We are celebrating and acknowledging our Trustees who each bring a range of experience and broad industry knowledge to their roles.
We are celebrating and acknowledging our Trustees who each bring a range of experience and broad industry knowledge to their roles. Their responsibilities include governance, strategic direction, and the financial health of the charity, as well as the integrity of all activities to ensure that the charity develops its aims, objectives, and goals in line with the overall strategy.
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) Trustees’ Week takes place on 4-8th November 2024, bringing organisations together to celebrate the incredible contributions and achievements of nearly one million Trustees in the UK as well as inspiring future Trustees.
Will Matthewman, Chair of Trustees for Devon Air Ambulance (DAA) said: ‘Trustees are the ‘eyes and ears’ of the public. It is our job to hold the leaders of DAA to account, making sure the money that is donated is put to the best possible use.
Being a Trustee means committing time and energy to Devon Air Ambulance, but it’s worth it! Trustees have the chance to make a real difference, learn new skills along the way and spend time with our fantastic team of people. Getting to know how the charity operates and becoming familiar with the unusual combination of helicopters, doctors and paramedics, is very rewarding. By supporting specific initiatives, such as our Green Team, helping at fund-raising events or visiting our shops, Trustees get to be part of the Devon Air Ambulance team.
Will Matthewman, Chair of Trustees for Devon Air Ambulance
‘My trusteeship at DAA was my first role of this kind and has proved to be an invaluable learning opportunity. Whilst the role brings with it significant levels of responsibility, I see this as a great chance to develop within the position, as well as honing a variety of transferable skills for my day-to-day job. It can often take years to advance far enough within your career to have a genuine impact on the company you work for. With my trustee role, however, I feel I can already make a real difference and my input is appreciated. A diversity of viewpoints is integral to a successful board and offering a different perspective as a new trustee is seen as highly valuable’
Grateful for our experience and expertise
Trustee, Elly Adams, is a Chartered Accountant and Finance Director of Oxygen Conservation, a business tackling the climate crisis and biodiversity collapse by scaling conservation across the UK.
We spoke to Elly about her experience as a Trustee, why she applied for the role and what benefits it brings. Elly said:
When I saw the advert for trustees, I was immediately drawn to it, as a supporter of what DAA does, I welcomed the opportunity to support the charity and make a difference myself. In 2021 a family member suffered a serious farming accident and became a patient of the DAA. As a result of the excellent care received from the team he made a full recovery, and our family saw first-hand the tremendous impact the service makes. I had previously held a trustee position and other volunteering roles, and after a period of absence due to family commitments, I was seeking something new.
Elly brings senior financial leadership experience spanning a wide range of board, investment, strategic and operational challenges. Previously a Director in PwC’s Corporate Finance Team, she spent 20 years based in London working with private equity firms and management teams on buy-out transactions. Elly relocated to Devon and as the Group Finance Director at Oxygen House where she led the finance function, supporting the Group’s ambition of scaling solutions to climate change. Elly added:
‘I am a Chartered Accountant and experienced finance professional. Throughout my career I have worked with growing companies and management teams on business planning and finance raising to support their strategic ambitions. Recently I have worked with companies helping to fight climate change and the biodiversity crisis.’
Helping to create stronger communities
This year’s Trustees’ Week aims to inspire more people to become Trustees. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations says,
Resilient charities help create stronger communities. Having full and active trustee boards is crucial to achieving this. Charities and voluntary organisations with trustee vacancies are missing out on important skills and knowledge.
Our Trustees play a crucial role in the running of the charity, but being a Trustee also comes with a multitude of benefits. Elly explained,
‘I am learning from the broad range of perspectives from the board of trustees and the leadership team. Everyone brings different personal and professional experiences with them, and everyone is given the opportunity to contribute to discussions and decision making. I am also a member of the Environment, Sustainability and Stewardship committee and enjoy working with other members of the DAA team.
‘When going through the recruitment process to become a Trustee, I enjoyed finding out more about the organisation and meeting some of the wider team. The process was straightforward, and I had the opportunity to ask lots of questions about DAA’s plans for the next 3 years and what it was looking for from its trustees to help make sure it would be a good fit for me and my experience. The hardest part was keeping my expression of interest to a single page of A4!
‘The experience is great. I joined at the same time as two other new trustees and with lots going on we had to hit the ground running. We followed a thorough onboarding process with lots of background information and reading.’
Are you, or is someone you know interested in becoming a Trustee? Elly said ‘Go for it! It’s a great opportunity to meet new people and learn new skills and there are lots of different ways to get involved. Be prepared to actively contribute and challenge yourself about how your unique experience could benefit the charity.’
