April 2023 | Page 2 of 2 | Co-operative and Community Finance

April 4, 2023

50 years of friendship and finance – say hello, again, to Ian Rothwell

We’re enjoying the chance to talk to people who have been involved in ICOF over the last 50 years and it’s particularly lovely to have a chance to catch up with our old Investment manager, Ian Rothwell.

Ian left us early in 2022, after working for ICOF for 14 years. Here, he looks back on his experiences of us.

‘I first had any involvement with ICOF in the 1980s when I was chair of Nottingham Co-op Development Agency. We had a loan fund, and we worked with ICOF a couple of times on joint loans. Then in 2008 I joined them as an employee. I took over from Andrew Hibbert as Development Manager, and then I became Lending Manager, where I stayed until 2022.

As I said when we spoke before, I was really proud of the whole community shares initiative and setting up the fund to go with that. And then there were loads of loans that I look back on really fondly. I particularly enjoyed ones that were a bit different. There was Harrogate Working Men’s club, and bringing a Working Men’s Club into the co-op movement felt amazing. Retrofit businesses and the co-ops that made things were always fun – I enjoyed working with Specialised Castings at their foundry. And then there was the lovely Bishopwearmouth Co-operative who run a garden nursery and cafe, and work with people with learning difficulties. It was a fabulous model. I really enjoyed seeing all the ways that cooperation could work with something a bit different as well as the more traditional co-ops. Two others that I loved were Boundary Brewing in Northern Ireland, as that was again, making something tangible and it was my first loan in NI. And of course being part of October Books fabulous human chain, and the international press it generated, was incredible too. (See the story here in the New York Times, the Guardian and on the BBC)

It’s fabulous that ICOF has been around for so long, and for it still to be going, and true to its roots and values, is a huge achievement for everyone who’s been involved over the years. It’s done so much good and provided so much support for the cooperative movement and that’s down to the staff and trustees. Happy birthday ICOF – well done and keep going!

April 3, 2023

Could you be our new Chairperson?

Becky John Featured, News

We are recruiting for a new Chairperson – could it be you?

We are looking for a dynamic new Chairperson to lead our board in providing strong strategic support to the small executive team, chair quarterly meetings, promote high standards of governance, encourage positive change and uphold our strong ethical values and co-operative principles.

What we do

ICOF Ltd trading as Co-op and Community Finance or CCF has been lending to ethical businesses since 1973. We offer fair, supportive, and tailored loan finance to meet the needs of a range of co-operatives and community businesses, across the UK, that are democratically owned controlled by their members. We also provide project and loan management support and consultancy across the social investment sector.

What skills and experience we are looking for

2023 is proudly our 50^th Anniversary year, and we are looking for a Chairperson to lead our board of trustee directors, as we move into an exciting new era for the organisation, helping co-ops build a better and fairer future.

We are looking for someone that has strong inter-personal relationship building abilities, experienced working at a senior level and has organisational governance experience. We would prefer candidates to have a broad knowledge and understanding of the co-operative and community business sectors, as well as some knowledge of lending and loan finance. We will consider nominations from members* and anyone with a particular interest in what we do.

For this particular recruitment we are just looking to fill the Chairperson role, or someone that is willing to develop into that role within a fairly short timeframe.

We would very much like to hear from women and individuals of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic heritage or other minoritised groups, to help us further improve the equality and diversity of our board.

What is the commitment?

The board hold four hybrid meetings a year, during the day, we also hold an AGM in June and we typically have a two-day in person business planning/ strategy day. The Chairperson is also required to sit on sub- committees of the board and is a member of the lending credit committee for certain levels of lending. The Chairperson will also be expected to represent the organisation at various events and act as an Ambassador.

This is an unpaid role but all reasonable travel and out of pocket expenses will be reimbursed and it looks great on your CV!

To find out more, please read our Trustee Recruitment Pack containing more information about us and about the role here.

We are also happy to arrange informal one-to-one chats to talk through any questions or queries about the role. Contact us here and please also connect with us on Twitter @coop_finance Facebook @CoopCommFinance or Linked In.

To request a nomination/ application form please contact alain@coopfinance.coop directly. We will require you to complete a short application/ nomination form*, provide us with an up-to-date CV, and attend an online interview if shortlisted. We are also happy to accept video applications addressing the same application questions, if that’s easier for you, but please be advised that videos will be shared widely with ICOF members, if you are successful at interview.

Application deadline is midnight 1^st May 2023 (we will contact you asap to tell you if you have been selected for interview)

Interviews will take place via Zoom week commencing 8^th May 2023

Thank-you so much for your interest and we look forward to hearing from you.

* Members and Nominations

ICOF Ltd and its associated businesses have open membership and nomination enshrined in their legal make-up and any member can nominate themselves, or others, to be considered for board appointment at the AGM. This year, we are specifically looking to recruit a new Chairperson, and as such will be using a shortlisting and interview process, we are not intending general Trustee recruitment.

Any existing member can apply or nominate an individual, but we ask they do so through the process set out in the information above and in the Trustee Chairperson Recruitment Pack available. Please contact us if you have any questions.