Celebrating our trustees

To celebrate Trustees’ Week Ategi want to recognise the achievements of our own trustees and thank them for their invaluable support in helping us to make a difference in changing times.

In the last twelve months Ategi has welcomed five new trustees and we now have a total of 9 trustees who give their time and commitment to us as volunteers and we are grateful for this opportunity to say THANK YOU! Our trustees are Jill Davies (Chair), Paul Smith, Susan Ali Shah, Helen Whitfield, Rob Pitts, Connor James, Erika James, Chris Dowell-Bennett and Bev Mills.

Through a challenging time our trustees adapted to new ways of working and in the last twelve months their positive encouragement and their knowledge and expertise has been key in the development of our new three-year strategy – “Their Lives, Their Way”. The trustee role is an important one and our trustees are committed to our aims and ambitions as a charity and help us to deliver our charitable purposes for the benefit of the people we support.

Trustees sharing ideas at an away day.

What is a Trustee?

Being a trustee means making decisions that will impact people’s lives. Depending on what the charity does, a Trustee will be making a difference to their local community or to society as a whole.

The role of a Trustee is important in all charities and they use their skills and experience to support their charities, helping them achieve their aims. Trustees also often learn new skills during their time on the board.

Trustees are responsible for making sure their charity has a clear strategy, and that its work and goals are in line with its vision and meet the needs of the beneficiaries and achieve the charity’s purposes.

They safeguard the charity’s assets, this includes the money in the charity and may also include property. They make sure these are used well and that the charity is run sustainably.
The Trustees also have other responsibilities for example ensuring the good reputation of the charity.

Trustees don’t usually get involved in the day-to-day running of the charity. They delegate this to the staff, led by the Chief Executive. Instead, they work with the Chief Executive and the senior leadership team by giving support and by challenging – in a supportive way – to help them manage effectively. However, in smaller charities with less staff, trustees may take hands-on roles too. Trustees meet at board meetings and many boards have sub-committee meetings that focus on particular areas.

"The role of a Trustee is important in all charities and they use their skills and experience to support their charities, helping them achieve their aims. Trustees also often learn new skills during their time on the board."

Did you know all our Trustees are volunteers?