Heritage Now #10

UPFRONT

to further the purpose of the charity by setting its strategic direction and ensuring it is run in a legal, effective and responsible manner. Giles has done this with great enthusiasm and today we are grateful that the Society is in a better place because of his work. Whilst looking back and shaping the future we need to remain mindful of managing of change, especially whilst remaining true to our charita ble objectives. All charities need to change and evolve over time. This year we have welcomed six new board members and a new trustee chair, Sara Robertson. As we have looked for new leaders, we have considered carefully the skills that already exist within our board and what we might need for the future. We have therefore recruited people with varied experience, beyond that of casework, in areas such as marketing, events, fundraising and sustainability. All of these skills will be key to the next stages of our Society’s development and with such expert oversight our staff team can grow, de velop and explore new opportunities. You can learn more about our new trustees on pages 22 and 23. So, what skills are needed to chair our Society? In Sara, we feel we have found the right mixture of awareness of amenity societies and the heritage sector, combined with great strategic thinking and the capacity to support the team, in particular me as director. Running any organisation can be chal lenging, so to have someone to talk to, plan with, and bounce ideas off is very exciting. This will be come more relevant as we assess the opportunities and challenges a new political agenda will bring for heritage. In particular, we will be watching with great interest and be ready to offer our advice on proposed changes to the planning system. I am already looking forward to working with Sara, and learning from her, just as I am already learning from our new trustees. We are immensely grateful for their input into the early stages of the new strategy, the 2025 events programme and the recruitment of our new chair. Alongside these changes a much larger piece of work is underway, which, if done right, will be hardly noticed. Since 1924, the AMS/ HB&P has been an unincorporated charity. This has meant that although registered, we no longer follow best practice relating to good charity governance. We have therefore made inroads to become a Charita ble Incorporated Organisation (CIO) which means that we will still have an AGM, and voting mem bers, but trustees will not be personally liable for the charity. Becoming a CIO is a complicated process, not only do we need approval from the Charity Commission, but we also need to trans fer all contacts, staff and assets to the new body; needless to say, we have had much legal assistance to ensure a smooth transfer. Over the years we have been the beneficiary of many legacies from

our members, for which we are very grateful. Such bequests enable the work of the charity to continue. For that reason, a shell company for the AMS will remain, and this aspect of change was approved at the AGM. All of these changes − new board members, new chair and new CIO − are being made to future proof the charity and to ensure we deliver on our charitable objectives. We want to ensure that HB&P will have a strong presence and high impact over the next 100 years. Our presence is important as it will attract people, both within and outside of the sector, who have not worked with us before. Likewise, our impact needs to be measurable so that we remain accountable to our supporters and funders. As members, you remain the lifeblood of the Society; that role will not diminish. In fact, quite the opposite. We are already thinking about better ways we might engage with our membership and attract more support. One way of doing this is to welcome non-members to our events, both online and in person, often invited by you, our members. This helps spread the word and expand our reach. Inviting others to join us for events or as members is just one way members show their support and belief in our role as a national amenity society. The growth of membership and support not only strengthens our voice but also increases our ca pacity to undertake more ambitious projects and initiatives. The work undertaken by the students from Worcester Polytechnic University shows just how impactful our casework has been over the past few years. Their work, talking to members and trustees, as well as analysing the casework from the past three years, reveals a very clear picture of HB&P today in 2024. See page 30 for more details. We are a proud and influential national amen ity society. We provide support and advice that is heard throughout the heritage sector. That is a great place to start from as we look to build on the changes of this, our centenary year, for the future.

Giles Quarme was elected to the council of the Ancient Monuments Society in 1984 and became our chairman in 2000, replacing Professor R. W. Brunskill. We are grateful for his longevity of service and for the great difference he has made to the Society.

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HERITAGE NOW (03/2024) WINTER 2024