The Association of Chairs (AoC) has extended its membership offer to entire charity and not-for-profit boards in a bid to strengthen governance in the sector.
Last year, the AoC unveiled plans to broaden its membership and diversify its income over the next few years as part of its ongoing strategy.
At the time, the association said it wanted 20% of its members to be non-chair trustees by 2025-26, compared with around 14% now.
Today, the AoC announced that it had launched a new board membership offer alongside its current individual membership for chairs.
It said its board membership will help charities to “be more resilient, effective and inclusive through training, events, learning resources, and access to a 1000+ strong community”.
‘Being an effective chair means having an effective board’
For its new board membership scheme, the AoC said organisations can nominate any named team member as an administrator, which ensures continuity when chairs transition out of their roles.
Joe Saxton, chair of the AoC, said: “We’ve heard from our members, time and time again, that being an effective chair means having an effective board.
“Trustees should be given the opportunity to have ongoing learning and development.
“Offering board membership is an ideal way for charity CEOs to encourage stronger governance.”
Citing recent research by the Charity Commission and Pro Bono Economics, AoC’s interim CEO Liz Lowther said: “It’s clear there’s a huge need for non-profit board support, and the AoC wants to help meet that need.
“There’s some great training and resources out there already, but we’ve confirmed with partners that there’s plenty of room for more, particularly following the sad closure of Getting on Board last year.
“Having launched board membership early to our current community, we’re delighted to have already welcomed over 20 organisations ranging in mission and size.”
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