A Board needs people with knowledge, connections, influence, shared values and who are enjoyable to work with. A few people with energy and passion make all the difference, especially in the early planning stages.
They may fall into one or all the following categories, the more the better :
- Allies - people who share your vision and are willing to invest time and effort to achieve it.
- Influencers - those with a significant voice in the community who can spread the word and draw in others.
- Experts – people with current knowledge of the communities schemes want to support and engage.
- Asset holders – people who can make decisions about money and resources.
The Kensington + Chelsea Foundation has just recruited two new trustees to fill a skills gap on the Board and made the most of this opportunity to increase diversity. One of its three priority areas is children and young people, and while its existing board was great at fundraising there was little experience in frontline youth work. Director Victoria Steward-Todd spoke to partners to identify local expertise and approached people directly. She said: “I don’t think either of our new trustees would have applied to an advertised vacancy. My advice is to be really targeted in your approach. If your board isn't that diverse at the moment, it will be off putting for many people who then won’t apply. You’ll have to put in the extra work to find them”.
Involving businesses
Asking businesses to join a board can be the first step in an engagement strategy. Including businesses in the conversation from the start helps to build a programme which is relevant to their needs. Businesses can offer a host of support including money, in kind donations, connections and pro bono expertise. They bring accountability and rigour to the process and legitimacy to the brand. They bring a fresh perspective and skills and approaches which can help the Board to think differently and break out of entrenched cultures and practices.
Some important lessons to engage businesses:
- Ask them what they want/need – they need to get something out of it. Some businesses might want to promote their work with the new initiative, some won’t want to publicise it at all.
- Many will be looking for volunteering opportunities for staff to increase loyalty and develop skills.
- Be clear about the commitment you are asking them to make and realistic about how long the process will take.
The Role of Councils
Some Councils have provided the impetus for the establishment of giving schemes, providing resource to bring people together such as in Barking & Dagenham and Camden.
A close relationship with a Council can have multiple benefits:
- Funding – delegated grants or funding using PBGS relationships, mechanisms and expertise to reach local groups more effectively.
- Connections – particularly with businesses.
- Intelligence – data about needs and information about gaps in provision.
- Profile – through newsletters and council tax letters, networks.
Options range from no Council involvement, Councillors joining the Board as voting members or advisors, to Council staff attending meetings as observers.
Most councils are aware that too close an association can have downsides for the PBGS, if it is perceived to have a political purpose.
Beyond Board Membership
Boards and steering groups are not the only mechanisms for decision making in a PBGS, and there are other ways to engage residents and people with lived experience of the issue being funded. Schemes within and beyond the London’s Giving network have been creative in widening decision-making roles:
- In Harrogate, Community Panels, recruited through the local press and networks, are trained to make decisions on grant applications, supported by Two Ridings Community Foundation’s grants team.
- Barking and Dagenham Giving’s participatory grant making is based on discussions with residents who decide new priorities for each grant making round. Residents are experts, decision makers and policy setters.
- Camden Giving recruits people with lived experience of one of more local issues to become Community Panellists, providing training and payment for the role. They decide how a pot of funding should be spent to overcome these issues.
- Islington Giving’s Young Grant Makers programme gives local young people the means to shape their local area, their community and their opportunities and influence others.
- Step Up MCR’s Advisory Panels, including residents, help to coordinate resources and build collaboration. They make recommendations to its Board on funding, organisations are then matched with a community champion who is a member of the Advisory Panel.