The Beacon Collaborative We are delighted that Beacon Collaborative co-founder Cath Dovey has been awarded a CBE for services to philanthropy, women and girls, the arts and the economy, in this year’s New Years Honours List.
Here Cath writes about the motivations that have guided and shaped her career.
I am honoured to have been awarded a CBE in the Kings New Year Honours List for services to philanthropy, women and girls, the arts and the economy.
Throughout my life I have been motivated by issues of equality, knowing how fortunate I was in my own early years and believing the pathway to progress comes from harnessing the talents and resources of all in service of the common good.
For more than 20 years, I co-founded and built an international strategy consultancy focused on the issues of responsible wealth management, ensuring the voices and values of individuals were heard by the financial and professional services community.
As thought leaders with a global reach, our work highlighted that stewarding wealth with purpose, not privilege, was the principal goal for those who had made or inherited fortunes that exceeded societal norms.
A special opportunity to support the common good
Moving from entrepreneurship to social entrepreneurship, since 2016 I have been working to grow philanthropy and impact-led activity among the UK’s wealthy population by ensuring donors and social investors are fully supported on their impact journeys.
As a former chair and serving trustee of Philanthropy Impact, and as co-founder of the Beacon Collaborative, much of my works focuses on building the UK’s capacity to connect individual wealth with communities, and with social and environmental need.
Philanthropy is a unique form of capital that can work alongside the public and private sector to support and enable civil society.
Community groups, arts and culture venues, charities, educational establishments, health and welfare organisations: this is civil society, the beating heart of our communities. It supports those who are unwell or overlooked and creates common ground where we can live, learn and laugh together.
With purpose and humility, those with financial means have a special opportunity to support this common good.
Pursuing equality for women and girls
I have been honoured to serve as the chair of Rosa for the last six years. The UK’s fund for women and girls works to ensure women and girls can live lives that are safe, healthy and equal.
All steps toward gender equality over the last two hundred years have been achieved by women who have fought for, won and sustained progress through collective effort.
The UK needs specialist women’s organisations, yet there remains a persistent lack of funding for women’s and girls’ rights – particularly for those from black and minoritised communities.
Rosa works to redress these imbalances by drawing in and distributing funds to women’s and girls’ organisations, and supporting them to raise their voices in pursuit of equality.
Charities show such resilience in a challenging climate
It is also my privilege to serve as a trustee of First Star UK, which seeks to improve the lives of looked-after young people by ensuring they have the academic, life skills and adult support to transition successfully to higher education and adulthood.
As a trustee of frontline charities and of those working to build the capacity to drive change, I have witnessed the extraordinary challenges faced by the charity sector in the current economic climate.
I am humbled by the skill, care and resilience of the professionals in each of these organisations. I would like to express my gratitude to them for their commitment to the individuals and communities they serve.
It is wonderful to be recognised in this way, but I feel incredibly lucky and proud to work alongside many talented professionals who are committed to social change.