JOIN TRAVELLER PRIDE: Steering group & Trustees wanted!

A few weeks back we had a very successful meeting to share future plans and hammer down some ideas. The big news is that we are going legit (i.e. becoming a registered legal entity). We're doing this so we can get more regular funding and be able to implement a better quality and range of services and to allow us to pay people for their work.

We need to write a constitution and go through the process (quite simple) of applying to become this entity (currently most likely to be a C.I.C) and to appoint trustees/directors.

We will have a few (approximately 4) meetings to thrash out the details of our next steps. These meetings are more informal workshops than proper committee meetings, in the final meeting we will decide who wants to be in the committee. So if you want to help out but aren't sure about taking on the official trustee role, this is a great chance to have a look.

If you are interested in joining these initial discussions, whether or not you intend to apply to be a trustee, email us at travellerlgbtpride@gmail.com and state any evenings you are/aren't free and any specific expertise that may help.

Below is an approximate advert for the Trustee position so if you are interested, this gives a rough flavour of what we're looking for:

Traveller Pride is looking for Trustees as we seek to grow into the next stage of our development, could it be you?

Traveller Pride launched in 2019 at Pride in London, making history in the process by being the first time a group for Travellers (including but not limited to: Romany Gypsies, Irish Travellers, Scottish Travellers, New Travellers, Showmen, Boaters, Roma, Sinti) was included in a UK pride parade. Since then we have gone on to create spaces for socialising to combat the isolation many of us can feel and have also launched a number of services including phone lines, solidarity funds & therapy. We have also built strong links with a number of partners from GRT (Gypsy, Roma, Traveller) organisations, LGBT organisations and beyond. So far all of this has been done on a voluntary basis and with very limited funding.

The plan

The plan is for us to incorporate. We need a constitution and at least 3 trustees. Once we have that we can get more substantial funding which would be used to run projects and to pay for work to be done regularly and in a more structured way. Having trustees would also help to ensure wider views are represented and there can be a continuity of work if I have to take leave for any number of reasons.

Trustees

You do not need to have experience of this before, although it would be beneficial if at least one applicant does…

The role will be initially to help draft a constitution and then to ensure that it is stuck to with regular (approximately 5 a year) meetings to go over finance, plans etc.

Person Spec:

· Relevant knowledge (of Travellers, of the LGBT community, of LGBT Travellers, of running groups such as this)

· IT Literacy- not loads, but our meetings will be electronic for the most part and many of our dealings will be online.

· Passionate- we only need 3 trustees (but can have more) so it’s vitally important that we get people who care about Traveller Pride and what we want to.

· Ideally some expertise in:

o Fundraising

o Governance

o Community work

o Mental Health

o Sexual Health

o Financial administration

· Agrees broadly with our aims and work so far. See here for details

This is a super exciting time to get on board. As a relatively new concern, you would be helping to shape our direction and make sure we’re doing the right thing from the get-go.

If you want an informal chat about this you can email us on travellerlgbtpride@gmail.com to arrange a time for a call.

You’ll need to be a resident of the UK, and whilst having had a criminal conviction won’t necessarily rule you out, some convictions (e.g. embezzlement) will.

Apply

To apply please send us a CV and a supporting statement (no more than one side of A4). In your statement please address any particular skills or experiences which would be useful.

Traveller pride is actively Trans positive, please explain your stance on this. If you are not Trans & Non-Binary inclusive, please do not apply. Likewise we are actively anti-racist and anti-sexist.

Lived experience and understanding is prioritised. So far Traveller Pride has been community-led and that’s vitally important to our identity.

Travellerlgbtpride@gmail.com Subject: Trustee Application

Deadline: Please respond by 22nd Feb with any expression of interest as a trustee, in joining the steering group or in whatever capacity you have.

Once we can do things physically, if you get the role, I promise that cake and/or biscuits will be a part of the meetings. I won’t call you boss, however

What do you get:

- Reasonable expenses will be paid

- A warm sense of satisfaction

- The ability to fire me

- If you don’t have one, I’ll also send you one of our fab t shirts

- Aforementioned biscuits