Charity Talks 2011/12

Effective but caring leadership
Wednesday 11 July 2012, 6.00pm for 6.30pm

• Sir Nicholas Young, Chief Executive, British Red Cross
• Denise Fellows, Senior Visiting Fellow and Chief Executive of Consultancy and Talent development, Cass CCE

Excellent leadership at all levels is what marks out a successful organisation. Sir Nicholas Young is widely acclaimed as one of the top leaders in our sector, not only for his work here in the UK and globally with the wider Red Cross movement, but also earlier as the CE or Macmillan Cancer Support where he received his knighthood. Come and hear him reveal the secrets of his success; and listen to Denise Fellows apply her deep understanding of theory and practice of leadership in small and large charities, putting these approaches into a wider theoretical frame which you can apply in your own setting.

A social enterprise, risks overcome, profits and social goals delivered
Wednesday 4 April 2012, 6.00pm for 6.30pm

• Maria Chenoweth-Casey, Chief Executive of TRAID, Charity Awards finalist
• Professor Paul Palmer, Director of Cass CCE and Associate Dean, Cass Business School

Many charities want to be more enterprising and are looking for ways to do this. Others take your breath away with the creativity and success of their enterprise, using commercial skills to do good. TRAID is one of these. They also meet environmental and international development objectives by diverting unwanted clothes from landfill for reuse, and reselling the best in their legendary TRAID charity shops. Damaged clothing is reconstructed into new one-off pieces and sold under the award-winning recycled fashion label, TRAIDremade. It's a method of fundraising with powerful environmental and social returns. The profits support projects challenging poverty conditions and exploitation in the global textile supply chain. Mixing business and charity is a growth area which is interesting more and more boards. Explaining the business-like approach will be Maria Chenoweth-Casey and the response comes from Professor Paul Palmer, a specialist in the field, who will set the wider context of social enterprise potential.

Maria Chenoweth-Casey's Presentation

Professor Paul Palmer's Presentation

Board governance and relationships with staff
Wednesday 16 May 2012, 6.00pm for 6.30pm

• Susan Daniels, Chief Executive, National Deaf Children's Society
• Jacqueline Williams, Principal Consultant and Visiting Fellow, Cass CCE

The role and importance of the charity board has been transformed in the last fifteen years, yet performance and relationships with the CEO and staff have not always followed with it! Susan Daniels is the CE of the National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS), which has grown substantially over the last ten years and has been a pioneer in mixing professionally qualified trustees and beneficiary representatives. She will describe the approach taken by the NDCS and the benefits and pitfalls of engaging with your board in this way. Two of her board of eleven have a particular interest in financial governance and she will look at their role and the role of the board as a whole, so important in these turbulent times. Jacqueline Williams of Cass Business School, will take this impressive example and lay out the various approaches boards may consider in delivering their responsibilities.

Susan Daniel's Presentation

Jacqueline William's Presentation

Successful fundraising teams
Wednesday 25 January 2012, 6.00pm for 6.30pm

• Campbell Robb, Chief Executive, Shelter, Third Sector Excellence Awards winner
• Professor Stephen Lee, Academic Leader, MSc in Marketing and Fundraising, Cass Business School

Fundraising is a top priority for virtually every charity and community organisation. Shelter won the Third Sector Excellence Award for the top fundraising team. Campbell Robb will explain the reasons for their outstanding performance as well as giving his views on the current fundraising climate and the opportunities which exist. Prior to Shelter, Campbell was Director General of the government's Office for the Third Sector and Director of Public Policy at NCVO, so he has powerful insights to add to his Shelter successes. The response from Professor Stephen Lee will provide the broader perspective. Chairs, treasurers and heads of finance will also be interested because key discussion points will include fundraising investment - how much to invest, when, and how much of a return to expect.

Raising income and balancing expenditure in the cuts climate
Wednesday 30 November 2011, 6.00pm for 6.30pm

• Paul McDowell, Chief Executive, Nacro (National Association for Care and Resettlement of Offenders)
• Professor Andrew Hind FCA, Visiting Professor, Cass CCE

The contracting and grantmaking climate is changing fast, introducing major risks and some opportunities for charities and social enterprises. For example, much larger contract sizes mean even the largest charities can only bid with partners, not only from our sector, but also with commercial companies and sometimes statutory bodies. The financial risks  are escalating. We need to understand and utilise new instruments such as social impact bonds. Payment by results is becoming a mantra - but how can we run services sensitively on this basis and balance the books? Paul McDowell of Nacro will describe how they are approaching this exciting but risky and bewildering world. Andrew Hind ex CE of the Charity Commission, Co-founder of the Charity Finance Directors Group (CFDG) and Editor of Charity Finance will put Nacro's experience into the wider context. This subject will interest not only service leaders but also directors of finance, treasurers and chairs.

Paul McDowell Presentation

Andrew Hind Presentation

Getting your strategy developed and implemented
Wednesday 19 October 2011, 6.00pm for 6.30pm

• Catherine Johnstone, Chief Executive, Samaritans
• Tobias Jung, Principal Research Fellow, Cass CCE and the Centre for Giving and Philanthropy (CGaP)

Strategic planning and implementation - thinking through where your organisation should be heading , and how, followed by checking on success - has become widespread good practice. Funders demand it and beneficiaries deserve it. But too often the plans stay on paper and not a lot changes. Samaritans have worked hard to develop a proactive change strategy an are now well into its implementation. Come and hear from Catherine Johnstone what they have achieved and what they would do differently. Setting this experience into perspective and giving suggestions on planning and implementation techniques is Tobias Jung. Tobias is an acknowledged expert in applying this subject to small as well as large organisations.

Catherine Johnstone's Presentation

Tobias Jung's Presentation