Charity chiefs invited to join south east discussion forum

The South East Charity Forum builds on the vision of D’Arcy Myers, chief executive of Wessex Heartbeat, and has been developed with the support of asb law and Kingston Smith LLP. The two established professional services firms in the region have expertise in the charity sector and have pooled resources to facilitate the forum.

“The South East Charity Forum is all about CEOs coming together to assist each other and to share knowledge, experience and best practice with a view to developing stronger leadership and management in the region and the sector,” according to Margaret Craton, partner at asb law. “It also provides an opportunity for them to network with other charity heads, and support their peers at a local level.”

The inaugural meeting was held in January when Debra Allcock Tyler, chief executive of the Directory of Social Change and author of ‘It’s tough at the top’, gave a stimulating presentation to 25 chief executives on the issues currently facing the sector. Feedback from the delegates after the meeting was positive with comments such as “an excellent start”, “interesting and informative meeting” and “a good range of charities represented”.

David Montgomery, partner at Kingston Smith LLP, said: “The feedback from the first event proved its value. The members of the forum will decide on the subjects to be discussed in the future, and there’s no shortage of ideas. The next event will give charity chiefs the opportunity to discuss ways to ride out the current economic situation and prepare for the upturn when it does come, for while the recession may be officially over, we’re not out of the woods just yet.”

Membership of the South East Charity Forum is open to chief executives of charities in the region with an income in excess of £500,000 and by invitation only.

Diana Greenman of Music in Hospitals will chair the second event on 18 May at St Catherine’s Hospice, Crawley. The main discussion theme will be ‘The recession – how to ride the storm and use the opportunity to leverage change’.

Forthcoming event
Date: 18 May 2010
Topic: The recession – how to ride the storm and use the opportunity to leverage change
Chair: Diana Greenman, chief executive of Music in Hospitals
Location: St Catherine’s Hospice

For further information, contact:
David Montgomery, partner at Kingston Smith LLP
Tel: 01737 779000
Email: dmontgomery@kingstonsmith.co.uk

Margaret Craton, partner at asb law
Tel: 01293 603655
Email: margaret.craton@asb-law.com

PR enquiries:
Layisha Laypang
Tel: 020 7566 3574
Email: llaypang@kingstonsmith.co.uk