Woodcraft Folk’s Trustee Board met at Height Gate on the 1st and 2nd October; it was their first face to face meeting since the Annual General Meeting in August 2022. At the meeting, they welcomed new Trustees, including:
- Eedie Baker-Thompson, Newham District
- Ray Maynard-Vesely, Southwark District
- Spike Asri, Oxford District
- Jack Brown, Banbury District
The meeting focused on communications, finances and volunteering. The Trustees were joined by Lauren Penny, Woodcraft Folk’s Communications Manager, who presented statistics on the impact of her work with our social media and the new Communications Strategy. Lauren joined the staff team at the end of January 2022 following the Trustees decision to invest in communications. Since her appointment, engagement on social media has increased by over 500% on Instagram and by 78% on Facebook.
An important role of Trustees is to ensure the sustainability of Woodcraft Folk and having good financial oversight is important in achieving this goal. The Trustees agreed an investment budget in 2021 and to date the finances are on track. Woodcraft Folk centres have returned to pre-COVID levels of activity and income. Common Ground attracted external funding and investment made in a new Fundraiser is also seeing an increase in income.
Aggie Taylor, Chair of General Council described the meeting as “Inspiring to hear about the good work of our volunteers and staff. Trustees were especially pleased to hear about the number of new group enquiries and the regular volunteer webinars being delivered by the Membership & Programmes team”.
The Trustees also got to see first hand the improvements made at the charity’s Height Gate Centre, which is now furnished with beds! The leaking roof has been repaired and there are plans to improve the bathrooms. During their stay they had a windy walk to Stoodley Pike!
To find out more about their discussions watch the video update below.
You can contact Woodcraft Folk’S General Council via email at general.council@woodcraft.org.uk