Holdsworth takes over as Charity Commission CEO following Stephenson’s last speech
Melanie May | 1 July 2024 | News
David Holdsworth joins the Charity Commission as CEO today (1 July), taking over from Helen Stephenson, whose term has now ended. Stephenson held the role for seven years.
Holdsworth was announced as Stephenson’s successor earlier this year, set to take over the role today. He was previously CEO of the Animal and Plant Health Agency since 2022 and before that worked at the Charity Commission as Deputy Chief Executive and Registrar.
Stephenson’s final public event as CEO of the Charity Commission was the gofod3 event on 5 June. At the event, she shared personal reflections from her time in the role, and speaking in the run up to the election, noted the opportunity for charities to draw attention to their causes, along with the importance of following the rules on political activity and campaigning.
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Growing role for charities
She also spoke on the role charities hold, saying that throughout her time at the Commission, “it’s been clear that the role, value and importance of charities in our society is continuing to rise.
“The difference charities make in our communities and all of our lives is immeasurable, and it is growing.”
Importance of public trust
She also drew attention to importance of trust for charities, saying that they “rightly hold a privileged place in society and in the law”, but that this could only be justified if the public have trust and confidence in charities.
She added that: “Trust is hard earned and easily lost. The work of a charity ultimately relies on public trust and goodwill – which in turn rests on it delivering against its purpose in a way that is true to its values.”
In her time as Commission CEO, Stephenson said she had seen charities “achieve the impossible” through their good work, and seen charities get it “badly wrong”.
Great charities led by delivering on their purposes
Reflecting on what makes the difference between the two, she said: “A great charity is one whose trustees and wider leadership, over time, are led always and alone by the charity’s purposes.
“Not by whim, fashion, or funding but by a shared commitment to delivering on the purposes that got the charity on the register in the first place.”
Commission’s role
Stephenson also spoke on the Commission’s special role, “to uphold the covenant of trust that exists between Parliament, the public and charities”.
Speaking further, she said that over the years there had been times when there had been shifts in how it has been perceived between being seen as focusing more on enforcement or focusing more on support for trustees.
This, she said, was “an unhelpful, false dichotomy”, and that she had sought to “cement within the Commission a culture that recognises both support and robust enforcement are necessary poles of our work which should attract equal amounts of regulatory energy and investment.”
Over the past seven years, the Commission, she said, had “done a huge amount to strengthen both aspects of our work”, including overhauling its online guidance to trustees, investing in technology to improve connections with trustees, and using its enforcement powers – but also she added, being clear when charities have been subject to wrong or unfair public criticism.
Final thank you
She concluded by thanking everyone involved in the sector, saying: “to all of you who give your time, money or expertise to a charity. To the trustees, volunteers and staff who make up the ecosystem of the voluntary sector – thank you for everything you do for your charities, your communities and for our society as a whole.”
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.