Alison Lowndes

1. First of all, about you: what attracted you to becoming a chair/trustee?
In  2002, I established a 65-teacher international summer school in NE Asia, living there for 8 months with my 2 young children.  On returning to the UK in 2003 I spent some time working in internet security before deciding to go back to school, studying astrophysics but unfortunately, as a single parent, I found it difficult to continue with the financial burden.  Having friends in Kenya, I came up with the idea to provide summer schools in Kenya.  In March 2006 AVIF was born, the first volunteer placement ran over a 5 week period that summer. I decided to make AVIF a charity rather than a company as people are always more willing to offer time to a non-profit organisation. As Founder I naturally became a Trustee, a role that grew with the charity.

2. Which organisation(s) do you represent?
AVIF, an innovative online charity, with a promise to Invest in our Volunteers. We assist with sustainable development and poverty alleviation via online & onsite volunteering in rural Kenya, East Africa. Being virtual means negligible administration costs for worldwide impact. We believe in efficiency, honesty and transparency. AVIF doesn’t charge fees.

3. What particularly attracted you to this organisation?
I created AVIF as a fulfilling direction to my life.

4. Is there anything that would make you an even more effective trustee?
Given the funding/ income, our governance could be greatly improved but we operate at very low budget.

5. What’s the biggest challenge you have faced in your role?
I am sole administrator/ trustee in the UK. My other Trustee is a remarkable Kenyan lady who runs things from the Kenya side, but I have very little income and rely heavily on low/no-cost internet technologies to operate. We have no office, no staff so sometimes its difficult to find the time to do everything, and be a mother!

6. What do you consider the most satisfying aspect of your role?
How much we can achieve WITHOUT income, creating opportunities for people to experience other lives and help others. I find this incredibly rewarding work and it keeps me smiling. I also appreciate the 4 or 5 people I meet around the world EVERY day through our networking.

7. Do you think there is enough general recognition of the value of the trustee role?
I had never heard of a Trustee before establishing AVIF. There is a lot of information on the internet and great sites out there, but it should be promoted more, to allow people the opportunity to help others.

8.  Have you felt that the demands made on trustees/Chairs have grown over time?
I am not experienced in “standard” Trusteeship so can only comment on my own role. The more Trustees feel rewarded by their efforts, the more they are willing to put in.

9. What do you think is the ideal term of office that a trustee/Chair should serve?
Minimum, for others, would be 1 Year. I’m happy with Life!

10. What tip would you give to a new trustee?
Enjoy the role. If you don’t, look for another. Passion is a prerequisite.

11. If you weren’t a trustee, what would you do with that time?
Practise the drums more ?

12. What steps do you take to increase/retain your organisation’s membership?
Constant networking via internet.

13. What question do you want to ask next week’s trustee?
Can you recommend a specialist fundraiser to join us ?

 To respond to Alison's question please go to the Forum section of our website