At the launch of Trustees’ Week 2025, the Charity Commission set out a practical agenda for boards: broaden trustee recruitment, remove cost barriers to participation and strengthen financial oversight. The regulator paired the message with refreshed guidance on finding trustees and a new campaign to improve financial resilience.
Framing the stakes, the Commission noted the scale of the registered charity sector: almost one million trusteeships overseeing around 170,000 charities, with a combined annual turnover of about £94 billion, assets near £340 billion and a workforce of 1.3 million-roughly 3% of UK employment. Governance decisions therefore carry material public value.
New research undertaken with Pro Bono Economics, drawing on over 2,000 trustee responses in England and Wales, reports high satisfaction. Eight in ten would recommend the role, and more than nine in ten say they understand their duties and feel qualified to carry them out. Most describe constructive board culture and effective relationships with staff and volunteers.
The study identifies clear benefits to individuals: nearly two‑thirds feel more connected to their community or a cause, and a similar proportion value applying existing skills in a new context. For younger trustees, over half cite career development; older trustees emphasise giving back. The Commission positions this as evidence that trusteeship develops people as well as organisations.
However, the composition of boards remains uneven. Women now account for 43% of trustees, an improvement since 2017, but over half of trustees are retired and the average age is 65. Only 8% are aged 44 or under and just 1% are 30 or younger. People from ethnic minority backgrounds comprise about 8% of trustees compared with 17% of the population, although the Commission notes proportionally more Black trustees among those under 60.
The skills picture is mixed. A quarter of charities rely on external legal expertise rather than holding it in the board, and fewer than one in four report significant anti‑fraud, campaigning or marketing capability at trustee level. The regulator links these gaps to risk exposure and to missed opportunities for reach and impact.
Recruitment routes are narrow. One in three trustees were approached directly by their chair, while only 6% joined through open advertising. The Commission is urging boards to formalise recruitment, advertise roles and design selection processes that draw on a wider talent pool aligned to the charity’s risk profile and strategic plan.
Cost barriers should not deter service. The Commission reiterated that trustees are entitled to have reasonable expenses reimbursed-including childcare, travel and meals incurred while acting for their charity-and encouraged boards to communicate and administer this consistently to widen access.
To support practice change, the regulator has refreshed its guidance on finding new trustees, with updated advice on recruitment processes and on widening searches to reflect the communities served. This sits alongside a five‑year strategy commitment to keep trusteeship attractive and sustainable.
A new campaign on financial resilience has also been launched. Prompted by the Commission’s recent Charity Sector Risk Assessment, which ranks financial resilience among the most serious risks, the campaign offers online guidance and a financial health check tool to help boards assess reserves, cash flow and early‑warning indicators.
For boards, the immediate actions are clear. Agree an annual skills and diversity review, realign recruitment with the charity’s risk and strategy, advertise vacancies and apply consistent, fair selection. Budget for and pay reasonable expenses, set out expectations in induction and schedule completion of the Commission’s financial health check with follow‑up actions.
The Commission’s message during Trustees’ Week is straightforward: good governance depends on who is around the table and how they are supported. Boards that open recruitment, lower the cost of participation and strengthen financial oversight will be better placed to steward charitable resources and public trust through 2025 and beyond.