Jo Woods is the Finance and Business Director, Audio & Music at the BBC. She has worked on several finance-related projects for several of the charities in the Impetus portfolio. Here she describes what she did and what she got out of it.
It's fantastic that you have provided
expert help to three of the charities in our portfolio. Which ones
were they?
I have worked with Naz Project London (NPL),
IntoUniversity and Keyfund.
What did you do with Naz Project London
(NPL)?
I did three projects for them. I started working with NPL in late
2005, on a planning assignment. I was asked to do it because in my
earlier years I was a consultant, and I did a lot of project
management. Then I did another piece of work with them about
reviewing their finance systems. If a charity goes through the
Impetus due diligence process, its finances are going to be fine
for what it currently does. But they need to look forward and think
about what they will need as they grow - what things they should
look at now, to be prepared for that growth? Those are the types of
issues we looked at in the second project.
The third piece for NPL was on project management planning to get
their peer education programme off the ground. And at the end of it
all, I became a trustee of NPL.
Had you thought when you started working with them that
you might become a trustee?
No, I hadn't thought much about trusteeships at that stage. Since
then, though, one of the things I've discovered was that it helps
if you have a connection and a feeling for what the charity does,
probably at quite an emotional level. NPL definitely has that for
me ... I was a bit surprised - and pleased - when I was asked to be
a trustee.
I thought that doing something expanding my experience base and possibly putting me in touch with the voluntary sector would be good, and taking on a trusteeship was certainly one option. In the beginning of my work with NPL, though, I was thinking what my CV would look like. There was the selfish element of "this is giving me the chance to use some skills I haven't used for a long time, which might enhance my CV".
Some of the other experts we have worked with have told
us that they like working on Impetus projects because the work is
so different with charities, as compared to the commercial sector;
that it forces them to be more creative. Have you found
anything like that in your work with Impetus charities?
Yes. The work has been really useful, to take my
experience and my skills - which I applied in a large corporate
environment and in the public sector - and think about how they
apply to a very small organisation. It makes you think about the
essentials of certain things, for example, financial controls. In
this smaller scale, you have to think what is really necessary,
what is reasonable? But what comes clear time and again in the
three charities that I have worked with is that, while the scale is
different, the core principles of good financial management are not
actually that different.
Some of our donors ask us if trustees are threatened by
the work Impetus does with the charity, if it encroaches on their
area of responsibility. Since you've been on both sides, what is
your experience?
I don't think trustees ever felt threatened at NPL. But
some things can feel a bit alien. For example, the balanced
scorecard and impact measurement could feel quite alien when you're
not familiar with them. The idea that you are going to write
targets and quantify the benefits can be quite scary, at first. But
it's worth it; impact measurement is very powerful because it shows
how the charity is growing.
It's quite a change for the chief executive. Generally they have been in control doing almost everything and now they are going to a place where they have to step back, change what they do, perhaps be out of their comfort zone, delegate to other people and at the same time be told: "Maybe you don't do this as well as you could." As the relationship with Impetus matures, though, everyone gets more confidence and is more willing to adapt to new ways of doing things.
What would you say to people who would like to get
involved with Impetus in activities like this?
I would say do it - it will take your professional skills
to a place where you wouldn't get otherwise. Don't get too stressed
about the amount of time that Impetus may tell you it takes, it is
probably more flexible than you think. People are really grateful
for the time and expertise you give them, even if you do something
that doesn't seem like a lot to you.
Read about our corporate partners, who are contributing the expertise of their employeese to Impetus charities, and find out how to apply to volunteer your professional skills.
Our staff love the fact that the charities progress. Returning to work with a charity several years after you first meet and seeing that the work you did set them on a successful path is just phenomenal.
David Krucik
OC&C Strategy Consultants, Impetus pro bono corporate supporter