In the seventh of a series of Trustee Q&A blogs, we speak to Pippa Smith, who joined the board of The Charity Service in 2024.
Can you tell us about your background and professional career?
I’m the Executive Director of the Sir John Fisher Foundation, an independent grant making foundation based in Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. I started my career managing social innovation funding programmes across Europe and I was the Chief Executive of a student social action charity. I have a particular interest in social enterprise and investment and love working with social entrepreneurs.
What initially interested you in becoming a trustee?
I think if you work for a charity, being a trustee is a great way to sit on the other side of the table and understand the role of the board. It also gives you a chance to step away from the day-to-day operational work of running a charity and think bigger picture, which I find really rewarding.
Why did you choose to join The Charity Service?
The foundation I work for has its own assets so I was interested in the Donor Advised Fund side of The Charity Service and developing an insight into working with philanthropists. The work I do is also very place-based, so I was excited to learn more about the charity sector in Greater Manchester, which has totally different challenges to rural Cumbria.
What do you enjoy most about being a trustee at The Charity Service?
The people! I really enjoy working with everyone, both the staff team and the other trustees. Everyone brings a unique background and perspective
What are The Charity Service’s key strengths?
I’d say it’s being rooted in the heritage of Manchester’s grassroots. We visit many applicants, which not all grant makers do, but seeing what an organisation does in real life is so different to reading it from a page. It also gives the opportunity to provide better support and guidance, which is particularly valuable to smaller organisations.
We prefer to support ongoing projects, meaning applicants don’t have to jump through the hoop of repackaging a project to appeal to a funder who is looking for something new and shiny.
I think the bespoke support we provide to philanthropists, based in that deep knowledge of philanthropy and the charity sector, is a key strength of ours too.
Where would you like to see The Charity Service in five years’ time?
I’d like us to be the first choice for philanthropists who want to make impact outside of London and who want a DAF provider with strong charity sector roots.
I would also love to see us being more experimental in our philanthropy and sharing learning with the wider sector – our participatory grant making pilot with The Booth Centre is a great initiative.
What advice would you give to someone considering becoming a Trustee?
I’d particularly encourage anyone who would be a younger trustee to put yourself forward and recognise that your perspective is so valuable to a charity board. It’s a great way to demystify what happens at board level, accelerate your career and make a difference to a cause you care about. I also love working with young people on boards as they tend to put forward ideas no one else has considered and say it like it is!
