Nick Booth , CEO True Patriot Love Foundation , Canada .
“ My first 18 years were spent in a very small rural community about 10 miles from Cambridge , England . My father had served in WW2 in the British Army and afterwards was part of a Government scheme to allocate small parcels of land to Veterans to farm . It was tough to make a living but a great childhood in that my parents were at home all day and I got to grow up in the countryside . I was then the first person in my family to go to University when I went to Loughborough University of Technology and did a BA in Business Administration with Modern Language ( German ).
My first job was as Graduate Trainee at the UK ’ s largest child protection organization – the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children ( NSPCC ). It was interesting to come from business school and use this training in the voluntary sector but also unique because no UK NGO ’ s had previously offered graduate programs and I was to my knowledge the first in the UK , potentially globally , to have this opportunity .
After spending 21 years working to raise funds and combat child abuse at the NSPCC ( my first organization which is pretty rare these days !), I left the UK for the
USA , where I served as Senior Vice President at Big Brothers Big Sisters of America . This was where I had the privilege to work with Fred and Comcast . BBBS is an amazing organization and a mission I love ( in fact I recently established BBBS in the UK for the first time and am now Chairman !).
After three years in Philadelphia I was asked to return to the UK to be founding CEO of The Royal Foundation – the new philanthropic vehicle for The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry . This was an extraordinary opportunity as there had never before been a grant making foundation in the Royal Family so to be asked to set it up for the future King and his family was a personal privilege and honor . I oversaw Their Royal Highnesses ’ charitable activities for seven years including , for example , establishing the Invictus Games , a global conservation campaign called United for Wildlife , and the recent mental health campaign Heads Together which has had a very wide impact in tackling the stigma around mental illness . In 2019 I returned to North America to become CEO of True Patriot Love Foundation , Canada ’ s main charitable organization supporting its military and veteran community .” ~ Nick Booth
“ I first met Nick Booth in April , 2008 when he was new the Vice President of Philanthropy for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America leading their national fundraising efforts . He moved from the UK to take on this role after serving more than ten years as the campaign director for The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children ( NSPCC ), the largest social service organization in the UK . While there , he led its Full Stop Appeal , a campaign aimed at putting an end to child cruelty , raising over $ 540 million . The Full Stop campaign is the most successful in British history . Our meeting happened when I worked for Comcast Corporation , headquartered in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , serving as the Senior Director of Community Investment , leading the company ’ s national strategic partnerships in their philanthropic efforts . Nick and I worked on creating what would become the nation ’ s largest workplace mentoring program . His years of leadership , combined with a gentle and focused approach , helped to establish a national partnership between Comcast and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America which continues today .
Both of us have moved on to other opportunities since then , and Nick has even worked for Royalty ! It was great to reconnect with an old friend for this interview . Thank you , Nick , for your exemplary career of making life better for others ! " ~ Fred Maahs , Jr .