Karon

Karon has been a volunteer with Cranfield Trust since 2021 and in those two years has had an incredibly positive impact. 

Based in Scotland, Karon joined Cranfield Trust with 20 years of voluntary sector management experience as well as involvement as a Grants Assessor and Trustee. 

Karon’s key areas of experience include:

•  Project Management Charity Fundraising
• Business Planning Financial Policies and Processes
• Mentoring

Karon has put her skills into practice by facilitating workshops for groups of charities referred to Cranfield Trust under a programme in partnership with The Gannochy Trust. These workshops were developed in response to an identified need by The Gannochy Trust, with the insecurity of funding being one of the most popular challenges those in the sector are facing.

As part of this project, Karon led four sessions with a focus on income generation with sessions covering topics such as funding action plans, grant applications, and reporting to funders. By the end of the four sessions, attendees reported that they felt the content of the course was very helpful and enabled them to consolidate their existing knowledge. It also taught them how to view grants and funds from the perspective of funders, leaving them more confident to take action to improve their income generation going forward. 

Q&A with Karon:

What inspired you to volunteer for Cranfield Trust? 

I wanted to give something back to the voluntary sector.

What do you enjoy the most about volunteering? 

Being able to hear from workshop delegates and people I have mentored the changes they have implemented and how they have personally benefitted and the difference it has made to their organisation.  

What would you say are the main benefits of volunteering?

My confidence in delivering workshops has improved.  I have also gained an increased knowledge of Cranfield and been able to share this with a number of charities. As a result those charities have been able to obtain the specialist support they required. 

Overall, how would you describe your volunteer experience with Cranfield Trust? 

It has been a great experience and I hope to maintain a relationship with Cranfield Trust. 

above: feedback received from a charity client on a workshop facilitated by Karon