To celebrate Trustees’ Week we sat down with our Chair, Samuel Lush and asked him to share some of his experience leading the TFN Board. By day Sam is a Director in the Private Equity Group at KPMG. He was introduced to TFN in 2014 through the City Funding Network which aimed to attract more young city professionals to live crowdfunding. In Sam’s case, this was so successful that he joined the Board and was appointed Chair in June 2017.

TFN: What first drew you to The Funding Network?

Sam: I was exhilarated by the entrepreneurial spirit of the small organisations that pitched. I loved the energy of the live events and the sense of doing good together with other people. To this day, I continue to be impressed at how the projects we support address critical social issues that are not often receiving mainstream attention. 

Can you tell us about an organisation that you’ve met through TFN that particularly inspired you?

I’m always amazed by the innovative solutions people come up with. I often find myself thinking ‘why didn’t I think of that!?’. One that really sticks with me is Clean Conscience which pitched for funding for a project to gather unused and half used toiletries from five star hotels and to re-distribute them to women’s refuges and shelters for homeless people. When we supported them they were tiny and reliant on donations. Today they’re a dynamic, fully self-funded social enterprise addressing social and environmental problems worldwide.

What have you enjoyed about being a trustee and then Chair? 

I’ve enjoyed working with the fantastic team and supporting them to be innovative and brave, particularly during the pandemic, and it’s really gratifying to see how that has paid off. I’ve also really enjoyed working with my fellow trustees – facilitating debates about existential issues such as ‘how does a live events charity survive a global pandemic?’, to ensuring the interests of our charities and members drive every decision we make. It’s been so rewarding to see our small charity evolve into this incredible and wide reaching platform.

Looking back on your five years as Chair, what are you most proud of?

I’m proud of the successful CEO transition in 2019, the incredible 60% increase in the funds we raised for charities during the pandemic, the completion of the first stage of our strategic transformation programme including a new brand and a refresh of our theory of change and the amazing board we have assembled!

Has being a trustee/Chair had any influence on the work you do professionally?

Absolutely – the skills and experience at TFN are hugely transferable to my day job. I have deepened my understanding of governance thanks to the opportunity to work alongside some people with deep and varied experience and I’ve developed hugely since I took on the chair role 6 years ago. I would encourage anyone who is thinking about becoming a charity to trustee to look into it.