Charity Board Leadership Programme
Learn how you can become an effective, strategic and responsible trustee in our dynamic six-week flagship programme.
What the programme involves
We demystify the role of a trustee, break down the process of applying to be a trustee into manageable steps, and give you a full understanding of how to be a charity board member.
You will gain an enhanced understanding of the charity sector, how charities work and how to identify and overcome common charity challenges.
You’ll learn the essentials of charity governance and how to navigate key resources like the Charity Commission website.
You’ll discover how to match your professional skills and lived experience to a charity’s needs.
You’ll understand how to decipher the jargon of a trustee advert, watch out for red flags and how to adapt your CV to match the expectations of a charity board.
Supportive environment
This is a live interactive online course. You’ll join a small, supportive cohort, with no more than 20 delegates in total, from a wide range of backgrounds and sectors.
The course is fully participatory, incorporating live application guidance, mock interview support and peer-to-peer discussions in breakout rooms, as well as charity expert-led panels with real time Q&As.
You’ll network with multiple, senior charity sector experts.
We guide you through the trustee application process, giving you one-to-one expert support to find vacancies (including those which aren’t advertised), help you conduct due diligence on prospective charities and maximise your chances of securing the best trustee role for you.
Alongside teaching about trusteeship, our trainers and facilitators create a restorative space in which participants can explore their lived experiences and use it alongside their knowledge and skills to bring radical change to the third sector.
Our trainers work to ensure that the Charity Board Leadership Programme takes place in a psychologically safe online space. As a result, we have found that some participants have felt comfortable enough to speak, sometimes for the first time, about problematic issues and situations they’ve experienced in their professional lives.
Expert trainers
Our team of trainers have a wealth of experience in the charity sector. They are sector leaders in governance, organisational leadership and development. They come equipped with in-depth knowledge of diversity, equity and inclusion as well as social change practices. They are all trustees themselves and have both working and professional knowledge of the sector.
High success rate
Previous cohorts have included fundraisers, digital specialists, HR people, marketeers, investment analysts, diplomats, sales execs, charity CEOs, lawyers, retirees from massively diverse careers, social workers and many, many more. These are people from all along the career spectrum, those in the first years of their career to people with years of experience on the clock.
The Charity Board Leadership Programme sets participants up for board success in every way. Trusteeship has traditionally been associated with an executive career path, however there are many valid pathways into trusteeship. The Charity Board Leadership Programme offers an optional soft skills session to support participants who are unfamiliar with board meetings to understand the jargon, culture and etiquette associated with them.
The Charity Board Leadership Programme supports candidates to successfully land trustee roles they’re passionate about.
Course dates & fees
The course is tailored to you. We support you on your personal journey to finding a trustee position which matches your particular skills and experience with a charity that genuinely needs them, while complementing your own life plans and passions.
The course costs £875 per person.
Getting on Board runs six cohorts a year, two each concurrently in spring, summer and autumn. Applications for Summer 2024 are now open.
CBLP Cohorts
Autumn 2023
Spring 2024
Summer 2024
Dates
Daytime session dates
(Thursdays, 12-2pm)
September - 28th
October - 5th
November - 9th, 16th, 23rd
December - 7th
Evening session dates
(Mondays 6-8pm)
September - 25th
October - 2nd
November - 6th, 13th, 20th
December - 4th
Daytime session dates (Thursdays, 12-2pm)
January - 18th, 25th
February - 1st, 8th, 29th
March - 14th
Evening session dates
(Mondays 6-8pm)
January - 15th, 22nd, 29th
February - 5th, 26th
March - 11th
Daytime session dates
(Thursdays, 12-2pm)
April - 18th, 25th
May - 16th, 23rd
June - 6th, 20th
Evening session dates
(Mondays 6-8pm)
April - 15th, 22nd
May - 13th, 20th
June - 3rd, 17th
Deadline for registration
11th September 2023
4th January 2024
2nd April 2024
Financial aid and Employer-funded places
We know that not all aspiring trustees have access to the funds to finance their training easily. If you are interested in joining the Charity Board Leadership Programme and would like to hear more about the discretionary help we may be able to offer, please email us at info@gettingonboard.org
Our candidates often have their course fees paid for by their employer from professional development or CSR budgets. We've prepared some useful information to help you make the case to them. Payment must be made in full before the start of the course.
Funded places on the Charity Board Leadership Scheme for people of colour
Every year, we offer a small number of funded places on the Charity Board Leadership Programme to people of colour who are passionate about a cause and keen to be at the centre of a charity’s decision making process.
Only 8% of trustees are people of colour (vs 14% of the wider population), and only 2.9% of trustees are women of colour. It’s simply not good enough. Charities can’t be as effective, just and inclusive as they need to be until we change the face of trusteeship.
That's why every year, thanks to the generosity of our supporters we are able to offer a number of fully funded bursary places on the Charity Board Leadership Programme for people of colour.
We are especially interested in giving voice, via a fully funded place, to those whose experience sits at the intersection of class, race, gender and disability. This is because these voices are particularly underrepresented in charity decision-making.
We have so far supported 33 individuals with fully funded places. Between them they have secured numerous trusteeships and one NHS board position. They have shown the most amazing commitment to using their skills, knowledge and expertise on charity boards.
We have a huge demand for funded places which sadly outstrips the number of places we can offer. Therefore, please take a little time to explain to us why becoming a trustee will support you in your aspirations. This will increase your chances of selection. Please contact us if you would like to make your application in an alternative way.
Applications for funded places for aspiring trustees of colour are currently closed as our next programme is about to start. Please check back for further details for programmes for the academic year 2024-25.