Leeds Digital Volunteering Partnership is partnering with Third Sector Lab to pilot their Digital Trustees model in Leeds. Third Sector Lab is hosting an online matchmaking event to connect charities and professionals from tech, data, design, IT and other digital backgrounds.
The event will take place online on Thursday 28 March, 10.00am – 11.30am. For more details and to book your place, visit the Third Sector Lab website.
In today’s digital age, charities face new challenges and opportunities that require them to adapt to the changing landscape of technology. According to the 2023 Charity Digital Skills Report 78% of charities say digital is now more of a priority and 66% are interested in making use of emerging technology. However, 73% say they don’t feel prepared to respond to the opportunities and challenges it brings, with fewer than half having a strategy to focus their approach to digital transformation.
Charities that recruit volunteers with digital skills to their Board of Trustees can tap into their expertise to develop effective digital strategies, enhance their digital presence, and ultimately achieve their goals more efficiently. Volunteering to support a charity as a Digital Trustee helps individuals develop their leadership skills, make a real impact on the future of a cause they care about, and feel connected to the city.
What is a ‘Digital Trustee’?
Most charities are led by a Board of Trustees. A Board of Trustees primarily operates in an advisory capacity leaving decision-making to the charity’s senior leadership. A Trustee is an unpaid position, with the individual giving their time on a voluntary basis.
Digital Trustees are individuals with experience in digital, data or design who volunteer their time to sit on the Board of a charity and offer their expertise to help charities improve their digital strategy and capabilities. They provide guidance to the organisation around how they can best make use of digital as well as insight into best digital practices, helping the charity adapt to the changing landscape of technology.
Digital Trusteeships create a more permanent and long standing relationship between charities and individuals from the tech sector. The Trustee is able to gain a better understanding of the needs of the charity as well as gaining a strong grounding in strategic oversight, supporting their personal development. Having a Digital Trustee on their Board means charities have a trusted tech champion to help them find digital solutions that truly work for them and their beneficiaries.
Joining a charity’s Board as a Digital Trustee can help an individual:
- Build their leadership skills and expertise.
- Learn from a diverse range of fellow board members.
- Make a real impact on the future of a cause they care about.
Recruiting a Digital Trustee to their Board can help a charity:
- Get expertise to support long-term direction and strategy.
- Empower the rest of the board to understand the potential of digital.
- Give the charity a competitive advantage when it comes to data, design and technology.
Almost anyone can be a Trustee, regardless of how junior or senior they are in their career, and regardless of their ethnicity, class, gender orientation, sexuality or any other difference. Charity Boards thrive when they have a diversity of skills, knowledge, age and experience on their board. There are a small number of circumstances in which individuals are not eligible to be a Trustee. You can find more information on the Voluntary Action Leeds website.
Digital Trustee Matchmaking Event with Third Sector Lab
Leeds Digital Volunteering Partnership and Third Sector Lab are hosting an online matchmaking event to connect charities and professionals from tech, data, design, IT and other digital backgrounds.
The event will take place online on Thursday 28 March, 10.00am – 11.30am. Places are free to both charities looking to recruit a Digital Trustee and individuals looking to volunteer to join a charity Board as a Digital Trustee. Book your place at the Third Sector Lab website.
The session will include an introduction by the founder of Third Sector Lab, Ross McCulloch. This will be followed by a series of rotating breakout rooms to let participants meet in smaller groups. The session is not exclusive to Leeds-based charities and prospective Digital Trustees, but some of the spaces have been ring fenced for Leeds.
Before attending the session, both charities looking to recruit a Digital Trustee and individuals looking to volunteer to join a charity Board as a Digital Trustee are asked to please complete a profile on the Third Sector Lab website so that organisations or potential trustees can get in contact after the event.
Leeds Digital Volunteering Partnership
Leeds Digital Volunteering Partnership (LDVP) is made up of representatives from 100% Digital Leeds, Leeds Community Foundation, Voluntary Action Leeds, and the city’s tech sector. LDVP fosters cross-sector partnerships that help the city’s third sector organisations benefit from the digital skills and capacity of the tech sector, and to enable tech businesses and their employees to gain new skills, experience, and a sense of community through work with not-for-profit organisations. Find out more about 100% Digital Leeds’s work with the city’s tech sector.