Charities and social enterprises need to have the best people on their boards to ensure they can face the challenges ahead, according to Ian Joseph, director of Trustees Unlimited.

Speaking last week at the joint venture trustee recruitment firm’s second anniversary celebrations in London, Joseph told Recruiter: “We are recruiting for a growing number of charities and social enterprises, and have also just been appointed as a preferred supplier to the National Union of Students — and we are looking forward to recruiting young trustees for UK charities.”

Trustees Unlimited was set up by Russam GMS, law firm Bates Wells and Braithwaite (BWB) and the National Council for Voluntary and Community Organisations (NCVO) to help organisations struggling to recruit quality trustees and non-executives in a rigorous and cost-effective way.

Joseph, who is also director, charities and not-for-profit practice, Russam GMS, added: “We set up Trustees Unlimited because we recognised that many organisations were finding it difficult to recruit outside their immediate networks and find new candidates.

“Two years on, we have helped many organisations find trustees who can bring specific skills or experience who are now making a real impact.”

Since it was established Trustees Unlimited has recruited over 40 trustees for UK charities. These include big brand names such as Christian Aid, Rethink and Age UK to smaller organisations including the Charity Employee Benevolent Fund, Beating Bowel Cancer and The Larches Trust, a charity established in 1995 by a group of families to create opportunities for people with learning disabilities and/or autism.

Trustees Unlimited has a database of over 1,300 trustee candidates and is in partnership with a number of other firms such as Centrica, BT and the NUS.