Charity Sector

Simon Johnson was a charity Chief Executive for seven years, and is currently a Trustee of two charities. Through SJRB, Simon has advised numerous charities and philanthropic foundations on strategy, governance and management of change. His work has been praised by many of the Trustees of charities that he has helped.

Simon’s broad experience as a CEO, Trustee and Advisor, as well as in business, enable him to provide an incisive, tailored and valuable service to the not for profit sector.

Understanding governance and the way that the right structure can promote creativity and flexible decision making, Simon can guide a charity around the provisions of the Charity Governance Code and create structures that enable growth.

He is used to dealing with the Charity Commission and ensuring that a charity maintains the right balance of relationship with the regulator.

Simon has vast experience of devising and implementing reviews of charity strategy, with a template for strategy reviews that enables management and Trustees to come up with a strategy that enables their charity to be fit for the future.

He has hard earned experience in managing crises and in guiding charities through challenging situations, especially where the Charity Commission is concerned. That means he can help to devise crisis management plans and hold the hands of executives and Trustees at short notice if they find themselves in a high profile crisis that impacts the charity.

He has written extensively on how to manage a crisis, on charity governance and strategy and is able to use his industry knowledge to guide charities of all sizes and scale to provide the best service for service users, Trustees, donors and stakeholders.

Businesses in the UK charity sector face a unique double-threat. While there remains a greater call for their services, there is at the same time a pinch on disposable income that has led to a reduction in income from donations. In addition, firms are struggling to retain and obtain workers as the industry faces stiff competition from other sectors.

An increased demand for services requires a focus on strategy and cost management to be able to cope. An uptick in operational costs will lead to a need for increased donations or an examination by Trustees of the extent to which reserves can be utilised. This requires knowledge of prevailing best practice and charity commission guidance.

The challenge to donations may seem to have to ebb and flow with the economy but this need not be the case. There are software and service solutions out there which can be used by charities to wind their network of stakeholders and potential donors, as well as “crowdfunding” campaign operators who can open up new and broader funding streams. Attention can also be given to legacy giving.

Attitudes to Philanthropy are changing by economic development and regulation. Fundraising campaigns are now much more closely regulated, the use of personal data is legislated and the market is experiencing tough economic conditions. We have seen an increase in “personality philanthropy” where well known entertainers and sports people have adopted charities or causes and provided a catalyst for charitable giving to such causes. The beneficiaries of these initiatives are fortunate but it can create confusion and duplication, especially with other established players and so an enlightened approach to collaboration amongst charities is something that is to be encouraged.

Indeed, Charities should be thinking about how they can collaborate in order to reduce costs and increase efficiency amongst a sector so as to increase the service provision towards a cause.