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Welcome to the latest edition of the Get to Know Philanthropy (GTKP) newsletter which covers all aspects of our Pro Bono activities and the work of the Company's charitable fund. In this edition you can read about an Outstanding Service Award, the Charities Supper, a new Trustee for the Charitable Fund, an update on the work of the fund and quite a bit about the Livery Food Initiative. Now read on....
Outstanding Service Award
At the Christmas Court meeting, it was agreed to make an Outstanding Service Award to Liveryman Bob Harris. The award was developed to recognise significant and sustained contribution to the Company. It is not an award that we expect to be given often or regularly. It can only be awarded to Liverymen who have not served as Master but who, over an extended period, have contributed significantly to the Company and its development. (Ed: Read about the only other two recipients of the Award here).
Bob has made a long and sustained contribution to the development of the Company in his various roles over more than 30 years. It is difficult to summarise, but his many achievements include:
- The trustees research he carried out for the Charity Commission.
- Being Chair of the Events Committee for many years
- Organising “shop talks”, again for many years
- Being a Trustee of the Charitable Fund and sorting out Gift Aid.
- Developing, leading and publishing several Surveys of Philanthropic Giving by the Livery
- Post Covid, Bob has been co-opted onto the City Livery Committee and
- He also set up and leads a thriving Pan Livery Pro Bono Interest Group.
These later achievements have, without doubt, raised the profile and standing of our Company across the wider Livery and Bob himself is held in high esteem by many who know his work in the Livery movement.
His passion is not only to recognise when things could be done better, but to get on and do them. He doesn’t just moan, he rolls up his sleeves and gets things done. He has been for many years highly impactful.
Taken all together, these achievements and attributes make Bob worthy of recognition by the award of the Outstanding Service Award.
The Master Andy Miles made the formal presentation of Bob’s medal at the conclusion of the Charities Supper celebrations - pictured above, together with Bob and his family. We’ll leave the last word to Bob:
“I am honoured to have received it for doing what I have enjoyed for many years”.
Congratulations Bob!
The Charities Supper
The Charities Supper was held on Tuesday, 28 January, at Cutlers’ Hall, with 108 Members and guests in attendance. This is our annual celebration of the Pro Bono work carried out by Company Members and is always a great opportunity to hear from some of our charity clients who have benefited from our Pro Bono input. As a Livery Company, we aim to hold this Supper in a traditional Livery Hall – differentiating ourselves from other organisations, not to mention enjoying the added ‘wow factor’ of great food coupled with wine from our cellar, all in a special setting. It is also a chance for the ProBono Committee to thank all those who have provided their input through Consultancy or Mentoring assignments. With this in mind, the supper was preceded by the presentation of the Matheson Cup to Hugh Tinsley as thanks for, and acknowledgment of, all the work he has undertaken during the last year. (It was also an opportunity to thank the previous recipient, Steve Mayhew, who had managed not to be at last year’s supper, but was at this!)
Our professional Pro Bono work differentiates WCoMC from most other Livery Companies and other organisations providing support to the Non-Profit Civil Sector. This last year we added a further 30 new organisations to our client portfolio, with some larger assignments involving small teams of members.
On the night, and between three excellent courses and the now traditional barracking of our host for the evening PM Patrick Chapman, we heard from three speakers, all Pro Bono clients, who talked briefly about their work and how they felt about our support:
- Samantha Haspell: the CEO of DAVSS, a Domestic Abuse support charity in West Kent; she recently moved to the Non Profit Sector after over 30 years in policing; DAVSS has a core 20 strong Trustee and Staff team who oversee the work of some 50 volunteers.
- Derrick Evans MBE: also known as "Mr Motivator", who when not encouraging everyone to keep fit is deeply involved with the Charity Sector; he is the driving force behind a charity (Mr Motivator's Bed Bank) to raise money to provide beds, either new or restored/recycled (some 7m beds are thrown away annually) to over 750,000 disadvantaged children in the UK who sleep each night without a bed or mattress. (Ed: Derrick was certainly inspiring).
- Christine Ansell: the CEO of Cards for Good Causes and previously CEO of Wandsworth Oasis; both charities are retail organisations that raise money for other charities, but with totally different operational structures; WO has nine traditional shops in SW London; CFGC is the UK's largest charity card and gift retailer, operating through its website and a national network comprising 125 popup and hosted shops for Christmas.
Our guest speakers: Samantha, Derrick and Christine:
There was an Admissions Ceremony before the Supper which will be reported in the next Company Newsletter. (ED: My personal reflections are that I enjoyed meeting new members and long-serving members for the first time too. I also met representatives from a great small charity that the Charitable Fund has supported in the past: Getset4tennis).
Livery Food Initiative (LFI)
The Charitable Fund Trustees agreed, on 15th January, to a request for further funding from the LFI. This was against the backdrop of the Master’s already launched fund raising initiative, including active participation in the work of the charity. (Ed: more on this below). The Trustees agreed to make a one-off donation of £2,000. Why? The impact of food insecurity on children is undeniable as shown in this infographic.
On a cold day in January a group of Members got involved. Take a bow: the Master, PM Denise Fellows, PM Chris Sutton, PM Kanan Barot, Bob Harris, Alexei Samarenko, John Cowdell, and Second Warden Collette Stone. Here’s Collette’s reflections on her day with City Harvest.
“I asked Ash, the driver of the van on the south London run what was the hardest part of his job. He said - when a cyclist and a motorbike come up behind me at the same time. But I think its a whole lot more than that.
I was out on the van as a volunteer, to see what happens to the food after the crates are packed at the warehouse. I saw Ash negotiate the London traffic in the rain to find the five charity drop off points that day. I watched how he chose the crates most likely to be what each charity's visitors would want and negotiate when all he had left was what they didn't really want. We came back to base with an empty van, but I now know that bottled water and loaves of bread are not needed - takes too long to make sandwiches, and the receivers of the food were polite about two crates of avocados and a gallon of pesto they accepted - but we could see the menu options that night were going to need a skillful, creative cook.
The charities visited:
- Be Enriched Battersea Canteen (Brixton People's Kitchen) - creating access to food for families every day of the year.
- Evolve: Alexandra House and Palmer House, Croydon - a charity providing a range of services to homeless and vulnerable people.
- Legacy Youth Zone - a multi-purpose facility in Croydon where young people aged 8-19 and up to 25 with additional needs are helped to find out what they want to pursue in life and hang out with their friends.
- SPEAR, Colliers Wood - a charity supporting people experiencing homelessness in south west London.
The businesses donating that day: Nando's – chicken; Cost Co - bread, buns, ready meals.
New Trustee - Alexei Samarenko
In the last edition of the GTKP newsletter we advertised a vacancy for an elected Trustee and invited applications from actively engaged younger Members interested in making a contribution. Two Members expressed an interest and after initial discussions one withdrew, and one was interviewed. The Trustees are now pleased and proud to announce that Alexei Samarenko has been appointed. Alexei’s background is in financial services and fund management and the Trustees were unanimous in their view that he would make a positive contribution to the Trustee team.
Welcome Alexei! Here’s a short pen picture:
Alexei is an experienced management consultant. He has worked in the industry for 7 years. Having completed a consultancy graduate programme, he has gone on to work advising several of the leading firms in the financial services sector. He specialises in Asset and Wealth management, where he helps clients overcome their challenges primarily with business transformation and market positioning.
He joined the Worshipful Company of Management Consultants in 2024, attracted by the training and experience available via the CMCE, the history and tradition of the City, and the camaraderie of Company events. Alexei holds a degree in Mathematics and Finance with Investment Banking, and qualifications in project management.
Sea Cadets
The Trustees also considered a grant application from the Sea Cadets at their January meeting. This was in line with expectations and of the long-term relationship that we have now established with them. However, the Trustees decided to defer consideration of the application and to wait for an impact report from the Sea Cadets about what had been achieved with the grant made in 2024. It is worth noting that all grantees are required to provide an impact statement so that the Fund has a clear understanding of what has been achieved with the funds provided. Watch this space for more.
Other Charitable Fund business
The Trustees have begun a process, which may take some time, looking at the Fund’s long term investment strategy, and increasing the funds available to support its overarching philanthropic strategy of “Supporting Young Lives”. More on this in the fullness of time...
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As ever, many thanks for reading this far and to all the contributors of content for this GTKP Newsletter. All the Charities Supper photos are courtesy of Mark Fox - thank you as ever Mark.
Steve Cant
Editor
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