New board, new direction
How a charity’s new Trustee Board is raising spirits in times of austerity.
The role of a trustee is central to the success of a charity, and during an economic downturn, the survival of a charity depends greatly on the presence of a strong board.
If, like London homeless charity Lift, you have also embarked upon a rebrand of your organisation, the strategic leadership of a board is even more crucial.
Lift (formerly Brent Homeless User Group) was formed 10 years ago by a group of homeless service users who felt that the support services that they were engaging with were not meeting their needs as effectively as they could.
Over the last decade, the organisation’s services have expanded to cover training, education and employment support, and a research and consultancy service where service users are trained to help evaluate the effectiveness of front line services.
User-led ethos with professional expertise
The user-led ethos remains at the heart of what the organisation does, but in an increasingly challenging time for the charity sector, it was deemed essential to draw upon a greater diversity of skills and experience at the board level. The organisation has moved from 80% of its trustees being service users to 50%; a figure that the organisation intends to stick to. This has made way for new professional expertise, helping the charity to expand its services at a time when they are needed the most.
Lift’s tagline is “Lifting Lives, Lifting People” which was agreed upon through an extensive consultation process with the board, staff and service users. David Wright, a former service user and now trustee of the organisation came from a career in brand management and marketing, and played a crucial part in the rebranding process. As David says:
“Brent Homeless User Group was reasonably successful, but the name limited the organisation geographically and in its scope. We no longer just operate in Brent, and we no longer work with just homeless people. Many of our clients have been excluded in a whole number of different ways. Relaunching to Lift gives us the national identity that better reflects where we are now and where we want to be going forward.”
The right skills mix for growth
Wendy Pretten, a new trustee (pictured), joined the board after being impressed by the organisation whilst supporting them through a bidding process. Wendy felt that her skills gained from over 20 years in the social housing sector would complement the current skillset of the board by offering a national social housing provider perspective. As Wendy said:
“I got to know the work that BHUG did and was very impressed by them, especially their user involvement and the positive difference I could see it had made to individuals lives. I felt it had a unique product and service which filled a real gap, especially in these times of austerity measures and cuts in funding. When asked if I would be interested in joining the board, I readily accepted. I really wanted to support Lift to grow, develop and tap into potential markets across the country delivering essential services.”
The board now represents the mix of skills and experiences needed to govern the charity effectively. Martin Cheeseman OBE, the Chair of the Board, was formerly the Director of Housing and Social Care at Brent Council and as such brings a wealth of knowledge and contacts in the sector. Other recent recruits bring employment law, private sector, and advocacy expertise. Chief Executive Atara Fridler believes that the strength of the board lies in this diversity and professionalism:
“It’s a real privilege to work with a group of people that can bring such a wide array of skills and experiences to the table. At a time when we are competing for funding in an increasingly difficult environment, it helps us not only to survive, but identify new ways in which we can broaden the reach of our employment and housing services for some of the most vulnerable members of society.”
