Volunteer Harrogate Fair Trade Shop seeks Trustees to help us create a unique retail space

What will you be doing?

Our charity has been selling fair trade goods in the centre of Harrogate for almost 40 years and we've seen our turnover grow steadily. Due to the size of our retail space we are constrained in what we can sell whilst a remote stockroom creates enormous challenges for our small team. Our initial hope was to find larger, centralised premises but this has grown into a vision to create a space where we can not only expand our retail outlet but also offer like-minded organisations space and opportunities to connect with a wider audience. Our ultimate vision is to be not just a fair trade shop but part of a collaborative community. Larger premises would allow us to sell a wider range of products, generating greater income for our artisan producers, with the means to tell their stories and the impact that belonging to a fair trade community has on their lives. The experience of our team of volunteers in terms of environment and training would be greatly enhanced as they currently work alone in our small shop. It would also allow us to be more inclusive, offering training and support to volunteers with different abilities and backgrounds. Our hope is to offer display space to local charities and artisans who share our ethos, offering them a 'shop window' on a short-term basis. There are so many stories to be told both locally and from around the world and this would be a chance to hold events and share them with the people in our area. The challenge we have is how to achieve this vision as we are a small not-for-profit organisation. Larger single-site premises would make a huge difference to us but we believe that with the right individuals involved we could achieve much more. Our current personnel consists of a Board of four Trustees, a Treasurer and two paid employees. Our Treasurer wishes to step down and finding the right replacement is key to moving forward. A small strategy group, set up a year ago, has worked through the early stages of our plan. We are now seeking two or three trustees with an interest in both ethical and sustainable business and social justice who want to bring about change in our society. If this sounds like a project that would interest you please get in touch to find our more. Knowledge of the ethos of fair trade is not essential but we would expect trustees to be willing to learn and take an interest in it. Trustee and Secretary role descriptions are available on request.

What are we looking for?

We don't expect you to have these skills but if you  have energy, enthusiasm and any of the following you could be who we're looking for. IT (in particular database development/CRM development and IT training) Experience in commercial property sourcing and management Finance and fund sourcing Strategic/ business development.  We also require Secretarial support at our monthly Board meetings and to deal with additional correspondence. 

What difference will you make?

We are a small but enthusiastic group but we're aware that we need to increase our skill-mix to realise our ambitions. As part of our board you will support and shape our day-to-day running and business growth while also helping us develop our strategic direction in order to achieve our vision.  As a not-for-profit charity we have, in the past, reinvested any profits back into fair trade organisations. Our turnover has been growing but, like all businesses on the high street, we face challenges and increasing our market, securing funding and building a collaborative network will be key to our growth. If you would like to be part of creating something unique in our town then come and join us.