A new look and direction for the Trust

The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice that we have made a subtle change to our name! We have also changed our look to keep in step with the new RCVS corporate identity.

We are proud of our achievements, not least the £2.7 million that we have invested in recent years in exciting, sometimes game-changing, research and education projects.

To look to the future, the Trust wants to achieve two key ambitions:

To take a more pro-active approach to support animal health and welfare

We will continue to offer direct grants and our high-quality library service. We plan to select several key themes where we can make demonstrable change to animal health and welfare.

We will seek out gaps, opportunities and connections in the profession, and develop a new programme of activities and partnerships to engage the broadest audience of vets, vet nurses and animal owners.

To substantiate our charitable message

By making a more direct connection between the change we make and the funds we receive, we will powerfully demonstrate the value of supporting our work.

Our future strategy is a work-in-progress and we are looking to develop these new approaches over time.

Why change?

Some of these changes are a response to changing times and needs, but some are a direct response to our review findings.

Through research undertaken by us (and that commissioned through the RCVS) we found that we were seen as giving substantial support to the profession, but primarily to those in academia and research.

We want to use our expertise and networks to encourage dynamic changes to animal health and welfare, and point to the common ground between animals and people

We were also seen as more of a wealthy foundation with limited interests, than a charity relevant to the whole profession.

We want to change these perceptions and so we are taking measures to change the way in which we operate.

The immediate changes are:

Our name

We want to enhance and clarify our relationship with the RCVS, so our name and logo reflects that close link.  We have changed our name to RCVS Charitable Trust, as a new working name, to help clarify that we are dependent on financial support to continue our work.

The new website

Still sited within the RCVS main site, our Trust pages have an equally thematic approach, and we aim to drive the bulk of our communications through the new site with better news content and clear calls to action.

Our grants programme

We are changing our grants programme, with a dedicated scheme for veterinary nurses to mark the 50^th Anniversary of the Veterinary Nurse profession. This will be launched shortly so check out our grants pages for details.

Other changes are in development and will be launched later this year.

Engaging diverse audiences

We intend to reach out beyond the profession to engage a wider audience, including the animal owning public.  Central to this will be the relevance of history and the evolution of veterinary knowledge, to human and animal health and development.

Dynamic

“The RCVS Charitable Trust has been a consistent and stalwart grant-maker to the profession over the past decade, supporting a huge range of projects," says Jill Nute, Chairman, RCVS Charitable Trust (pictured).

"What do we want to achieve by the end of the next decade? Well, we want to use our expertise and networks to encourage dynamic changes to animal health and welfare, and point to the common ground between animals and people.”

To send us your views on our new website, and our plans, get in touch with us at [email protected] or via our feedback page.