Reflections of an outgoing SWBT Trustee
It all started in May 2010 when I applied to be considered as a trustee for SWBT and was accepted. At that time I was employed in Adult Social Care in Leeds and my Authority very kindly gave me permission to attend the, then, in person Meetings at the BASW offices in Birmingham or London. I mention this as I believe it is important that applications from potential working trustees have the agreement and support of their Authority/Voluntary Agency so that they can commit to regular attendance to fulfil their obligations as trustees. I was extremely fortunate to have had this support otherwise I would not have taken on the role and the work with SWBT was to confirm that dedicated time was essential in order to fulfil the obligations of being a trustee. This is not to under estimate that retired Social Workers who apply to become trustees do not have commitments but hopefully they have a bit more flexibility in their retirement to commit to the demands of the trustee role.
The in person Meetings number eight per year—six concentrating principally on decision making as to whether a grant is awarded and two Business Meetings. The in person Meetings continued until 2020 when Covid hit the country and a decision was taken that travelling be suspended. Enter-Zoom. The same number of Meetings per year was organised, with the recent exception of the Business Meeting in June this year, (which is an in person Meeting in Birmingham), and became Virtual. The Zoom facility has worked well once we got used to the wonders and joys of muting and unmuting/ video on or off/remembering not to touch the ‘leave meeting now button’ until everyone has waved goodbye! It did not detract from the care and dedication given to considering applications and the other business of the Trust by trustees. As the Minute Secretary for the Trust for several years it was a new and interesting experience to learn a slightly different skill in taking Minutes virtually.
I was initially drawn to SWBT as the UK’s only charity dedicated to helping qualified Social Workers and their children and other dependants who are experiencing financial challenges. The work has proved to be both interesting, varied, and, at times distressing. The circumstances which lead applicants to apply to SWBT are many and varied—bereavement, illness, stress, domestic abuse, relationship breakdown, unmanageable bills, unemployment, to name a few. The cost of living crisis has compounded the dire financial situation faced by many applicants. The grants we give, albeit small in comparison to some of the demands applicants are facing in their day to day life do, we hope, go some way in helping them feel acknowledged and valued. It would be good to be able to give higher grants but we do have to ensure financial probity so that we continue to help as many applicants as possible now, and in the future.
So, would I recommend that any qualified social worker—whether working, not working or retired consider becoming a Trustee of SWBT? Yes, provided you can commit to the time required to thoroughly read the applications and comment on these pre Meetings, be present at the scheduled Board Meetings to discuss those applications where there may be uncertainty about awarding a grant along with all the other issues pertinent to good governance of the charity then you will make a contribution to helping fellow social workers at least receive some help in their time of need. After all none of us know what difficulties we might have to face in the future and SWBT can be the safe landing place for help to be considered.
In conclusion, I have had the privilege of working over the past fifteen years with SWBT with five Chairs who have very ably steered the organisation over the years, several committed Board members and some excellent administrative support provided by BASW to SWBT and throughout have been well supported in my role for which I am grateful. I wish SWBT well for the future.
Margaret Faulkner
Trustee—resigned May 2025