The Coro needs your help!!!!!

The Coro Hall is looking for applicants to become trustees of their charity. If you are interested and have the time to both support and help develop this amazing resource in the town, please have a read of the attached information.

Trustee Recruitment 2022
The Coro
Standing proud in the heart of the small rural market town of Ulverston on the edge of
the Lake District, The Coro is an historic arts, culture and entertainment venue. It was
built as ‘The Coronation Hall’ by public subscription in 1920 in direct response to the
people’s desire for a place to go to enjoy theatre, music, dance and entertainment.
Since that time the Coro has grown into a much-loved venue that showcases worldclass performance alongside home-grown artists and locally produced festivals,
shows, activities and events.
It is our vision that people of all ages and backgrounds love Ulverston as a town of
variety, worth and creativity and for The Coro to play a full and inspiring role in that.
Our mission is to enrich lives through great experiences.
The Coro is a registered charity that sits under the umbrella organisation of Ulverston
Community Enterprises (UCE). UCE was established in 2016 in direct response to the
threat of closure and has been running the Coro since. Pre-pandemic we had more
than doubled the number of events, grown a significant volunteer programme, seen
more than 30% growth in visitors and won two awards. In 2019 we welcomed more
than 60,000 people through the doors to enjoy more than 600 events and activities
including annual festivals such as PrintFest, Ulverston International Music Festival
and Furness Tradition; gigs including the renowned Floyd Effect, Kate Rusby and
Ulverston’s own Jess Gillam; comedy giants like Al Murray, Jasper Carrot, Alister
McGowan and Chris Ramsey; regular community events including coffee mornings
and bingo and a whole host of private functions.
In 2020 The Coro was forced to close its doors, along with venues across the country,
due to the COVID pandemic and in response, throughout 2020 and 2021 we adopted a
lean and flexible approach, adapting our way of working considerably in order to
continue to deliver experiences that enrich lives, in extraordinary circumstances. The
Coro has survived and out of a crisis we have developed new, bigger and more diverse
audiences; launched a new vibrant brand; undertaken extensive community
consultation and diversified our cultural offer.
We re-opened in August 2021 with a small programme of events as we rebuilt our
team and infrastructure step but step with a gradual approach. We are now entering
an exciting stage in The Coro’s development as we enter 2022 with a full programme
of activity and events. The building is open for hire once again and communities
groups are returning. We are relaunching The Coro in the wake of the pandemic with
huge positivity an ambitious vision for its future. A new five-year business plan sets
out 8 strategic social, cultural and commercial objectives for delivering against our
vision.
The role of Trustee
• As with all voluntary sector boards, no board members receive remuneration other
than out of pocket expenses (i.e. they are all volunteers)
• The board operates on a basis of collective responsibility, where board members are
expected to stand by and represent the majority decision once this has been made.
• The board generally meets every two months although the frequency of these
meetings can increase, as it has done over the last 18 months, to six-weekly or
monthly meetings as necessary.
• The Agenda for Board meetings is set by the Chair (Ceri Hutton) in consultation
with the Director (Beth Kennedy) and other board members. Papers are prepared by
those reporting to the Board (usually the Director and Chair with other staff or
board members preparing additional discussion and/or information papers as
required), and all are circulated at least 3 days before the meetings, which are set in
advance.
• Meetings are currently taking place virtually but all Trustees should expect for
some, if not all, meetings to take place at The Coro as and when it is safe to do so.
• All board members as well as the Chair, Vice Chair and Treasurer, are elected
annually at UCH’s AGM and undertake a range of tasks between meetings.
• Between board meetings work is frequently taken forward by sub-committees of the
board with delegated authority to progress key priorities and report back to the full
board on e.g. finance, human resources. Board members with relevant skills are
encouraged to volunteer for these.
The duties of a trustee board member are to:
• Ensure that The Coro comply with their governing documents (Articles of
Association), charity law, company law and other relevant legislation or regulations
• Ensure that The Coro pursues its objects as defined by the governing documents
• Ensure The Coro applies resources exclusively in the pursuance of the objects
• Contribute actively to the board of trustees by giving strategic direction to The Coro,
setting overall policy, defining goals and evaluation performance against agreed
targets
• Safeguard the good name and values of The Coro
• Ensure the financial stability of The Coro
In addition to the above statutory duties, each trustee should use any specific skills,
knowledge or experience they have to help the board of trustees reach sound
decisions. This may involve leading discussions, identifying key issues, providing
advice and guidance on new initiatives, and evaluating or offering advice on other
areas in which the trustee has particular expertise.
Person specification
Core competences for each member of the Board:
• A commitment to and enthusiasm for the vision of The Coro
• A willingness and ability to attend meetings and prepare for these
• An ability to think strategically for the longer term
• Independent judgement
• An ability to think creatively
• A willingness to be honest and speak one’s mind in a constructive manner
• An understanding and acceptance of legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of
trusteeship, including the principle of collective responsibility
• An ability to work effectively as a member of a team and take decisions for the good
of UCE and/or the Coro.
• Integrity, including declaring conflicts of interest if and when these arise.
Current skills under recruitment
We are currently aiming to diversify our board of trustees and particularly wishing to
recruit both working age adults younger than 45 and people from ethnic minority
backgrounds. We are therefore specifically seeking representatives from one or both
of these demographics who have skills and experience in one or more of the following
areas:

  1. Financial management and accounting
  2. Social enterprise development/investment
  3. Arts and creative industries, particularly around fundraising for or programming
    in venues
  4. Charitable fundraising from trusts and foundations
  5. The planning and management of capital development projects
  6. Digital and tech development
    If you feel you have particular skills in one or more of the above areas and want to join
    an active board please send a CV and short cover letter to hello@thecoro.co.uk. telling
    us why you’d like to join the board of trustees and which of the particular skills under
    recruitment you feel you would be able to offer.
    If you’d like an informal discussion about what being a board member entails before
    submitting an application, please email the Chair of the Board, Ceri Hutton, on
    cerihutton@mac.com to arrange a call who will be happy to fill in more details and
    discuss options.
    www.thecoro.co.uk
    County Square
    Ulverston
    LA12 7LZ

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