The 2026 Festival of Trusteeship, hosted by social enterprise charity consultancy & recruitment service Eastside People, is a fully online week-long series of events, during Trustees’ Week.
There are 18 inspirational and practical webinars taking place throughout the week from Monday 9 November to Friday 13 November all designed to help trustees in their role and enjoy it even more!
Individual tickets for the week are £30, a Bring your Board ticket is £120 for small charities and £200 for medium/large charities.
We highlighted five events that caught our eye…
1 Building board chemistry: What makes boards click?
Date: Monday 9 November. Time: 12.30 to 2pm. Venue: online
The panel will explore what we can learn from high-performing boards: the behaviours that help, how different personalities and perspectives can make a board stronger, where ego gets in the way, the role a good chair can play and how to create the right chemistry without getting so cosy that everyone stops asking difficult questions.
2 Money Matters - 10 questions every trustee should ask
Date: Tuesday 10 November 2026. Time: 12.30pm to 1.30pm. Venue: online.
You don’t need to be a finance whizz to make a useful contribution to financial discussions – but you do need to know what to ask. Discover ten simple questions that will help you understand your charity’s finances, spot trouble early and contribute with confidence around the board table.
3 FREE Trustees Like Us: Where are all of the working class trustees?
Date: Wednesday 11 November 2026. Time: 6pm to 7pm. Venue: online.
Charity boards often talk about diversity, but what about class? Why are working class people still so under-represented around our board tables? Join the Festival panel to explore what gets in the way, what we’re missing as a result and what charities can do differently.
4 Money Matters - what trustees get wrong about fundraising
Date: Thursday 12 November 2026. Time: 11am to 12pm. Venue: online.
Join the panel for a look at common fundraising howlers, myths and mis-steps, what fundraisers and funders wish boards understood, whether trustees are asking the right questions about fundraising and investments, and how brilliant trustees can help bring in the money.
5 Festival Close: Well, this is awkward… Tricky governance scenarios
Date: Friday 13 November 2026. Time: 4.30pm to 5.30pm. Venue: online.
A series of tricky governance scenarios where you decide what happens next. The CEO has just resigned. Two trustees aren’t speaking. The charity is taking a battering in the press. What now?
You’ll vote in live polls, compare your thinking with other trustees in breakout rooms and explore the different ways a board might respond to these nightmare scenarios.