The solutions
Our next step was to share our vision and launch a call out which aimed to reach potential young Trustees. We ran a social media campaign with concise messages and language that wouldn’t put people off – something we’ve often seen. We welcomed audio, video or written expressions of interest and offered drop ins to discuss the opportunity. We highlighted the legal responsibility of being a Trustee, including links to the Charity Commission’s website in the material and explaining why it was so important that young people’s voices are amplified at a strategic level as they are so under-represented on boards.
We had 55 applications and countless emails and DMs on social media, demonstrating young people’s appetite and readiness to take on the role. Five new trustees were appointed in 2019 and soon after we also advertised for a co-chair of the board.
The founding board members wanted to shape the way we run board meetings and establish a process that was bespoke to Blaze. During this process, we also enquired into the ways in which we could make decisions effectively whilst ensuring every Trustee’s voice was heard. As a new and small charity, we needed our process to be agile and to utilise the expertise and skills of every board member.
A year later, we continue to try new approaches to running meetings. We have adopted one standing item where someone presents a challenge at the beginning of a meeting which is considered by the rest of the board through a facilitated discussion. This allows everyone’s voice to be heard and motivates the board to take action on topics that truly matter to them.