In this month's episode, Fiona Melvin and Matt Forster of New Writing North join Alison Jones and Victoria Walton in our Sports, Education, and Charities team to discuss what makes a good board.

New Writing North is a charity that unites people through books and writing and supports talented people from all backgrounds to achieve their creative ambitions. Having won the North East Charity Awards Trustee Board of the Year award in 2024, Fiona and Matt discuss what makes their board great, the value of recruiting younger trustees, and their top tips for having an award-winning board.

Nic Greenan, CEO and Custodian of Tyneside Cinema, joins Samantha Pritchard to discuss the importance of the relationship between a CEO and a charity’s board of trustees, particularly when finances are squeezed, as well as the cinema’s future ambitions.

Tyneside Cinema is an independent cinema and cultural venue in the heart of Newcastle upon Tyne, and the last remaining newsreel theatre still showing films. 

Nic shares the cinema's journey from before she was appointed CEO to where it’s at now, highlighting the challenges faced and how the trustees have come together to save the curtain from coming down. 

With the iconic building being their biggest asset, Nic also talks about the plans for continuing the story and the memories, that many people have of the cinema, for another generation and across a wider demographic.

Gary Shaughnessy, chair of Parkinson’s UK, joins Samantha Pritchard and Alison Jones of Muckle LLP to discuss the incredible physical challenges he’s taken part in to manage his own condition and to raise awareness and funds for Parkinson’s UK, and his role as chair at this charity. 

Their conversation centres around how Parkinson’s UK embeds the lived experiences of the people and families the charity supports into its leadership, decision-making and policy setting and how it ensures this is done authentically and meaningfully throughout the organisation.

Gary explains the importance of having an organisation that is committed to listening to the community’s experiences and acts to answer and solve issues that matter to them.

Rob Williamson, chief executive of the Community Foundation serving Northumberland and Tyne & Wear, and James Garbutt, investment director at Rathbones, join Samantha Pritchard and Alison Jones of Muckle LLP to discuss how the Community Foundation engages with its stakeholders and collaborates with others to develop robust and responsible policies that underpin its approach to accepting donors' gifts, investing wisely and distributing grants responsibly. 

James' support of the Community Foundation and its approach to responsible investment opens up a conversation around what charity leaders can think about to ensure their key policies reflect their stakeholders’ range of perspectives, achieve buy-in across the board, staff and communities a charity serves and can evolve as the context a charity operates in changes.  

Alisar Taylor, founder and CEO, and Shannon Charters, makaton lead, both of True Colours Theatre, join Alison Jones and Carla Boaks to discuss the charity’s impressive growth in a short space of time.

True Colours Theatre is an inclusive theatre and performance charity. Established in 2014 in Newcastle, the charity works with adults and children with a variety of needs, including autism, ADHD and anxiety. 

This podcast coincides with Small Charities Week (24-28 June).

Mark Brassell, Chief Executive Officer of Alnwick Garden Trust, joins us to discuss Lilidorei, an educational children’s play park, which cost £18.5m and created more than 60 new jobs in the region. The ambitious project took seven years from concept to reality, with the park opening in May 2023. Mark discusses what charity leaders need to be thinking about when planning a major project to both secure the project's success and also maintain service as usual at the charity.

As the world's attention becomes increasingly focused on taking responsibility for the environment, environmental sustainability is an issue that charities, like the rest of society, simply cannot afford to ignore. Alison Jones, Senior Associate at Muckle LLP is joined by Carol Botten, former Chief Executive of VONNE, and Zoe Hull, Director of Development and Strategic Partnerships at Northern Stage, to discuss the environmental challenges and opportunities for charities. 

Charlotte Campbell, Director of Fundraising and Operations at the Children's Heart Unit Fund (Chuf), joins us to talk about the charity's involvement with cryptocurrency, detailing the process of accepting crypto donations and the accompanying risks. Charlotte also highlights the advantages of cultivating a diversified income stream and its role in the charity's growth and success. 

Introduction
Keep up to date with changes in employment law, including key legislative and case law developments and practical guidance with the first of our quarterly online updates from members of our Employment team.

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In this episode, Joanne Davison, partner in our Education team, is joined by James Armstrong and Richard Nixon, partners in our Real Estate team, to discuss the importance of good preparation in relation to development projects. They cover topics such as early identification of potential legal and practical problems, the differences between option agreements and conditional contracts and the usefulness (and limitations) of indemnity insurance, and offer tips to make the process run smoothly.