My charity sector experience: Richard Sved

2 minute read

1. How did you first get into the charity sector?

I’m voluntary sector – man and boy! In fact I started out volunteering at school way before I realised it was a sector I could work in, regularly visiting a local boy called Paul, and helping to organise my school’s “Mencap Fun Day”. By the time I got to university, I became heavily involved in a wonderful charity called KEEN, a highlight of which was doing the hokey cokey with Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Then, upon graduating I became KEEN’s first ever employee, so I suppose that was my first paid role in the sector. I found my early years in charities to be particularly hard work, and not especially well paid, but a lot of fun. Looking back, I learned so much. I just may not have realised it at the time!

2. What interested you about the charity sector?

My interest in charities has always been driven by the volunteering element, which is something I try to maintain to this day, whether it’s as a trustee or volunteering at community events. I also realised pretty early on that I was motivated by the passion that I could find in the charity sector, the passion that motivated people to do great, important things, and bring about change. This still excites me now. I’m getting goosebumps at this very moment!

3. How did you progress in the charity sector to where you are now?

I stayed in my first two London-based jobs for two to three years each time, gradually picking up skills and experience in most areas of fundraising, and then moved to the National Literacy Trust where I set up the fundraising and stayed for six years, especially because I had a particularly great manager and mentor there. I always knew I didn’t ‘just’ want to focus on fundraising though. So, I then spent many years as a senior manager in the cultural sector, another passion of mine, before returning to the charity sector proper, more broadly as a Director of Income and External Affairs at Leap Confronting Conflict. From there I took the step of setting up my own company, 3rd Sector Mission Control, in March 2013, because I wanted to work across a range of different organisations, doing lots of different things. We provide focus in fundraising, communication, governance and strategy development. It’s been a great four years so far. I’ve been really busy so far, touch wood, and it’s been really interesting and diverse work. Most importantly for me, I haven’t stopped learning.

 4. What is your favorite thing about working in the sector?

It’s down to the people, really. Their passion, their ideas.

5.What is the best piece of advice someone has given you in your career?

Listen to what people are telling you. Really listen. And try not to think about what you’re going to say in reply while you’re doing it.

6. What do you think the biggest challenges there are for people working in the sector?

Just one? I would say that hardest challenge is to stay positive and retain our warmth, humour and focus on our charitable missions, in the face of adversity. We need to defend ourselves and represent our organisations with pride and courage.

You might also like...

Sorry, no posts matched your criteria.