Podcast Summary: Marketing In the Charity Sector

The interview provides an overview of the work of Eric, the Children's Bowel and Bladder Charity, and the role of Wendy Thompson as the chair of the charity's board of trustees. The discussion covers the charity's mission, its approach to communicating with different audiences, its awareness-raising campaigns, and Wendy's experience as a trustee and chair. 

 

Key Points

  • Eric is a charity that supports children and families dealing with bowel and bladder conditions, including issues like constipation, potty training, and bedwetting. [00:16]
  • The charity communicates with children, teenagers, and parents/caregivers using distinct tones and approaches to ensure relevance and engagement. [01:03]
  • Humour is used as a way to break down taboos and normalise conversations around continence issues. [04:06]
    Eric engages in various awareness-raising campaigns, such as the "All Aboard the Toilet Train" initiative, to address the growing issue of children starting school without being toilet trained. [07:02]
  • As a trustee, Wendy was able to leverage her marketing expertise to influence the creation of new roles within the charity, such as the Head of Communications and Engagement and the Head of Commercial and Education. [11:38]
  • As the chair of the board, Wendy is responsible for leading the board, supporting and managing the CEO, and ensuring effective governance and strategic direction for the charity. [10:15]
    Notable Quotes
    "Humour's a really good leveler, isn't it? So it's a good way of getting people to feel comfortable talking about what can be quite a tricky subject." (04:27) [04:58]
  • "It's about open conversation, breaking the taboos, normalising continence needs and continence issues and yeah, it's about really including everybody in that conversation." (05:15) [05:15]
  • "If anyone is looking to be a charity trustee, you need to start with a cause that means something to you personally." (09:07) [09:36]

 

Podcast Transcript

Transcripts are auto-generated

Kiran Kapur (host) (00:01):
Hello and welcome. This week we are looking at how to market a charity and also what it's like to be a trustee and a chair of a charity. And I'm very delighted to welcome Wendy Thompson, who is chair of ERIC, the Children's Bowel and Bladder Charity. And many years ago, as we've just been reminiscing, was also a tutor at the college. Wendy, lovely to see you. Thank you very much for coming on. Thank you. Let's start with what ERIC does

Wendy Thompson - Chair of ERIC (00:27):
Certainly. So ERIC is focused on supporting children who have bowel and bladder conditions that could include things like constipation, withholding medication, issues that they may have. Potty training is a big topic at the moment. Daytime wetting is also an issue as well as bedwetting of course. And we are supporting around 7,000 children and their families every year via the helpline. And we are supporting over 2000 families a year through our range of webinars that we offer to parents and carers. In addition, we also offer professional training, and that is to the healthcare professionals who are supporting those children in the NHS.

Kiran Kapur (host) (01:23):
Looking at your website, you are clearly talking to the children, the teenagers, and the adults. You seem to have very sort of distinct tones of voice for the different audiences.

Wendy Thompson - Chair of ERIC (01:36):
We do. Yes, absolutely. It's very important that we are speaking to each of those audiences in the way in which they can relate. And children, even very young children, if they can be communicated with in the way that they understand, they will understand and support themselves in some respect as well, which is lovely. But of course, teenagers, that's a really difficult age anyway, isn't it? So when we're thinking about teenagers, it's about really showing that we understand the things that they're going through and actually be able to give them practical advice and support in a way in which they understand.

Kiran Kapur (host) (02:17):
Yes. I mean, it's an age where we're terribly self-conscious anyway, and then if you add on bowel or bladder problems, it must be really hard. I was very struck on a website. There was a whole section on how to manage having a sleepover as a teenager, and I thought that the way it was phrased. It was very much understanding that these are the problems that you might have, so here are some suggestions. The language was very careful, obviously.

Wendy Thompson - Chair of ERIC (02:42):
Absolutely. And likewise, again for parents, it's really understanding their perspective as well and how difficult and confusing it can be as a parent who may have never experienced this situation before and really helping them to feel a little bit more comfortable with the situation and know that and have confidence that ERIC is here to help.

Kiran Kapur (host) (03:07):
So I mean, I think every parent goes through, I mean, you suddenly understand how important a continence is in a child and all the things that you are trying to teach them. So presumably do you have parents where it's standard potty training, which all parents have to go through, and it can be a difficult time, right the way through to where there's serious problems that are arising in bowel and bladder

Wendy Thompson - Chair of ERIC (03:34):
Absolutely the whole breadth. So we are there and giving very practical support to first time parents who may have never experienced potty training before, for example, or right the way through if a child has a stoma fitted, how they might need that extra support from us as well and guidance. So it goes from the full range. Yeah.

Kiran Kapur (host) (04:00):
Gosh. Right. So one of the things I noticed was the use of humour.

Wendy Thompson - Chair of ERIC (04:04):
Absolutely. Humour is so important. I think as well. It's about using very clear and direct language and we don't want to have any stigma or shame about this. And humour's a really good leveller, isn't it? So it's a good way of getting people to feel comfortable talking about what can be quite a tricky subject.

Kiran Kapur (host) (04:27):
Yes. For children, you have what I absolutely loved, which is called the Wee and Poo Adventure, which was an illustrated online booklet. But it was beautifully done and there was a lot of lovely humour there about what happens.

Wendy Thompson - Chair of ERIC (04:40):
Absolutely, yes. And we do talk about Wee and Poo because we don't want to have any euphemisms involved in our language. We'd like it to be as simple as possible and to be, and children love talking about poo actually. So it's a way for them to feel that this is quite normal.

Kiran Kapur (host) (05:04):
Yes. I mean that's actually one of the areas that I really wanted to explore with you. It is a subject that there is a lot of barriers around talking about.

(05:11):
So presumably a lot of your work is around breaking down those barriers.

Wendy Thompson - Chair of ERIC (05:15):
It is, yes, definitely. And I think it's about open conversation, breaking the taboos, normalising continence needs and continence issues and yeah, it's about really including everybody in that conversation.

Kiran Kapur (host) (05:32):
So we've talked very much about people that have already sort of found you and the lovely tones of voice you have, but obviously raising awareness is always a key thing, particularly around any medical areas of charities. So how do you do that? How do you look at raising awareness?

Wendy Thompson - Chair of ERIC (05:48):
What we do is we collaborate with a number of different stakeholders really, and we are communicating with schools, local authorities, healthcare practitioners, and early years providers. We also have a number of different PR programmes that we're working on at the moment and have appeared on both national media and social media, including BBC Breakfast, Loose Women, Radio Four and Net Moms, in fact on Loose Women, Molly Pierce, who is one of our champions, and she was on the traitors and Dancing on Ice for those people who may not have heard of Molly, but she openly discussed her stoma journey, for example, on loose swimming and advocated for ERIC and helped promote us in that respect. And that's a completely unpaid collaboration that we have with Molly. It's her passion that she wants to help others as well. So that's lovely and it helps us as well, of course get the message across.

(07:02):
And we have a number of different campaigns at the moment. So we are doing things like 'All Aboard the Toilet Train', which is a campaign focused on children who are starting school in September, but they're not toilet trained. And so we are able to offer direct support through email and our helpline. We also provide digital resources for schools as well. So this was a campaign that was originally launched last year, but actually has taken off again this year because we recognise the need for this. It's actually been in the media quite a lot. And then we also have our 'Let's Go Potty' Campaign and it is connected, but an evidence-based three-step support training, that programme that we offer where we provide resources and advice sheets. So we are able to support those to all of the people that we've spoken about before, but we can promote it through our 'Let's Go Potty' campaign, which is quite fun as well.

Kiran Kapur (host) (08:09):
Sounds absolutely adorable. But yes, I mean the rise of children not being toilet trained by the time they go to school. It's been widely covered in the media. It seems to be a post COVID thing.

Wendy Thompson - Chair of ERIC (08:20):
Unfortunately, one in four children now are actually going to their first school without being toilet trained. Yeah. So that's causing a lot of issues actually within the education sector where teachers are really struggling to be able to teach children and being expected to change nappies. So yes, it's a very, very important campaign that we have there.

Kiran Kapur (host) (08:50):
Yes, that really is quite huge, isn't it? So we've talked a lot about ERIC. So let's talk about a little bit about your role in ERIC. So you started off there, I know as a charity trustee and perhaps you could explain how that happened, but I'd also be very interested to know what a trustee does.

Wendy Thompson - Chair of ERIC (09:07):
Absolutely. So I was originally connected with ERIC because of my role at Ity and we were supporting ERIC as a corporate supporter. And then I left Essity. And in COVID times I was approached by the CEO, asked if I would ever consider becoming a charity trustee, and I had never even thought about being a charity trustee. I didn't know what it really meant. I've been working in marketing for over 30 years, and yet I'd never really considered the charity sector. And so I did a little bit of research and understood. I obviously knew ERIC very well and it is a cause that's very important to me. It's something that resonates very strongly with me. What we are trying to achieve is fundamental really, and I think that's something to remember. If anyone is looking to be a charity trustee, you need to start with a cause that means something to you personally.

(10:15):
So the role of the trustee, really, we have legal responsibility for managing and guiding the charity as ERIC is a charitable company. And there are different classifications of charity, but we are a charitable company, so we act as company directors as well. And so our responsibility is we need to make sure that activities that are being undertaken are actually aligning with our charitable purpose that we comply with governing documents, the governance of the charity and also the law. We need to make sure that we act in the charity's best interest and avoid any conflicts, manage our resources responsibly, and ensure the financial sustainability of the charity. We also need to use care and skill in our decision making. So we are, as trustees, we attend board meetings and so we need to make sure that the decisions we are making really need to make sure that we're accountable for those decisions.

(11:25):
We need to make sure that those decisions and ultimately what we are doing is reported properly and transparently. And we are involved in the strategic planning, safeguarding and risk management. And I think as well, thinking about my particular role and what I brought, because I was probably the only marketeer on the actual board at the time when I first started, I was able to really ask some good challenging questions about our marketing and our communications and where we were heading in that direction and was able to influence the creation of the new roles that actually were introduced last year to the charity, which was head of Communications and Engagement and Head of Commercial and Education. So they were new roles that because of my experience within a commercial setting and I was able to then say that this will have the benefit to the charity. So all those kind of things, lots of different things that we as trustees get involved in.

Kiran Kapur (host) (12:34):
Yes, I've been a trustee of a charity myself, and I know that in a very small charity, sometimes trustees are 'doing the do' as well because it's a tiny charity and they just need the volunteers are the trustees. But in a larger charity like ERIC and the one I was involved in, you are very much doing oversight. So sometimes that can be a little bit frustrating, can't it? You actually want to sort of roll your sleeves up and write the stuff, but that's not your role. Your role is to do the oversight and strategy.

Wendy Thompson - Chair of ERIC (13:01):
Yeah, I think it's very important that we maintain the difference between operational and strategic. And so that's where, as a trustee of a larger charity, yes, I wouldn't say it's frustrating. I think it's just something you have to remind ourselves and not get too sort close to things if you like, so that you do step back and see the bigger picture. And obviously we're looking much further ahead in the way that we need the direction of the organisation to go.

Kiran Kapur (host) (13:36):
Yes. And that looking ahead is really important, isn't it, for a trustee? I mean, as you said, you are like the board of directors, you are supposed to see where they're going in two years, five years, and you want the charity to still be there because it's clearly still going to be needed.

Wendy Thompson - Chair of ERIC (13:49):
Absolutely, yes. And as a board of trustees, we were able to take part in our five year strategy session. So alongside all of the operational team as well, we did a special strategy day where we were looking ahead together actually, and really being able to understand some of the strong directions that we need to go in. And I think as trustees that having that connection with the charities operational team is really important because they're the front line, they're listening, and as trustees may not have that opportunity as much. So yeah, it's a very exciting thing to be a trustee actually.

Kiran Kapur (host) (14:44):
Yes. It's once you've got your head around the fact that you're not operational, you are strategy. So you then became the chairman of the board of trustees. So how did that happen?

Wendy Thompson - Chair of ERIC (14:53):
Yes, so the chair role is actually limited in terms, so we will sit for three years as chair or we have the opportunity if we want to step down before we can, but up to three years and then it can be renewed. And so the previous chair came to the end of her tenure and we had a discussion about how we would move forward. I was nominated as chair and voted in at the board. And so that was about 18 months ago now. And as chair, I have the same legal responsibilities as all the trustees in that it's making sure that I'm doing all the things that I mentioned before, but I have an added leadership role. And so I am responsible for leading the board, ensuring that effective governance, supporting and line managing the CEO. And I think that was one of the surprises I had when I first learned about the role of a chair.

(16:03):
Oh, I'm actually the day-to-day line manager of the CEO. That's something that I hadn't expected before. And what I do is I have a fortnightly meeting with the CEO, so our one-to-one sessions, and then that's those discussions really is I can act as a founding board to the CEO, I can guide, I can support, and she can bounce ideas off of me as well. So it's a very collaborative discussion that we have. And actually last year we had to recruit a new CEO because our CEO of 10 years, Juliet, she resigned and retired actually. And so we had to look for a new CEO and that was my responsibility as chair to lead that recruitment process. And I asked a couple of the other trustees to support me in that process. So that was quite an exercise. And I'm delighted that we now have Sean, who's our CEO, she's still very early in her role, but she's doing an amazing job. So have our quarterly meetings, which I chair those meetings, set the agenda with Sean as the CEO, and then we make sure that we have to make sure that we've got into strategic focus, that we are making the decisions that we need to make, and I need to make sure that I'm involving everybody in the board meetings. It's making sure there's that inclusivity facilitation, really that's what I'm doing and making sure that we have an effective board.

Kiran Kapur (host) (17:58):
Yes. And also of course, you are the public face. Absolutely. The CEO is the public face, but so also is the Chairs - it's part of comes with the role.

Wendy Thompson - Chair of ERIC (18:08):
Part of the role. Yes, absolutely. Yes.

Kiran Kapur (host) (18:10):
So if someone who's listening was thinking, actually, that sounds quite interesting, being a trustee or somebody who is a trustee and is wondering whether they want to step up as a chair, what would you say to them? Would you have some advice?

Wendy Thompson - Chair of ERIC (18:24):
I would, I've mentioned it before, but I think that you need to choose a cause that you are really passionate about, something that has a personal meaning to you. I would recommend that if you are interested in becoming a trustee, that you reach out to the charity that you are interested in potentially supporting, share the skills that you have. Just reflect on what skills could you provide and give and volunteer as a trustee, how can you add value to the charity? And I think that some boards do have specific needs. They do need marketing experience, for example. So as marketers, we can bring so much, I think, to a charity supporting them. So think about how that might manifest itself. I think reflect on how you actually, as part of, if you take part as a charity trustee, you are able to learn so much yourself. It's not a one-way street. So for me, I think it's important to remember that, that you get as much back sometimes as you are giving. And the continuing professional development side of it, I learn a lot all the time. And as a Chartered Marketer, I do my CPD every year. And I always put something down about ERIC since I've been a trustee, because reflecting back on what you've learned, you really do get exposed to situations that you probably wouldn't do in the commercial world. So I think they're my top tips really.

Kiran Kapur (host) (20:20):
Yeah, and I absolutely agree. I think resonance so that it's something that you are passionate about really, really, really helps. And I absolutely agree with you, the amount that you learn sitting on a trustee as trustee, because everybody has got different skills that they bring. And you can be across from somebody thinking, I've never thought of it that way, or I didn't know that. That can be really, really fascinating. I can't let you go without saying. Please, what are the contact details for ERIC?

Wendy Thompson - Chair of ERIC (20:49):
Absolutely. So if anyone would like to know more about ERIC, please go to ERIC.org.uk and you'll be able to access all of our online resources there and find out details about our webinars and if anyone would like to donate to ERIC or if you would like to take part in an activity, like a fun run or a sponsored coffee morning or something like that. We are always looking for supporters and donors to our charity because we can't do all the amazing things that we do without that support. Yeah. So please support us. That'd be great. Thank you.

Kiran Kapur (host) (21:32):
Excellent. And ERIC is like the name, ERIC.org.uk. Wendy Thompson. Thank you so much for that overview of the wonderful work that ERIC does. And I do thoroughly recommend having a look at their website. It's from a marketing perspective, even if the actual children's bowel and bladder isn't your interest, just from a marketing perspective, the way that you can talk to different audiences, I think it's quite a masterclass. So Wendy Thompson, thank you very much indeed for your time. Thank you.