# Top business directors think charities are under-utilising their skills

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2007/01/04/top-business-directors-think-charities-are-underutilising-their-skills/
- Published: 2007-01-04T00:00:00+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

Charities are struggling to use effectively the voluntary business skills of directors,
according to a survey of the UK’s top directors by Directorbank in conjunction with
Impetus Trust, a charity set up by the private equity industry.
Five hundred of 
the 2,800 directors contacted responded to the survey, and many acknowledged that
the problem was due largely to ‘hand to mouth’ funding, lack of project management
capacity and the public perception that donations should go to a cause rather than
on administration. More than half of the directors who responded volunteer as charity
trustees so have some knowledge of the issues involved. Indeed, 62% of these say
that a key motivation was to offer their specialist expertise.

Despite their involvement, directors said that the biggest issues facing charities
are financial management (24%), leadership (18%), business acumen (17%) and strategic
direction (12%).

Elizabeth Jackson, chief executive of Directorbank, argues that charities need to
re-think how they use the business skills on offer.

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She said: “There is a strong sense of frustration among business leaders. They want
to help charities but few feel they are making a real difference – which is a wasted
opportunity for charities. Clearly there are a lot of issues about how directors
can make more of a contribution, which needs addressing.”

Over half of the directors surveyed (52%) stated an interest in offering their skills
to venture philanthropy charity Impetus. The Trust only invests in charities that
have a clear sense of ambition and distinctive strategy and can show how the investment
will achieve “a significant step change”.

Roger Flynn, director of SpringBoard Group and former director of BBC Ventures, 
is a founder director of Youth Culture Television. Even though he set up this charity,
he has found it difficult to use his business skills in such a different environment.
He admits that for all his experience and longer range ideas, board meetings often
had to revolve around short term funding.

One national charity that Directorbank says has made significant steps in using 
the skills of directors is Rathbone, which provides education and training for young
people. Their chief executive, Richard Williams, has an education background and
recruited specific business skills in both executive directors and trustees to complement
his own skills. One of these, Barbara Rimmer, is former director of Focus Wickes
Group and one of Directorbank’s candidates.

Barbara Rimmer, director of finance at Rathbone, is using her expertise in corporate
finance and change management to help the charity refocus and set clear goals. She
said: We have agreed a three year strategy and given all directors and trustees 
specific targets to help us achieve our objectives.

“Already this focus means we are seeing higher success rates in helping young people
to achieve qualifications.”

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