Geetha Rabindrakumar pays tribute to Sharon Daley, a 'talented' and 'passionate' charity finance professional.
Sharon Daley was known to many of us in the charity sector, and CFG members will be sad to hear that she passed away peacefully last week from stomach cancer.
Sharon was a talented finance professional and charity finance director, and worked at the People’s Health Trust from its formation, and supported CFG’s grantmakers’ special interest group whilst she was in that role, as well as going on to work at the Centre for Ageing Better and other charities since then.
I met Sharon 16 years ago when I joined disability charity Scope, who were then in the middle of a transformation programme and she was leading a project to deliver finance training for non-finance managers, particularly for service managers based all around the country.
I joined her on some of her travels and could see the project played to all of Sharon’s strengths – she knew the technical finance stuff, but she was always down to earth, humorous and was able to make the training accessible and relevant to staff who spent most of their time dealing with the day-to-day support needs for disabled people and not with their heads deep in spreadsheets.
She would always come back and share insights that she felt the Finance team needed to hear, and she continually prompted us to think about processes from a services’ perspective – both for local staff, and increasingly service users too, as we started to think about service users’ finances with the drive towards personalisation and independence for disabled people.
It was great to work together with Sharon – she could connect with anyone and everyone, initiated many a good night out (especially if it involved a cheesy tune and wine) and she was always good company.
Apart from her general sense of fun, appetite for adventure and travel (especially to India), Sharon had a deep passion for the charity sector, and the causes we all work for, and I know that her sense of justice was central to how she thought about her work and lived her life, whether addressing disability rights, health inequalities or a better life for older people.
Even following her diagnosis earlier this year, Sharon continued to support the sector by sharing her story publicly in order to raise awareness and funds, and she has to date raised £27,000 for Macmillan and Martlets Hospice in Brighton in appreciation of services she’d experienced.
Seeing Sharon in these last few months, I have been humbled to see the grace and acceptance with which she faced her illness and how she stayed always kind and open, and moved to see the heartfelt support from her wonderful sister, niece and many, many friends over this time.
I am reminded that in the end, all that really counts is the love of family and friends and the bonds we make during our lives, and working in this sector can be a big part of where that happens. Sharon had a wonderful capacity for friendship, and I’m grateful to have known, worked, ranted, and laughed with her.
Donations in Sharon’s memory can be made at her JustGiving fundraiser for Martlets Hospice.
Read more tributes to Sharon.