Hope & Ambition at ILS
Trustees, CEOs and practitioners workshopping at Rua Red in Tallaght 2024
Not just a funding programme, Hope & Ambition also provides development support to the participant organisations and their people, focusing in particular on organisational development, leadership, practice, wellbeing and cross-sectoral interaction. The initiative is structured around two key elements: a grant to the organisations and their commitment to participate in the CEOs and Practitioners Clubs in a spirit of critical inquiry, collaboration and shared learning.
At the heart of Hope & Ambition, the Trust’s funding and development initiative, is a mutual commitment to the value of shared learning. Trustees and participants alike hope that this initiative might positively influence the culture and practice of philanthropy in Ireland to the benefit of society as a whole. Hope & Ambition is guided by organisational development expert Dr Liz Hayes of Corporate Community on behalf of the Mount Street Club Trust. Liz provides strategic advice, direction and mentoring, as well as facilitating the CEO and Practitioners Clubs.
ILS has been a participant in Hope & Ambition since 2019 and, apart from the funding, it has benefited immensely from the CEOs and Practitioners Clubs which were designed to support and encourage reflection within designated time away from the day-to-day pressures of delivering vital services to marginalised and vulnerable communities.
Members of the H&A CEO Club (left to right) Nick Henderson (IRC), Peter Sheekey (ILS), Niamh MacNamee (Glencree Centre), Maoliosa Boyle (Rua Red) and Miriam Spollen (Connections Arts Centre).
Our collaboration with the Mount Street Club Trust, through Hope & Ambition, has had a very positive impact in these testing times. Over the last years, I have witnessed the power of the community of practice at our CEOs Club encounters. I have seen directors bring serious personal and organisational-threatening issues to the table and watched as they openly shared their anxieties and fears.
The current participants in Hope & Ambition are:
Connections Arts Centre
Glencree Centre for Peace & Reconciliation (Hope & Ambition Project)
Intercultural Language Service
Irish Refugee Council (Youth Work Programme)
Rua Red (Traveller Engagement Initiative)
During our CEO Club encounters with the above group, I have witnessed how the range of experiences and social capital that have been brought to bear from among the leaders and practitioners involved in Hope & Ambition has had a powerful impact on how we plan, work, organise and hope. Our work with Dr Hayes in codesigning has yielded insights and approaches for our organisations that otherwise may have passed us by. With Hope & Ambition, The Mount Street Club Trust has created a community of practice where purpose, values and trust bond us together and provide true hope and ambition going into the future.