Engaging charity members and supporting diverse communities is Holly Lown's main focus as CFG's Membership Engagement Assistant. Holly talks about how she's combining her passion for museums and culture with her day job.
Hi Holly, can you tell us a bit about your working life before CFG...
I have worked in higher education, supporting student administration, as well as running the membership scheme for Sheffield Museums Trust. I studied history at undergraduate level and then I went back a few years later to get my Master’s in Arts Management and Heritage Studies.
What's your role at CFG and how are you working with our different members and communities?
As Membership Engagement Assistant, I am the first point of contact for most members with enquiries regarding their membership, as well as helping new charities join and current members to renew.
I love supporting our members, especially through programmes such as the Peer Mentoring Scheme which we run every year, alongside mentoring motivation sessions. Our latest session covered self-doubt which was not only useful for our mentors but also for us as staff. We love to learn and develop alongside our members.
How else are you engaging with members in the network?
I work closely with the Association of Independent Museums (AIM) who CFG has a partnership with. If your museum is a member of AIM, you can join CFG for free and access all our membership benefits!
We know that the funding landscape for creative and cultural industries is challenging, and CFG offers practical support and expert knowledge through the partnership.
For many small museums, the finance team often reflects the size of the museum, sometimes there will only be one person managing the entire finance function. Joining CFG means being part of a wide network of finance professionals and having access to training and support.
Our partnership with AIM goes from strength-to-strength and it's leading us to explore partnerships with other associations and societies. We want as many organisations as possible to benefit of CFG's collective expertise and to be part of our vibrant community.
How does working with AIM connect with your own personal interests?
I have been interested in museums since I was little and I really do believe in the power of the museum to change things for the better. I will happily talk anyone's ears off about it!
In my spare time I run an Instagram page where I find objects from museums which represent fat and plus size people and talk about the importance of displaying all body types in museums.
Who and what is chosen to be displayed in museums is closely connected to finance and funding. The controversy earlier this year around the Arts Council England's guidelines on reputational risk – which the Council has since updated – demonstrated this.
What’s the best thing about working with CFG and its membership community?
The variety of our membership community is amazing. We work with both small, local organisations as well as larger, international ones. It’s interesting to see how similar challenges impact charities, even when those charities are very different. It's also incredible to have a very broad picture of the impact they all make in many different ways.
What have been the highlights in your role so far?
One of the highlights so far has been attending my first Annual Conference. I was able to sit in on some of the talks and found them very insightful and a good way to understand the topics and issues that members are interested in. It was also lovely to meet lots of our members and see them in person.
How is the Membership Team working with CFG’s members more broadly? What are you hoping to achieve in the next year?
We are planning to launch our membership survey in the not-too-distant future and we really want to hear feedback from members to help us develop the best programme we can.
I’m personally hoping to increase awareness of our online discussion group, which are free peer networking forums for members to join.
What else have members got to look forward to in the coming months?
Our Peer Mentoring Scheme is coming back in October which is an exclusive and free scheme for members! We practice peer mentoring, meaning anyone at any level can join and be both mentor and mentee.
There’s also some great CPD training coming up which can boost your knowledge and have a chance to network with other charity finance professionals, whether you’re just starting out in your career or are a veteran in the sector.
Finally, what advice would you give a charity or social change organisation thinking about joining CFG, or to a member looking to get more out of their CFG membership?
Joining CFG gives your finance team a community where they can find support, training and development benefits that not only them, but your whole charity. Membership covers your organisation, rather than an individual, so everyone (finance professional or not!) can make the most of what we offer.
If you're already a member, I would recommend joining either one of our special interest groups or one of our discussion groups if you haven't already. Both are free to join and are a great way to access peer support and engage in topics specific to your charity - you get so much more out of your membership this way.
The Membership Team is here for any questions, recommendations or feedback, so my top advice would be to get in touch!
Good advice - thanks, Holly! It was great to find out more about you and your role!
To learn more about CFG's membership and the work of the Membership Team, read our interview with Milly Durrant, Head of Membership