Governance
The Mount Street Club Trust is an Incorporated Trust registered in Ireland (RCN 2004361).
Information about the Trust can be found on the Charities Regulator’s Register of Charities.
Governing document
The Mount Street Club Trust Scheme of Incorporation can be viewed here.
Audited accounts
The Trust’s most recent audited accounts can be viewed using these links:
Trustees
The Trust is governed by a board of voluntary Trustees. The current Trustees are:
Margaret Barry (Chairperson),Katherine P. Meyer (Secretary), Sarah Perrrem (Treasurer), Paul Donovan,Robert Galavan, Charles Delap, Sarah Perrem, Katherine P. Meyer, Shola Adekunle, Alison Sleeth, Thomas McCann.
Trustee term limits and succession planning
The Trustees have considered the Charities Regulator’s guidance on introducing term limits of nine years maximum for Trustees. However, they have decided that it is not in the best interests of the Trust to introduce strict term limits at present.
The thinking of the Trustees is as follows:
Since its foundation in 1934, the Mount Street Club Trust has benefited from an ongoing connection, where possible, with the founding families of the MSC. In particular, this has enabled the Trust to keep in constant touch with the original desire of the founders to make a difference to the lives of disadvantaged communities in Dublin and to re-imagine its own work as needed in a changing Ireland.
Now, almost 90 years later, it is even more important to maintain an additional kind of continuity, that of remaining abreast of trends and new thinking in the areas of 1) trust-based philanthropy and 2) collaborative approaches to addressing systemic marginalisation. The contributions of certain Trustees who have served longer than nine years have been instrumental in moving the Trust forward in this regard with imagination and dexterity.
At the same time and for the same reasons, the Trust is committed to a triennial review of its membership. At least every three years, each trustee will be asked to state for the record their willingness to continue to serve; or their wish to step down - with reasonable notice, if possible; or to highlight any changes to their current interests or other commitments that might be relevant to forward planning.
Annual report on activities 2024
Description of Activities submitted as part of our Annual Report to the Charities Regulator:
Hope & Ambition, the Mount Street Club Trust's funding and development initiative, entered Phase 2 in 2024 and is planned to run through 2027, building on the work of Phase 1 (2019-2022) and the co-design phase (June-December 2022).
Enlightened by the principles of trust-based philanthropy, Hope & Ambition empowers organisations to sustain innovative thinking and practice and evolve a critically-informed analysis in their work with marginalised and disadvantaged communities in the greater Dublin Area.
Not just a funding programme, Hope & Ambition also provides development support to the participant organisations and their people, focusing in particular on organisational development, leadership, practice, wellbeing and cross-sectoral interaction. The initiative is structured around two key elements: a grant to recipient organisations and their commitment to participate in the CEO's and Practitioners' Clubs in a spirit of critical inquiry, collaboration and shared learning. At the same time, trustees are also exploring the principles of trust-based philanthropy in their own practice, deepening their understanding of what it means to share power, build trust, and engage in reciprocal learning alongside the organisations they support.
The five organisations supported in 2024 were: Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation, Intercultural Language Service, Irish Refugee Council, Rua Red and Connections Arts Centre. The final reports prepared by each organisation, covering the period June 2023 to December 2024, will be published on the Trust's website.
In 2024, in partnership with supporters of the Trust with expertise in corporate funding partnerships, extensive preparatory work was undertaken for a corporate funding event. This involved careful planning and creative design to ensure the event would be engaging and inspiring for potential corporate partners, as well as exploring innovative ways to showcase the impact of Hope & Ambition. This was built on the June 2023 roundtable, where the trustees, the CEO's of the Hope and Ambition participant organisations and invited guests considered how collaboration with corporate partners could sustain and expand the initiative's impact.
Continuing to expand the Trust's communications and engagement strategy, the Trust took part in the Philanthropy Symposium, hosted by Philanthropy Ireland, contributing its experience to support the organisation's mission of championing Irish Philanthropy and inspiring a dynamic, engaged community.
2024 also saw the Trust's continuing engagement with organisational development expert, Dr Liz Hayes. In addition to guiding and facilitating the Hope & Ambition programme, Dr Hayes provided strategic development support to the Trust itself, working closely with Trustees and engaging potential corporate funders. This support forms part of the Trust's three pillars of work: fundraising and collaboration with funding partners, organisational development and programme delivery. These pillars have been renewed for a further four years, ensuring a continued focus on strengthening both the Trust and its wider impact.