Trustee transition at UKCF during Trustees Week

Our network is supporting communities around the UK that are facing a cost-of-living crisis. This emergency, stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine, climate change, and other global factors, will result in changing times for years to come.

This year, the theme of Trustees Week has a poignant reminder that, for those involved in decision making, now is the time to act if we are to support people affected by the crisis and shape the outcome of communities in the future.

At UKCF’s Annual General Meeting, changes were announced as we welcomed two new trustees to our Board. Appointed from the community foundation network, Steph Taylor and Fiona McDiarmid understand the local challenges currently faced across different areas of the UK and will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the UKCF team.

Steph Taylor, Deputy CEO at Leeds Community Foundation, said:  

"I am chuffed to bits to have the opportunity to serve on the UKCF Board. I have seen the difference community foundations can make through my work in Leeds and Bradford and am passionate about contributing to a network that has the potential to be much more than the sum of its parts.  

I believe in the direction the (UKCF) team is taking and look forward to challenging and supporting them to ensure the community foundation movement is fit for the future."   

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Fiona McDiarmid, Vice Chair at Norfolk Community Foundation, said:  

"I am excited and personally delighted to be appointed as a UKCF Trustee. My experience of working with Norfolk Community Foundation has left me deeply impressed with its impact in local communities, which is why I am so keen to be part of the national movement.  

In the current cost-of-living crisis there is no better time to harness the power of philanthropy to broker partnerships between statutory agencies, the VCS and communities, to improve the lived experience of individuals in such challenging circumstances." 

We are grateful to our outgoing Vice Chair, Mark Spofforth OBE, Trustee at Sussex Community Foundation, and Stephen Singleton MBE, Executive Vice Chair at Suffolk Community Foundation, for their fantastic contributions to the UKCF Board.

Also announced at the UKCF AGM were two promotions in the UKCF senior management team. Ben Robinson is now Deputy CEO and Director of Strategy, and Kaveed Ali is now Chief Operating Officer.  

At the Getting On Board ‘Festival of Trusteeship’ this week, the Charity Commission’s Director of Communications and Policy, Paul Latham, highlighted the need to build resilience and agility to deal with the challenges we are facing and may continue to face.  

UKCF is thankful for the collaboration between trustees throughout the community foundation network. We are on a path to diversify and expand the knowledge and perception of our members, to support communities as they build resilience for a better tomorrow.