Why I work at NPC

Iona Joy - Head of Charity Effectiveness

What I enjoy most about NPC is the potential impact my work has on people’s lives. Donors needing our help have followed recommendations to fund good charities we’ve found addressing compelling issues – eg, how to support the carers of people with terminal conditions. Satisfaction comes in different ways, sometimes funding for a project, sometimes a smaller action leading to a useful result eg, the introduction of two contacts leading to collaboration to improve drug delivery to children with HIV.

Before NPC I spent seven years doing venture capital/private equity and project finance in emerging markets which was great fun and extremely challenging. My job today has many similarities – and is no less challenging. In venture capital I had to understand the business environment of the company, eg, what are the trends in the product’s markets? What competitive or regulatory threats - or opportunities - might affect the business plan? Is the exit strategy realistic? I then had to understand the operations of the company itself: What was management’s track record? How was the board composed? Was the company able to attract and retain the best staff? And once an investment was made, investing in relationships with management, directors, other investors, even bankers, was vital to ensuring that the investment performed well. There is a racing analogy when placing bets on a horse. First check: the ground, the pedigree, past form, current form, the owner, the trainer, the jockey, the weather…

NPC’s research is little different. We have to understand the genuine needs of the customer – in this case the user of charitable services – as well as extent of need. What are the trends? What is the policy context? What are the best ways of dealing with the problem, and what opportunities are there for prevention or mitigation? Then, having found some interesting charities to investigate, the questions are very familiar: what is the track record of the management and trustees? Can the charity attract and retain staff? What results does it achieve for its service users? And so on. Once a donation has been made, it is important to follow up later to find out how the charity was able to use the funds to support and develop services.

ijoy@philanthropycapital.org

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