Join our board and use your skills to help end gendered poverty
The Smallwood Trust has been helping women out of poverty for more than a century. As we move towards our 135th anniversary in 2021 we are looking for additional board members who share our passion and who can help us accelerate our strategy to achieve a gender equal economy and society.
Below is an insight into the Trust by one of our current Board Members, Rachael Bailey:
“The Trust funds both tried and tested approaches and innovative ideas…there is a lot of potential for our work going forward.
I first heard about the Smallwood Trust when I was working for a social enterprise that helped women develop skills to find flexible work to help them out of poverty. The Trust seemed a unique organisation, offering support to front line organisations and also providing funding for women directly. And I was struck by their approach – which combines tried and tested approaches to grant making with innovative ideas. I found the process of applying in itself really useful. In addition to a written application, shortlisted candidates were invited to a working session with team exercises and an opportunity to meet current board members on an individual basis. This gave me a valuable understanding of the Trust, the existing team, and the expectations of the role. Since joining the Board in December 2017, my involvement with The Smallwood Trust has been very fulfilling. It has been a time of change and there is a lot of potential for our work looking forward. We have spent much time developing our theory of change, we have agreed a new funding strategy that will enable us to increase funding and our impact, and we are planning to mark 135 years of the Trust in 2021. I am pleased to be able to use my professional experience to play a part, as well as drawing on personal experience of some of the same issues that face our beneficiaries. When Edith Smallwood set up the Trust, she was looking to help alleviate some of the challenges faced by women in poverty. Whilst I wish that our funding and support was no longer needed, I am pleased that our current strategy continues to help reduce the impact of poverty, improves the circumstances of individual women, and also seeks to achieve deeper systemic change through our policy work.”
We are looking to appoint up to three additional board members to help build on the incredible legacy of our founder, Edith Smallwood. To find out more and how to apply, please click here.
