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For National Trustees Week 2025 (3–7 November), we had the opportunity to catch up with Richard Bowley, Chair of Finances and General Purposes Committee for P3 Charity’s Trustee Board. Joining the P3 Board in November 2021 and specialising in strategic planning and change management, Richard brings significant commercial and leadership experience to his role. Having negotiated complex contracts with both the government and the private sector, leading both front line and back-office functions.
Richard joined P3 Charity with a particular interest in helping young people and vulnerable people. Today, Richard talks about his role as trustee for P3, his journey into the sector and his advice for people looking to take on a trustee role.
Richard found inspiration from what he describes as “wanting to help other people”. Though a trustee for a range of organisations throughout his working career, Richard found that it was in retirement where he could dedicate more energy to P3 and his other interests.
After a long career as a Chartered Accountant that stretched across a broad range of industries, Richard has a wealth of knowledge and experience surrounding finance. Despite an intensive schedule, Richard says, “All the time I was doing that, I was interested in doing something else and trying to help people (particularly areas I was interested in, such as, education, sport and helping people who were having a tough time through no fault of their own).”
Richard said he saw the role at P3 as another opportunity to support his local community. As a larger organisation than those he’d previously volunteered with, P3 offered a role that better suited his retirement, allowing him to dedicate more time alongside his other trustee positions.
Alongside his role at P3, Richard works in the sport industry, supporting cricket and football teams; as well as taking on the role of mentor to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds complete their A-Level exams.
Richard’s choice to apply for the trustee role with P3 Charity was motivated by the passion that our colleagues have for helping people. He says, “For me, it’s the people who work at P3 that make such a difference; it’s the passion and commitment [that comes across throughout] the induction process, the recruitment stage and even when I did my research [before my role].”
“I wanted to work with people who really cared about what they were doing… something that aligns primarily with my personal values, but my professional ones [as well]. The way that P3 operates is through mutual respect.”
Richard goes on to say that this expands into his own role: “There is mutual respect definitely between [P3’s] executive team and the Trustees. Everyone has an approach that is ‘treat everyone as you would like to be treated’; that is something that really comes across here at P3 and certainly comes out in our Board meetings.”
As people who guide, support and safeguard a charity through strategic decisions, overseeing finances and working closely in support of the senior leadership team, trustees are volunteers who bring their time and expertise to a cause they believe in. Collectively, a group of Trustees is referred to as a ‘Board.’
The P3 Group has both a charity board and a housing board, and Richard sits on P3 Charity’s Board of Trustees. He says that he sees two sides to Trusteeship: one that holds the Charity and its leadership team accountable for its actions, being able to take a non-biased approach in offering advice, and the other side is one of mentoring and support of senior leaders across the organisation. Richard says,
“It’s two-pronged: It’s the challenge and the support. [As a Trustee, we] are directors of the company so there is a lot of legal responsibility that comes with that. But it’s fine because we have a good set up for that – we’re very transparent and very open.”
Richard reflects on some of the highlights of his role on the Trustee Board, saying, “The biggest win is seeing how well respected P3 is by people who work in the sector and commissioners who appoint us to do the work.”
He adds, “Perhaps P3 doesn’t have a huge public presence, but the people that know us and the people we work with all like and respect P3, and they see the achievements that P3 has. As Trustees, we get to see that all come along, but mainly it’s the executive team and all [P3 colleagues] that do the real hard work – we just try to help where we can.”
For people who aren’t Trustees or work with them every day, Trusteeship has a sense of mystery about it. Richard is keen to stress that anybody who is passionate about using their skills for good, should consider Trusteeship at some point in their career.
He said, “I think the first thing for anyone who becomes a Trustee is to really think about why they are going to [do it]. The most important thing is that they really want to become a Trustee, not just because they need to be for their career.”
“The thing about being a Trustee is that anyone can do it; you don’t have to have particular experience or qualifications. Everyone brings something a bit different, and that is why you need a real range.”
Richard adds that diversity is always at the heart of “a better Board”. He explains that not only is it “morally and ethically what you should want to do, but [it] helps us all learn from each other. It’s good for the organisation, but it’s also good for all the individuals [involved].”
For Richard, the main thing is that “people should understand the role, especially the legal requirements that come with it. But that is pretty easy to do: the Charity Commission has so much guidance on all of that. [I suggest] that you do the general research and then research the organisation if you want to take a specific role.”
His key bit of advice though, is “to find someone who is [already] a Trustee who can talk to you about what it’s really like.”
“I think most people find it incredibly rewarding; that’s why there are so many Trustees all across the country.”
At P3 Charity, we’re grateful to work with all our wonderful trustees like Richard who have a wealth of knowledge and experience across a range of sectors. It’s their kindness and dedication that makes P3 what it is today – thank you.
If you want to find more about our Trustees at P3 Charity, visit Our People page.
