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Business of
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Dr Michelle Cooper MBE on the charities challenged by Covid-19 across the Wear region
The newest Member of the British Empire is not one to stand on ceremony or rest on her laurels .
Dr Michelle Cooper , CEO of the County Durham Community Foundation , who was awarded the honour for services to the community during Covid-19 , knows difficult battles lie ahead for many regional charities entering 2021 fighting for their financial lives .
She talked honestly and openly to Wear Business ’ s Graeme Anderson about the business of charity and appealed for companies to support if they can .
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There are some that , sadly , will not survive .”
Michelle Cooper is under no illusions about the challenges facing North-East charities in the current pandemic .
“ The ones that rely on fundraising are the ones most at risk ,” she said .
“ They ’ ve lost their main sources of revenue at precisely the time when communities and individuals have needed their help the most .
“ It has been a perfect storm for them and watching their efforts to innovate and reinvent themselves to keep going has been both inspiring and , at times , a little heartbreaking .”
These are the challenges of exceptional times , but Michelle is exceptional herself as a charity chief executive who took up her post after a working life steeped in business .
She spent more than a decade working in the financial sector before becoming chief executive of the foundation in 2018 .
It ’ s an unusual route to heading up a major charity concern , which Michelle is quick to acknowledge .
“ I suppose that most people in senior levels at charities have worked in the charitable sector for most of their working lives ,” she said .
“ But I ’ m hoping my past business career will be an asset to the foundation , especially when it comes to governance and , of course , finance , which is so important .”
Those two qualities helped earn her recognition in the Queen ' s Birthday Honours List after , in the space of just three months , she led a team which distributed more than £ 1.3m to local communities across the old County Durham boundaries and beyond .
A total of £ 140,000 raised during lockdown helped keep the lights on and the doors open for 30 organisations providing services and support to more than 30,000 people . A third of the dedicated groups helped had only one staff member or were run entirely by volunteers .
That effort by the foundation saw Michelle rewarded with an MBE , though the 50-year-old is one of the least ‘ airs-and-graces ’ people you could meet .
“ It earns you a day out at the palace , which will be nice for the family , but what recognition it might bring will hopefully reflect on the foundation and its team – we are working hard to raise the profile of the foundation but that ’ s easier said than done in many ways .”
The County Durham Community Foundation is one of a network of 46 foundations serving geographical locations across the UK and between them they have given more than £ 1bn to charities , community groups and individuals .
“ As a community foundation
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