In the midst of all the world events over the past few months, one stands out for us… Our inaugural Appreciation Dinner on Friday November 4th. The “Stewardship family” had never been brought together before. We were delighted with the outcome, especially everyone’s willingness to engage, and the ease of conversation that was evident throughout the evening. Our hope was that spending time together, over some excellent food and enjoyable conversation, would deepen existing relationships and create new ones. Judging by the comments afterwards, I think we can tick that box.
Feedback, both on the night and subsequently, has been very encouraging, especially about:
- The quality of the venue and its staff
- The food
- The conversations with friends, old… and new
The event was conceived as an opportunity to celebrate the journey so far, to say thank you to those who have walked the path with us, and to share our visions and values and the progress made. As giving has always been our number one goal, the reaction to hearing that since April 2018 we have given over £180,000 was one of the highlights.
Simon highlighted our intention to have clients play a part in shaping our future through the creation of a Client Advisory Board, some of which have already intimated interest in supporting this initiative. We were encouraged by the response to the reaction to Simon’s clear and honest explanation that building Stewardship Wealth was not solely for his own benefit, but that he intended to hand it over to a Charitable Board. However, as he said, he would only do this once confident that the business was on a strong, sustainable footing.
Charity support was one the highlights of the evening. Since launching in 2018 we have donated to 28, mostly local, charities, which are shown below.
At the Appreciation Dinner Simon asked for help in supporting new partners, and there was an enthusiastic response with 56 nominations covering 34 different charities. Later, the charity names were placed in Simon’s now famous bowler hat, and the Stewardship Wealth team picked 3 winners to receive £1,000 each… Here are the three that were drawn out:
- The Lighthouse – a local Aberdeen based charity helping to positively transform the community.
- The Scottish Bible Society – since 1809 they have been making Bibles available worldwide.
- Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal – a timely reminder of the sacrifices our armed forces continue to make today.
Special mention should go to the Archway charity which garnered the most votes, due in no small part to the impassioned pitch by Fiona! In response to her efforts, we are also making a special gift to Archway for £500.
Thoughts are already turning to our next event…