"Reach has given us a more diverse pool of candidates"

Dingley’s Promise is passionate about making sure every child with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) gets the best start, and that as many children as possible are able to experience mainstream education. With inclusion at the heart of the charity’s work, it was particularly important to get the right candidate when they were looking for a new Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Trustee. Catherine Mole MBE, CEO, said: 

“We’d used Reach Volunteering to recruit trustees before, including for a Chair of Trustees, and had been very pleased with the quality of candidates. It can be difficult to find good trustees, but once that first person joined and we saw the calibre, that really gave me confidence in Reach.  

“We’ve tried other approaches to trustee recruitment, including paying local organisations to search for us, but we feel that Reach has given us a more diverse pool of candidates with high levels of expertise from across the country. Although we started as a mainly local charity, we are now a national organisation in both reputation and impact, so we feel it’s important to have a diverse board with a national perspective to provide challenge and help us grow.  

Being upfront is key

“We had quite a few applicants for the EDI Trustee role, which was great. We responded to the people who applied and were always very clear about what the role involved and the time commitments that would be needed to carry out the role effectively.  

“Being a trustee is a critically important role for the organisation so being transparent and up-front about what’s needed is crucial. 

“We’ve been really pleased with our new EDI Trustee, Marwa. She’s actively raising awareness of EDI across the whole Board of Trustees. She leads a focus session on EDI in every Board meeting and is working with our Chief Operating Officer on our EDI action plan.  

“She’s stepped up right from the beginning and it’s been great. She’s definitely made an impact on taking EDI forward at Dingley and will be an important source of knowledge and support as we continue to grow at pace.  

The importance of quality candidates

“Trusteeship is a big commitment and it isn’t for everyone, which makes it so vital to get the recruitment right. Having a good pool of high quality candidates, as we have had through Reach, is key. These are people who we wouldn’t normally be able to find and we’ll definitely be coming to Reach for our future trustee recruitment to ensure we have the diversity, quality and challenge that we need to support our future growth.

“I would definitely recommend using Reach Volunteering to other charities and my advice would be to look at role profiles from other organisations and be as specific as possible for each role. By being clear about your expectations from the start, you’re setting the best groundwork you can for successful trustee recruitment.”