You were made to soar

Years ago I was involved in a capital appeal project that had got itself into difficulties. All the money had been raised but there were a number of issues that meant we couldn't buy the building we'd raised the money for, and even if we could buy it, we wouldn't get planning consent for what we wanted to do.

It was a right old muddle when I got involved and I remember commissioning a lengthy report into exactly why we were where we were. It was tempting to pull the plug on the whole thing, give the money back and walk away. But we didn't. Eventually things were sorted out and the service has now been up and running for over a decade.

I've felt a bit like that watching from the sidelines the muddle that the Chartered Institute of Fundraising has got itself into investigating reports by some female fundraisers of sexual misconduct by Chartered Institute members and how these allegations have been handled. I've been trying to play a useful role in advocating for the women and offering constructive feedback on how the Chartered Institute is handling things. It has been extraordinarily tempting to walk away. I'm no longer employed as a fundraiser, have no ambitions to return to that world and I'm really too busy to clear up other people's messes. But it is a world where women are over represented. It is a disproportionately young workforce too, and where unequal power dynamics on race, gender, disability, age, education, wealth etc play out time and time again.

So, while walking away is tempting, I can't help thinking of the people coming after me who can't, who need a functional membership body ready and willing to step up to create a safer profession for everyone who works in it. A membership body that puts its individual members, its people, and their wellbeing, first.

Here's an interview I gave on the subject.

As part of my new Cabinet role in Lambeth, I participated in an event presenting the findings of the South London Listens programme which has been running since June 2020 to create a body of work focusing on mental ill-health and recovery. Community leaders from across all the boroughs in South London shared the themes that emerged from thousands of conversations with local people over the last 12 months and the actions we all need to take to build a mentally healthier future together. I was pleased to be able to represent Lambeth and sign up to a range of pledges, including playing a leading role as a London Living Wage borough and influencing our partners and local businesses to pay the London Living Wage too.

Interesting and useful links 🖇️

Diversify your board monthly training events with Sophia Moreau. She calls it a whistle stop tour of all the things you need to do to increase diversity from underrepresented groups on your board. Sounds good to me!

Mental health and race at work: a toolkit to help businesses support the positive mental health of their people who are Black or from a Minority Ethnic background.

This week, BOND, the membership body for INGOs released its Racism, Power and Truth report. 150 people of colour who work in the development sector shared their experiences for the report. Amongst other statistics, 89% stated that they didn't feel their organisation was committed to diversity and inclusion. And this a whole year after all those black tiles for Black Lives Matter. Surely organisations can be showing real commitment by now? Do better.

Learning points 🎓

If you are not at the table then you’re probably on the menu.

No one seems very sure who first used this phrase but I heard it in a meeting this week for the first time and it made me smile.

What am I reading? 📚

I'm reading the biography of Alfred Wainwright at the moment. He wrote the words that the title of this week's newsletter comes from. He devised the Coast to Coast walk and the Wainwrights, are named after him.

The full quote is “You were made to soar, to crash to earth, then to rise and soar again.”

What am I watching? 👀

I finally got to see my friend Stevie's film, The Reason I Jump, at an actual cinema. It stars five different non-verbal autistic people in four different countries, one of whom, Joss, is Stevie and her husband, Jerry's, son. It's truly excellent and I learned a lot.

Go see it if you can, tickets here.

The Reason I Jump, a ground-breaking film on autism.

What am I listening to? 👂

Ghost Town by The Specials celebrated 40 years since its release.

It's as relevant now as it ever was.

Joy-giving things 😍

It might be bucketing with rain where I am right now but fortunately I took this pic of my bowl pond dwarf lily earlier in the week when the sun was with us.

Have a lovely weekend

Lucy

PS Don't forget to soar

I write this newsletter because I believe in sharing progressive ideas that help us work towards a truly equal world.

Share it with your friends so they can read it too 📣

ChangeOut is created by Lucy Caldicott. You can find more about my work at ChangeOut.org. If you’re looking to have a chat about culture, leadership, purpose, equity, or a facilitated team discussion about any of those things, get in touch. You can also find me on Bluesky, Instagram, and, LinkedIn.

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