The single biggest mistake that British charities make is not investing in fundraising, Sir Thomas Hughes-Hallett told a conference of charity trustees yesterday.

Sir Thomas, the former chief executive of Marie Curie Cancer Care and chair of the Philanthropy Review, was giving the opening plenary at Governance magazine’s annual Trustee Exchange conference.

His speech, which was loaded with personal anecdotes and drew on his extensive experience on both sides of the boardroom table, contained plenty of advice about how trustees can ensure the organisation’s financial sustainability.

He said any charity trustee that would like to see their organisation raise an extra £1m a year ought to ask themselves why they wouldn’t be prepared to invest £300,000 to achieve that - because that’s what it should take.  

“And then ask yourself whether you wouldn’t be in dereliction of your duty as trustees not to do so.”  He said any charity’s treasurer will probably try to block the expenditure, because it would take two years to make the £300,000 back “and you may have to weather the storm in year one. But I would argue that’s exactly what reserves are for.

“Rainy days don’t often happen to charities. At Marie Curie, with £150m turnover and 5,000 staff, we kept a maximum of 26 weeks of wages as our reserves.”

Trustees as fundraisers

Sir Thomas also had strong views about whether trustees ought to be obliged to fundraise for their charity.  He said that while they shouldn’t feel they have to hit up their own friends for cash, all trustees should contribute some amount themselves and should allow themselves to be interrogated by the charity’s fundraisers.

“You are not fit to be a trustee if you are not giving yourself,” he said.  He added that he was astounded when some trustees at Marie Curie sent him Christmas cards that weren’t Marie Curie cards.

“Trustees should give of their treasure and their friends, not just their time and talent.  Even if it’s just a standing order for £30 a year.  If you can’t put your hand on heart and say ‘I give money’, it weakens you.  Go on – save your CEO the embarrassment.”

Yet chief executives should never pressure their trustees into fundraising, he said, “because that will frighten them off. Instead, con them.”  He recalled one trustee he worked with who would never dream of raising money for the charity, so Sir Thomas asked him what he was passionate about.  When the trustee replied “opera and wine”, Sir Thomas suggested the charity hold a wine auction, which the trustee wholeheartedly embraced – and organised.  Every year for four years the auction raised £100,000 for the charity.

But executives must not pressure trustees into asking their own friends for money, he said.  “My wife imposed a rule that we wouldn’t ask our friends to support our charities,” he said. “Which I agreed with – after all, we didn’t want to stop being asked round for dinner.”

That said, the charity’s fundraisers should be given access to all the trustees and allowed to interrogate them about their contacts and networks, he added, as that is bound to throw up information that will prove useful to the fundraising team.

And trustees themselves ought to be keen to be proper ambassadors for their charity, Sir Thomas said. “You should push your executive to allow you to host something. It shouldn’t have to be the chair that does it all the time. If you can pay for it, even better, but if not, you should still offer to host something. Be an ambassador.”

Executives at the board meeting

Sir Thomas asked the audience how many trustees welcomed the whole executive team to their board meetings, and was pleased to find that most did.

“I like the phrase ‘unitary board’,” he said. “We all know we’re on the same board but we play different roles on that board. A charity’s whole executive team should attend every trustee board meeting. Why wouldn’t they? If they don’t, how can you impart your enthusiasm?  How can you learn what they’re thinking and make them feel that you’re on their side if you never see them?” If you can’t accommodate them, he added, “buy a bigger table!”

Know your strategy

Sir Thomas said it was imperative that trustees know what their organisation’s strategy is and be able to explain it in 30 seconds. He said that when he joined Marie Curie, its strategy, as explained to him then, was to conduct scientific research, deliver palliative care degrees, run hospices, and provide care in the home.

“It took a long time but eventually we came up with a new strategy, which was to give people the choice to die at home,” he said. “It totally transformed the organisation.”  

Sir Thomas closed the research institution and the education unit: “There were 54 other degree courses on offer we didn’t need to do that. Then everything we did was focused on giving people the choice to die at home. We went from cosseting people to actually getting them home. The average length of time people stayed with us went down to 13 days from about 30.  We trebled our turnover and doubled the amount of care.

“But I couldn’t have done it without a trustee body who challenged me all the way but ultimately got behind me.”

Different angles

He advised charities to “think outside the box to come up with a strategy that touches more people”.  Arts charities, for example, are accustomed to marketing ‘culture’, but it’s increasingly difficult to get funders to give you money to have fun, he said.  Those organisations would do better, he suggested, to emphasise the health and wellbeing benefits, the educational benefits, and the economic benefits of their institution or service.

A choir that he is involved with has created a singing course for people with COPD. “Breathing exercises are boring, but singing has exactly the same effect.”  

Trustees should take themselves away for a day at least once a year to think about their strategy, Sir Thomas said.

More Sir Thomas quotes:

“I don’t think you should have trustees that your CEO hasn’t scrutinised first, because it’s very hard to get rid of trustees.”

“Get rid of the executive if you don’t understand what they are saying. Ban acronyms.”

“Make fundraising one of the top three items on your agenda at every board meeting.”

“Always carry a business card with the charity’s name on – and probably the chief executive’s telephone number on the back – and sprinkle these around like confetti.”

“If your board is no fun, try and work out why.  If need be, have a quiet word with your chairman and suggest it’s time that one or two trustees moved on. Find exits for people. If you haven’t brought new blood in for a year, you are failing.”

“A board of fewer than six is too small; any bigger than 15 is out of hand.”

“Thank your executive. Tell them they’re fantastic. And thank your supporters.”