Ep 20. Frank Fletcher, CEO Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust: Sailing through the Pandemic

The Charity CEO Podcast

“The partnership puts young people at the centre and not brand … we should all be working together to achieve Mission, rather than brand awareness or the size of our turnover or how many staff we employ.”
Frank Fletcher is CEO of The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust.
The Trust supports young people with cancer, engaging them in outdoor activities, to help re-build their confidence and their lives, after cancer.
We talk about how the Trust pivoted to a Virtual Summer during 2020 and what it has learnt during the pandemic in order to better support young people recovering from cancer.
We discuss the Trust’s newly formed partnership with Teenage Cancer Trust and CLIC Sargent (now Young Lives vs Cancer) - a fantastic example of leaving brand differences at the door to truly focus on what is best for young people.
Frank shares his learnings on establishing this formal partnership and strongly encourages other charity leaders to follow suit.
Recorded May 2021.
Guest Biography
Frank Fletcher has been CEO of the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust since 2005.
The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust is a national charity that inspires young people aged 8-24 to believe in a brighter future, living through and beyond cancer. Supporting young people through sailing, outdoor activities and virtual year-round engagement, the Trust helps young people feel more positive, accepted, confident and independent, as they look ahead to re-establish their place in the world.
Before his appointment at the Trust, Frank worked at the UK Sailing Academy, another youth charity utilising the power of the outdoors to transform young people’s lives.
Unsurprisingly, outdoor pursuits feature heavily in Frank’s personal life; he enjoys walking, paddle-boarding, cycling, swimming, and running. Other spare time is spent relaxing in his allotment, and with his family on the Isle of Wight.
Links
https://www.ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org/