey had 2,194 valid responses, weighted by organisational income for a sample representative of  the population of charities in the CCEW’s Register.

Source: PBE analysis of CCEW and BMG Research, July to August 2024.

The median age of trustees is between 65 and 69, with a mean age of 65. It is, therefore, unsurprising that 54% of trustees are retired, as 55% of trustees are of retirement age (over 65). This is compared to 22% of the population who  are retired, as seen in Figure 10. At the other end of the spectrum, people aged  44 and under make up only 8% of trustees, and just 1% overall are aged  30 or under.

Figure 10. Over half of trustees are retired, which is more than double the proportion in the general population of England and Wales.

Proportion of trustees in England and Wales by employment status, compared to the population of England and Wales aged 16+.

	All trustees	Population (Eng & Wales)
Retired	54%	22%
FT	24%	34%
PT	8%	12%
Self employed/Freelance	11%	9%
Not employed/Out of work/FT student	3%	23%

Notes: Fieldwork was carried out between 31 July and 16 August 2024. The survey had 2,194 valid responses, weighted by organisational income for a sample representative of  the population of charities in the CCEW’s Register.

Source: PBE analysis of CCEW and BMG Research, July to August 2024 and ONS economic activity status.

Of the trustees, 43% are employed. Of those, 24% are full-time, 8% are part- time and 11% are self-employed or freelance. Interestingly, the proportion of trustees struggling with the time commitment seems to increase with age. Just under half (45%) of those under 30 agree, or strongly agree, they have enough time to fulfil  their duties, compared to 14% of those 75+.

Smaller charities are more likely to have older  trustees. Figure 11 shows that 29% of trustees from organisations with an annual gross income of less than £10,000 are aged  75+, compared to 22% overall. The age distribution of trustees in each board role is similar to the overall trends across all trustees, for example, 55% of chairs are aged  65+. The exceptions to this are the vice chair  role and non-specific roles, which had, proportionately, more younger trustees.

Figure 11. Smaller charities are more likely to be governed by an older  board of trustees.

Age breakdown of trustees by their organisation’s annual gross income.

	New charity (no acc)	>£5mn	>£1mn-£5mn	>£500k-£1mn	>£100k-£500k	>£25k-£100k	>£10k-£25k	£10k or less	All organisations
Under 65	69%	60%	54%	57%	50%	43%	40%	36%	45%
65-74	23%	30%	31%	29%	32%	36%	31%	35%	33%
75+	9%	10%	15%	15%	18%	20%	29%	29%	22%

Notes: Fieldwork was carried out between 31 July and 16 August  2024. The survey had 2,194 valid responses, weighted by organisational income for a sample representative of  the population of charities in the CCEW’s Register.

Source: PBE analysis of CCEW and BMG Research, July to August 2024.

The trustee population is comprised of people from all backgrounds. When compared to the general population of England and Wales overall (age 16+), a smaller percentage of trustees are from ethnic minority backgrounds (8% compared to 17%). However, when we look at the ethnicity of trustees and the population by age group, we see that much of the difference in ethnicity is a factor of age.

Due to the large  proportion of white people in both the trustee and general population (92% and 83%, respectively), Figure 12 focuses only on the ethnic minority groups within each population to compare where there are differences between age groups. It shows that the ethnicity of trustees aged  60 and over is similar to the general older  population for most groups. There is a 3 percentage point (ppt) difference in ethnic minority representation overall, which is due to a smaller percentage of Asian trustees (1% compared to 4% in the older  population). For younger trustees, under the age of 60, there is a 5ppt difference overall in ethnic minority representation compared to the general population of the same age, with much of this difference again due to fewer  Asian trustees compared to the general population (5% compared to 11%). However, in this younger age group, we see that there are proportionally more Black trustees than in the general under age 60 population (7% compared to 5%).

Figure 12. Ethnicity varies by age group in the trustee population and general population.

Comparison of proportion of minority ethnic people in the trustee and general population of England and Wales, by age group.

	Age 16+		Age under 60		Age 60+
	Trustees	Population	Trustees	Population	Trustees	Population
Other	1%	2%	1%	2%	1%	1%
Mixed ethnicity	1%	2%	3%	3%	1%	1%
Black	3%	4%	7%	5%	2%	2%
Asian	3%	9%	5%	11%	1%	4%

Notes: Fieldwork was carried out between 31 July and 16 August 2024. The survey had 2,194 valid responses, weighted by organisational income for a sample representative of  the population of charities in the CCEW’s Register.

Source: PBE analysis of CCEW and BMG Research, July to August 2024 and ONS census data.

Comparing the ethnicity of people in different roles on the board, 91% of charity chairs are white, compared with 83% of the general population and 92% of trustees overall. The role of vice chair  is currently the most ethnically diverse  trustee role, with 14% of postholders being from an ethnic minority, compared to 17% of the general population.

Figure 13. Some board roles seem to be more ethnically diverse than others.

Comparison of proportion of minority ethnic people in the trustee and general population of England and Wales, by board role.

	Secretary	Treasurer	Vice Chair	Chair	Trustees	Population (Eng & Wales)
Other	NA	1%	NA	2%	1%	2%
Mixed ethnicity	NA	0%	5%	1%	1%	2%
Black	4%	3%	3%	4%	3%	4%
Asian	3%	4%	6%	2%	3%	9%

Notes: Fieldwork was carried out between 31 July and 16 August 2024. The survey  had 2,194 valid responses, weighted by organisational income for  a sample representative of the population of charities in the CCEW’s Register.

Source: PBE analysis of CCEW and BMG  Research, July to August 2024 and ONS census data.

As Figure 14 shows, nearly  six in 10 trustees come from a professional socioeconomic background (57%), compared to just over one-third of the working age population (37%). By comparison, just under one-third of trustees come from a working class background (29%). This pattern holds true across board roles. The socioeconomic background of people in the role of vice chair  was most similar to the working age population.

Figure 14. There are fewer  people from working class backgrounds in the trustee population.

Trustees by occupation of the main household earner at age 14, split by specific board roles and compared to the UK working population.

	Secretary	Treasurer	Vice chair	Chair	All trustees	Working population
Working class background	34%	30%	31%	31%	29%	39%
Intermediate background	10%	12%	23%	13%	14%	24%
Professional background	56%	58%	46%	57%	57%	37%

Notes: Fieldwork was carried out between 31 July and 16 August 2024.  The survey had 2,194 valid responses, weighted by organisational income for a sample representative of  the population of charities in the CCEW’s Register.

Source: PBE analysis of CCEW and BMG Research, July to August 2024 and the Social Mobility Commission’s  toolkit.

Household income shows a similar pattern: the median household income bracket among trustees is £50–59,000, compared to £34,500  nationally. At least 65% of trustees are above the national median household income.

Of the trustees, 4% identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or a sexual orientation other than heterosexual, aligning closely with the general population (3.8%). However, 6% of survey respondents selected ‘prefer not to say’ for this question and, therefore, are not included in this statistic. Considering the high non-response rate to this question, the comparison with the general population is one made with caution.

The number of respondents who  reported that they did not identify with their sex assigned at birth was too small  statistically to report on separately.

By board role, the highest proportion of trustees who  identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or a sexual orientation other than heterosexual are among chairs and vice chairs (6%, compared to 4% of trustees overall). The lowest proportion are secretaries (2%) and treasurers (3%).

17% of the sampled trustee population identified as having a disability or long-term health condition compared with 24% of the general population.

Figure 15. People with a disability are under-represented among trustees. All trustees by whether they identify as having a disability, neurodivergence, learning disability, learning difficulty, or long-term health condition, compared to the UK population.

All trustees	17%
Population (Eng & Wales)	24%

Notes: Fieldwork was carried out between 31 July and 16 August 2024. The survey had 2,194 valid responses, weighted by organisational income for a sample representative of  the population of charities in the CCEW’s Register.

Source: PBE analysis of CCEW and BMG Research, July to August 2024, and ONS census data.

Recruitment, training and tenure

While the majority of trustees have a positive experience and find  the role rewarding, there is room for more people to step forward and join the existing trustee population, to benefit from everything trusteeship has to offer and ease the burden of responsibility where there are gaps on boards.

The majority of charities rely on their existing networks to find  and recruit trustees. One in three trustees (29%) were asked to join their board by the chair. One in four (24%) were asked to join by another board member, or through nomination or election by members of the organisation (24%). Conversely, only one in 17 people responded to an advert for the position (6%).

Just under half (49%) of trustees were from organisations that appointed members for a fixed term, while 43% appointed board members for an indeterminate period. Approximately one in every 12 trustees (8%) were unsure whether their organisation appointed trustees for a fixed term or not.

Figure 16. Boards  with larger annual incomes are more likely to use fixed- term appointments.

Proportion of charity trustee reporting on knowledge of fixed-term appointments, by annual income.

	Total	£10k or less	>£10k-£25k	>£25k-£100k	>£100k-£500k	>£500k-£1mn	>£1mn-£5mn	>£5mn	New charity; no accounts completed
No fixed-term	43%	54%	47%	45%	32%	30%	27%	16%	40%
Not sure	8%	9%	8%	8%	4%	5%	4%	2%	29%
Fixed-term appointments	49%	37%	46%	47%	64%	65%	68%	83%	31%

Notes: Fieldwork was carried out between 31 July and 16 August  024. The survey  had 2,194 valid responses, weighted by organisational income for a sample representative of  the population of charities in the CCEW’s Register.

Source: PBE analysis of CCEW and BMG Research, July to August 2024.

Of the trustees, 48% felt they had access to the training needed to fulfil their role, and 26% neither agreed nor disagreed. Those in smaller organisations are much less likely to agree that they had access to sufficient training. Just over one-third (33%) of trustees from organisations with less than £10,000 gross annual income agreed they had access to sufficient training, compared to just over three-quarters (77%) of those from charities with over £5mn gross annual income.

While most charities do make it clear that trustees can claim expenses (58%), trustees from larger organisations are more likely to be aware  of this process. For example, 75% of trustees from organisations with a gross annual income over £5 million agreed that their charity makes it clear they can claim expenses. However, this was less clear to trustees from micro and small  charities. Around one-third of trustees from micro charities said their charity does not make it clear they can claim expenses  (31%, compared to 26% overall). We also found that the majority of trustees do not experience financial pressures as a result of their trusteeship (82%).

Conclusion

Trustees perform a vital public service and deserve society’s appreciation for their contribution. It is a significant responsibility, but one that brings personal and professional enrichment.

Trusteeship is open to almost everyone and this research shows where there are opportunities for more people to get involved, to ensure charities are governed by well-rounded, thriving boards into the future, and to help relieve any pressure points on existing trustees.

While the purpose of this report was to present factual findings, and, therefore, does not contain recommendations for the future, there are notable findings and insights within it for all those invested. We hope the research will inform future discussions by policymakers and the charity sector itself, acting as a springboard for further action to expand the trustee community in England and Wales.

Annex  A – Research  methodology

The survey was developed by a project team comprised of Commission and PBE research and policy staff members. When developing the question set, we consulted with several representatives from across the charity sector, and we are grateful for their feedback. These organisations are:

• ACEVO
• Equally Ours
• Funders for Racial Equality
• Getting on Board
• LGBT Consortium
• Mencap
• NCVO
• Queer  Trustees/Charity So Straight
• Reach Volunteering
• Scope
• Social Mobility Foundation
• Young Trustees Movement

Table 1 - Unweighted sample by organisations’ annual gross income

Annual gross income of organisation	Unweighted frequency
Less than £10,000	363
£10,001 – £25,000	235
£25,001 – £100,000	369
£100,001 – £500,000	346
£500,001 – £1 million	209
£1,000,001 – £5 million	354
Over £5 million	283
My charity is new and has not completed accounts yet	35

Following the sampling strategy used in Taken on Trust, trustees were sampled based on the CCEW’s public Charity Register in England and Wales by annual gross income, with oversampling in the higher income bands to account for the smaller percentage of overall charities. The data has been  reprofiled to ensure the weighted base sizes reflect the overall profile of trustees on the Register, ensuring at least 200 responses in each band.

Due to differences in survey design, focus and analytical approach, direct comparisons with datasets such as Taken on Trust are limited.

Fieldwork was conducted by BMG Research and was conducted in English and Welsh. The first mailing went out on 31 July 2024, and the second on 9 August 2024. The survey was sent to 19,929 trustees, yielding 2,432 completed responses (2,194 valid responses after cleaning).

Survey responses were collected by BMG Research  and provided directly and securely by BMG Research  to PBE. Quality control was conducted by BMG Research  to check for duplicates, abnormally quick response times and evidence of unsuitability in the free text responses, but no removals were made.

PBE completed several manual data  cleaning steps, to prepare variables for analysis, as follows:

• Ethnicity: A grouped variable was created to report on the standard ONS ethnicity groups: white, Asian, Black, mixed race and other.
• Main  household earner’s  occupation at 14: A grouped variable was created to report on the standard socioeconomic background groups: professional background, intermediate background and working-class background.
• Gender: derived based on the questions ‘What is your sex?’ and ‘Is the gender you identify with the same as your sex registered at birth?’ Entries from these questions were also used to identify transgender respondents.
• Sexual orientation: Manually recoded some  respondents as LGBT+ or not based on free text responses.
• LGBT+ identification: A summary variable was created based on the gender identity and sexual orientation questions, whether these had ‘prefer not to say’ responses, and any manual recoding based on free text responses that indicated a misinterpretation of the question.
• Age weight: A column was created to weight responses by age band based on Census 2021 figures on expected proportions of the population in each age band.

All proportions were drawn from weighted frequency tables created in R. As described, the weights relate to the sample stratification by respondents’ reported organisations’ annual gross income.

Statistically significant differences between responses by group were determined using Chi-Squared tests, one-sample proportion tests or two- sample proportion tests. The one- and two-sample proportion tests were mainly used to compare the demographic characteristics of the sample to the population. These three methods were considered most appropriate for comparing across the categorical variables, which, in most cases, are non-ordinal.

The exception to this are the Likert scale questions; however, there is debate over whether these variables can be considered truly ordinal as the ‘distance’ between scale points is not  clear to respondents. Therefore, for these questions, the responses were grouped into ‘agree’, ‘neutral’ and ‘disagree’ and Chi-Squared tests were run on the transformed results.

The Chi-Squared tests were conducted in R with the ‘svychisq’ function from the ‘survey’ package, as this function calculates the Rao-Scott correction, necessary  for using Chi-Squared on weighted frequencies. All tests were conducted at the 95% significance level. Where multiple tests were run on the same tables, Bonferroni corrections were included, to control for inflated Type-1 errors. The following are the data transformations for specific questions:

• For the question on whether trustees would recommend their role on a scale of 0–10, the responses from 0–4 were collapsed due to very small  frequencies at the lower end of the scale.
• For comparisons across income bands, when conducting testing, the band for new charities, which had not yet completed accounts were removed due the small  raw sample size in this stratum.

All findings reported on are statistically significant, other than those noted in the text. The other exception to this was for the questions in the survey for which respondents could check all options that applied. As one respondent could select multiple options, the independence of observations between groups was violated. Because of this, statistical testing was not conducted on most of these questions, so the findings reported on from these questions are not limited to statistically significant findings. This includes all findings from the following questions:

• Do you have skills in any of these areas?
• Do you hold a recognised qualification in any of these areas?
• From the list provided below, please indicate the term that best describes the principal focus of the work of your organisation.
• What region does the organisation principally operate in?

Demographic comparisons in Section 1, which refer to the population, where possible, refer to the 16+ population of England and Wales, with footnotes indicating where the reference population figures do not match this. This is to align with the eligible population for trusteeship for the organisations regulated by the Charity Commission for England and Wales. The population figures have been  taken from the ONS Census 2021 data where possible. The only exception was for socioeconomic background, as the population figures for this were taken from the Social Mobility Commission’s toolkit.

Key demographics tables

Table 2 – Full age breakdown of trustees

Age band	Proportion of trustees
30 and under	1%
31–39	3%
40–44	4%
45–49	5%
50–54	8%
55–59	10%
60–64	15%
65–69	15%
70–74	18%
75+	22%

Table 3 – Expanded ethnicity breakdown of trustees

Ethnicity	Proportion of trustees
Arab or Arab British	0.2%
Any other Arab background	0.2%
Bangladeshi or Bangladeshi British	0.1%
Chinese  or Chinese  British	0.3%
Indian or Indian British	1.3%
Pakistani or Pakistani British	0.5%
Any other Asian background	0.5%
African or African British	2.6%
Caribbean or Caribbean British	0.5%
Any other Black background	0.1%
White or White British and Asian or Asian British	0.8%
White or White British and Black African or Black
African British	0.1%
White or White British and Black Caribbean or Black Caribbean British	0.1%
White or White British and Arab or Arab British	0.1%
Any other mixed or multiple ethnic backgrounds	0.3%
British, English, Scottish, Welsh  or Northern Irish	86.9%
Gypsy or Irish Traveller	0.0%
Irish	1.3%
Any other white background	3.4%
Any other ethnic background	0.8%

Table 4 – Expanded main household earner’s occupation at age 14 of trustees

Occupation of main householder earner at age 14	Proportion of trustees
Modern professional and traditional professional occupations such as teacher, nurse, physiotherapist, social worker, etc	32%
Senior, middle or junior managers or administrators such as finance manager, chief  executive, large  business owner, etc	20%
Clerical and intermediate occupations such as secretary, personal assistant, call centre agent, clerical worker, etc	5%
Technical and craft occupations such as motor mechanic, plumber, printer, electrician, gardener, train driver	13%
Routine, semi-routine manual and service occupations such as postal worker, machine operative, security guard, etc	13%
Long-term unemployed (claimed Jobseeker’s Allowance or earlier unemployment benefit for more than a year)	0%
Small business owners who  employed less than 25 people such as corner shop owners, small  plumbing companies, etc	8%
Other	4%
Don’t know	1%
Not applicable	1%
Retired	1%

Annex  B – Trustee  survey

Here are the questions that were circulated with trustees, collecting data that formed the basis of our analysis.

Thank you for participating in this survey. As the regulator of charities in England and Wales, we want to better understand charity trustees and their skills, background and experience. Completing this survey will help us improve our communications and support to you. It will also help  us identify any significant gaps and how  we might encourage people to become trustees in the future.

To help  achieve this we are working in partnership with a third party called Pro Bono  Economics. Pro Bono  Economics is a registered charity (1130567) and research specialist, which will independently analyse the anonymous responses to this survey. The survey is hosted by BMG Research, a leading independent provider of market research services to the UK public and social sectors. The Charity Commission will not have access to the survey results.

Section 1: About your role as a trustee

In this section we will ask you about your role as a trustee (also called  board member or management committee member). If you are a trustee for multiple organisations, please choose  just one organisation (and your role there) to focus on.

1.Do you hold any of the following specific roles on the board (either formally or informally)? If you hold multiple roles on a single board, please select the option that best describes your primary role (Please select one option)

a. Chair

b. Vice Chair

c. Treasurer

d. Secretary

e. Other (please specify)

f. None  of the above

g. Not sure

2.Is your current role your first experience of being a trustee?

a. Yes

b. No, I have been  a trustee before

c. Not sure

d. Prefer not to say

3.How long have you been  a member of the board (whole years)? (please select one option)

a. Less than one year

b. 1 year

c. 2 years

d. 3 years

e. 4 years

f. 5 years

g. 6 – 10 years

h. More than 10 years

i. Prefer not to say

4.Which of the following processes  best reflects the manner in which you joined the board? (Please select all that apply)

a. Asked by the Chair

b. Asked by another board member

c. Asked by a family member or friend not on the board

d. Asked by a staff member of the organisation

e. Nominated/elected by members of the organisation

f. Approached by a recruitment firm

g. laced  or introduced by a volunteer centre

h. Responded to an advert

i. Other (please specify)

5.My charity makes it clear that, as a trustee, I can claim my expenses:

a. Yes

b. No

c. Unsure

d. Prefer not to say

6.How  likely is it that you would recommend being a trustee to others?

a. From 0 (not at all likely) to 10 (extremely likely)

7.What are the benefits you experience from being a trustee? (Tick all that apply)

a. Feel I am having a positive impact on the world

b. I have developed new skills

c. Allows me to use my existing skills in a new context

d. Enables  me to develop leadership experience

e. Supports my career development

f. Meet interesting and likeminded people

g. Meet people I wouldn’t normally meet

h. I feel more connected to my local community or to movement that’s important to me

i. I feel more fulfilled

j. Other (please specify)

k. None  of the above

Section 2: Your experiences of being on the board

8.  As a member of the board (please select one option for each statement):

• My contributions to board meetings are heard and respected • I feel confident sharing my views at board meetings • My contributions to the organisation are welcomed and respected by staff and volunteers • I have a good working relationship with the Chair of the board • I understand the content of the papers presented to board meetings • I feel valued and supported by my fellow board members

• Strongly disagree • Disagree • Neutral • Agree • Strongly Agree • Not applicable • Prefer not to say

9.As a member of the board (please select one option for each statement):

• I fully understand my role and responsibilities • I feel qualified to fulfil  my role • I can find  enough time to meet all my duties as a trustee • I have access to the training I need  to fulfil  my role • Being a trustee creates financial pressure for me • Board meetings are held  at convenient times for me • I would like to step down from my trustee role, but don’t feel able to

• Strongly disagree • Disagree • Neutral • Agree • Strongly Agree • Not applicable • Prefer not to say

10.Did your organisation provide you with a description covering the role and responsibilities associated with your position on the board? (Please select one option)

a. Yes

b. No

c. Not sure

11. Do you have first-hand experience of the cause your organisation focuses on? This tends to be most relevant to service delivery or campaigning organisations. For example, you might be someone who has experienced homelessness who  is a trustee of a homelessness charity; or someone with a disability who  is a trustee of a disability charity.

a. Yes

b. No

c. Not sure

d. Prefer not to say

12. Are you satisfied with the board’s diversity in terms of:

• Ethnicity • Disability • Age • Sexual orientation • Religion/faith • Gender • Social class • Personal experience of the organization’s services or issues of focus

• Satisfied • Not satisfied and planning to address  this • Not satisfied but no formal plans to address this • Not relevant • Don’t know

13. Have you experienced any discrimination while performing your role as a trustee? By “discrimination” we mean being treated less fairly than someone else because of your age, disability, gender reassignment, being married or in a civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

a.  Yes

b.  No

c.   Not sure

d.  Prefer not to say

Section 3: Your background and skills

14. Do you have skills in any of these areas (please select all that apply).  Do you hold a recognised qualification in any of these areas (please select all that apply)

a. Governance and Leadership

i. Leadership

ii. Governance

iii. Negotiation

iv. Strategic planning

v. Risk management

vi. Change management

vii. Policy development

b. Charity sector knowledge/experience

i. Experience of the charity or wider voluntary sector

ii. Experience of the services provided by your charity

c. Legal

i. Charity law

ii. Other legal

d. HR and People

i. Safeguarding

ii. Team working

iii. Influencing and motivating others

iv. Setting objectives for others

v. Engagement and relationship handling

vi. Recruitment and interviewing

vii. Conflict resolution/mediation

viii. Developing organisational culture

ix. Volunteer management

e. Equality, equity diversity and inclusion

f. Finance

i. Financial planning/budgeting

ii. Auditing

iii. Accounts and scrutiny of financial information

iv. Investments, including social investment

v. Detecting or avoiding fraud

g. Digital

i. Basic computer skills, such as using email, the internet, meeting platforms, such as Zoom, Teams and Google Meet, and Microsoft Word

ii. Data protection

iii. Cyber security

iv. Artificial intelligence (AI)

h. Income Generation

i. Fundraising

ii. Bid writing

iii. Trading/sales/commercial skills

i. Communications and Marketing

i. Marketing

ii. Campaigning

iii. Social

iv. Media

v. Public affairs

j.    Public speaking and presenting

15. What was the occupation of your main household earner when you were about aged 14? (Please select one option)

a. Modern professional & traditional professional occupations such as: teacher, nurse, physiotherapist, social worker, musician, police officer (sergeant or above), software designer, accountant, solicitor, medical practitioner, scientist, civil / mechanical engineer.

b. Senior, middle or junior managers or administrators such as: finance manager, chief  executive, large business owner, office manager, retail  manager, bank manager, restaurant manager, warehouse manager.

c. Clerical and intermediate occupations such as: secretary, personal assistant, call centre agent, clerical worker, nursery nurse.

d. Technical and craft occupations such as: motor mechanic, plumber, printer, electrician, gardener, train driver.

e. Routine, semi-routine manual and service occupations such as: postal worker, machine operative, security guard, caretaker, farm worker, catering assistant, sales assistant, HGV driver, cleaner, porter, packer, labourer, waiter/waitress, bar staff.

f. Long-term unemployed (claimed Jobseeker’s Allowance or earlier unemployment benefit for more than a year).

g.  Small business owners who employed less than 25 people such as: corner shop owners, small plumbing companies, retail shop owner, single restaurant or cafe owner, taxi owner, garage owner.

h. Other such as: retired, this question does not apply to me, I don’t know.

i. Prefer not to say

16. Which type of school did you attend for the most time between the ages of 11 and 16?

a. A state-run or state-funded school

b. Independent or fee-paying school

c. Independent or fee-paying school, where I received a means tested bursary covering 90% or more of the total cost of attending throughout my time there

d. Elected home education

e. Attended school  outside the UK

f. I don’t know

g. Prefer not to say

17. If you lived in the UK and finished school  after 1980, were you eligible for free school  meals at any point during your school  years?

a. Yes

b. No

c. Not applicable (finished school  before 1980 or went to school overseas)

d. I don’t know

e. Prefer not to say

18. Do you have a religion or belief?

a. No religion

b. Roman Catholic

c. Protestant

d. Other Christian (please state)

e. Buddhist

f. Hindu

g. Jewish

h. Muslim

i. Sikh

j. Any other religion (please state)

k. Prefer not to say

19. Is English your first language?

a. Yes

b. No

c. Prefer not to say

20. How  well do you feel that each of the following skill needs are met by the current membership of your board? (Please select one option for each skill)

• Legal • Financial/Accounting • Strategic Planning • Expertise in the services you deliver • Needs of clients/beneficiaries • Safeguarding skills • Fundraising • Detecting & Avoiding fraud • Trading/Commercial skills • Campaigning • Marketing • Digital/On line • Governance • People/HR skills • Volunteer management

• No skills /experience • Some skills /experience • Significant skills/ experience • We get these skills elsewhere • Not sure • Not applicable

21. What was the gross level of income (from all sources) achieved by your organisation in the last financial year? (Please select one option)

a. Less than £10,000

b. £10,001 - £25,000

c.  £25,001 - £100,000

d. £100,001 - £500,000

e.  £500,001 - £1 million

f.  £1,000,001 - £5 million

g.  Over £5 million

h. Not sure

i.  My charity is new and has not completed accounts yet

22. From the list provided below please indicate the term that best describes the principal focus of the work of your organisation. (Please select all that apply)

a. Culture & Recreation

b. Development

c. Education

d. Employment & Training

e. Environment

f.  Grant Making Foundation

g.  Health

h. Housing

i. International

j. Law & Advocacy

k. Parent Teacher Association

l. Playgroup/Nursery

m. Religion n.  Research

o. Scout Group/Youth Group

p. Social Services

q. Umbrella Body

r. Village Hall

23. If you were going to choose  one as your primary area of focus, which one would it be? (Please select one option)

a. Culture & Recreation

b. Development

c. Education

d. Employment & Training

e. Environment

f. Grant Making Foundation

g. Health

h. Housing

i. International

j. Law & Advocacy

k. Parent Teacher Association

l. Playgroup/Nursery

m. Religion

n. Research

o. Scout Group/Youth Group

p. Social Services

q. Umbrella Body

r.  Village Hall

24. How would you describe the area where your organisation primarily works?

a. International

b. National

c. Rural

d. Suburban (residential districts located on the outskirts of a town or city)

e. Urban (built up areas in a town or city)

f. Other (please specify)

g. Prefer not to say

25. What region does the organisation principally operate in?

a. International

b. National

c. Wales

d. North East England

e. North West England

f.  Yorkshire and Humber

g. East Midlands

h. West Midlands

i.  East of England

j.  London

k. South East England

l.  South West England

m. Prefer not to say

26. What is the current membership size of the board? (Please select one option)

a. 3 or less

b. 4-7

c. 8-10

d. 11-15

e. 16-20

f.  Over 20 members

27. Are members of the board appointed for a fixed time period? (Please select one option)

a. Yes

b. No

c. Not sure

Section 5: About you

The following questions are to find out more about you personally, to help us further understand the backgrounds of current trustees. They will not be used to attempt to identify you, but if you are uncomfortable answering any of these you have the option to select ‘prefer not to say’ to each question.

28. Please indicate which age band reflects your current age (please select one option):

a. 30 and under

b. 31-39

c. 40-44

d. 45-49

e. 50-54

f. 55-59

g. 60-64

h. 65-69

i. 70-74

j. 75+

k. Prefer not to say

29. What is your highest level of educational attainment (Please select one option that best describes the highest level)

l. GCSEs, O levels, National 5 or equivalent

m. AS, A levels or Scottish Highers

n. BTECS, OCR Nationals and other vocational qualifications

o. NVQs

p. Higher National Certificates or Higher National Diplomas

q. International Baccalaureate Diploma or equivalent

r. Foundation degree

s. Bachelor’s degree

t. Postgraduate degree

u. Doctorate/PhD

v. Other (please specify)

w. Prefer not to say

30. Which of the following best describes your employment status? (please select one option; if more than one option applies to you, please select the answer that relates to the majority of your time)

x. Employed full time

y. Employed part time

z. Self employed or freelance

aa. On maternity or paternity leave

bb.Not employed, looking for work

cc. Student

dd. Retired

ee. Disabled, not able to work

ff. Not employed, not looking for work

gg. None of the above

hh. Prefer not to say

31. Which of the following best describes your annual household income after tax? Please include all sources of income (wages, benefits, investment returns, etc.) for all members of your household. (Please select one option)

a. Under £10,000

b. £10,000 - £19,999

c. £20,000 - £29,999

d. £30,000 - £39,999

e. £40,000 - £49,999

f. £50,000 - £59,999

g. £60,000 - £69,999

h. £70,000 - £79,999

i.  £80,000 - £89,999

j.  £90,000 - £99,999

k. £100,000 +

l.  Prefer not to say

31.  Do you have any caring responsibilities for a child/children and or another adult/adults?

ii. No

jj. Yes

Prefer not to say

If yes, please select all that apply: (If you share caring responsibilities equally, then please answer as the primary carer)

kk. Primary carer of a child or children (under 18 years)

ll. Primary carer of a child or children who  is disabled or has a health condition or illness, or temporary care needs (under 18 years)

mm. Primary carer or assistant for a disabled adult or adults (18 years and over)

nn. Primary carer or assistant for an older  person or people (65 years and over)

Prefer not to say

32. Which of the following best describes your ethnic group or background?

a.  Arab

i. Arab or Arab British

ii. Any other Arab background (please specify)

b. Asian

iii. Bangladeshi or Bangladeshi British

iv. Chinese or Chinese  British

v. Indian or Indian British

vi. Pakistani or Pakistani British

vii. Any other Asian background (please specify)

c. Black

viii. African or African British

ix. Caribbean or Caribbean British

x. Any other Black background (please specify)

d. Mixed or multiple ethnic groups

xi. White or White British and Asian or Asian British

xii. White or White British and Black African or Black African British

xiii. White or White British and Black Caribbean or Black Caribbean British

xiv. White or White British and Arab or Arab British

xv. Any other mixed or multiple ethnic backgrounds (please specify)

e. White

xvi. British, English, Scottish, Welsh  or Northern Irish

xvii. Gypsy or Irish Traveller

xviii. Irish

xix. Roma

xx. Any other white background (please specify)

f. Prefer not to say

g. My ethnicity is not  specified here (please specify)

Do you consider yourself to have a disability, neurodivergence, learning disability, learning difficulty, or long-term health condition?

oo. Yes

pp. No

Prefer not to say

What is your sex?

qq.Female

rr.  Male

Prefer not to say

Is the gender you identify with the same as your sex registered at birth?

ss. Yes

tt.  No, write in gender identity

Prefer not to say

Which of the following best describes your sexual orientation

uu. Heterosexual or straight

vv. Gay woman, queer woman or lesbian

ww. Gay man or queer man

xx. Bisexual (Bi) or pansexual (pan)

yy. Other sexual orientation (please specify)

zz. Prefer not to say

Thank you for taking the time to complete this important survey.

1. Register of Charities in England and Wales – accessed 13 January 2025 Charity Commission for England and Wales. ↩

2. Claire Brader,  House of Lords: Voluntary and Community Sector Contribution to Society House of Lords Library, 24 October 2024. ↩

3. NCVO, UK Civil Society Almanac 2024. ↩

4. Claire Brader, House of Lords: Voluntary and Community Sector Contribution to Society, House of Lords Library, 24 October 2024. ↩

5. Ratio calculated using data from the Register of charities in England and Wales, and ONS: population estimates for England and Wales: mid-2023 ↩

6. Public trust in charities at ten-year high, new research shows, Charity Commission for England and Wales, 16 August 2024. ↩

7. Randstad: Understanding talent scarcity: AI & equity ↩

8. This is not including trustees from new charities yet to complete accounts, as their income is not known. ↩