Cost of Living – Trustee Advice

You will have read numerous articles in the press and seen various reports on TV on how charities are being pushed to their limit with the cost-of-living crisis.?Article

Growing needs combined with rising costs means charities have never been more tightly squeezed. ??Energy at an all-time high, rising inflation, reduction in public sector spending, reduction in donations and fundraising, and increased day to day operation costs means charities are already digging into their reserves to function.

Just like during the Covid pandemic charity resources are being redirected towards emergency support, away from longer term work to answer the immediate call.?Charities who were already under pressure from Covid are facing an even greater demand on their services think foodbanks – (Trussell Trust records ￡16m deficit amid six-fold rise in food bank grants - civilsociety.co.uk), age, disability, social care, housing and health charities to name a few(!) all are desperately trying to support as many people as they can.

There is lots of advice available about how Trustees can best support their charity through this challenging time, and we thought it would be helpful to signpost some good references for guidance.

As normal the role of a Trustee is vitality important to ensure the feasibility and continuation of the charity’s valuable work Are you thinking about becoming a Trustee? | TPP Recruitment · TPP.

In these tough times though its vital that Trustees continue to understand and comply with their duties to provide effective financial stewardship and to ensure decisions are in the best interests of the charity and its beneficiaries and remains legally sound.?The charity is depending on and ‘trusting’ the Board to do this.

As a matter of course The Charity Commission recommend all Trustee’s read The essential trustee and Making decisions at a charity; they have also recently published guidance specifically on the cost of living crisis Manage financial difficulties in your charity arising from cost of living pressures which is definitely worth reading.

The NCVO are holding a series of events specifically on the NCVO Cost of living ?and the NICVA have also published some useful tips NICVA Charities and the cost-of-living crisis . Sayer Vincent who are auditors and advisors to charities also have a series of events and downloadable webinars to view.

For a good summation – it’s worth bearing in mind the advice from the ICAEW:

• Gather information – look externally for information on the economy and operating environment and for ideas and options, look internally at financial information to support decision making.
• Forecast – routinely prepare cash-flow forecasts.?Mapping cash flow against reserves policy helps to focus decision making.
• Generate income/cut costs:?minutely examine expenditure and to explore of possible options for income generation.
• Make timely decisions: information and forecasts help leaders to make decisions in good time.?Making big changes is better done in a planned supported way than in crisis.
• Collaborate: Working with other organisations – even outside of the charity sector can reduce costs, streamline services and share overheads.
• Focus on services not organisations:?think about the most important things the charity does, and the most efficient tway of achieving them.?It’s time to be ruthless in prioritising key services.

Never more than now do charities need strong Boards and effective decision makers – their very existence relies on it.

At TPP we’re working with numerous charities on the recruitment of their Trustees and we’re always keen to chat to people who want to support them.?You can either have a specific skill set i.e. accountancy, fundraising, marketing, specialist healthcare, innovation etc or lived experience where you know first-hand about a cause or mission. The benefits of being a Trustee are huge - Why become a Trustee? | TPP Recruitment · TPP

For an informal chat please call Lisa, Emma or Matt on 0207 198 6060 or email [email protected].