Wishing Nick well on his adventures
BeyondMe wishes our Head of Operations and Portfolio, Nick Mason, safe travels and good luck for the future.
Nick has contributed so much to BeyondMe’s mission. His integrity has helped consistently raise BeyondMe‘s vision of what can be achieved and his determination has built relationships necessary to spread our model wherever there is the social need.
As BeyondMe’s first full-time employee he has laid strong foundations for everything to come….
Just 3 of Nick’s many achievements
- In 2015 Nick contributed to the long-term strategy our Chief Executive, Kawika was crafting for BeyondMe and made a robust case to ensure equal investment in the charity portfolio as in the professional engagement activities. For an organisation with philanthropy at our heart, Nick’s input has made us unique in explicitly responding to the needs and demands of both charities in our portfolio and the individuals who start and join BeyondMe teams.
- For the last three years Nick has spearheaded BeyondMe’s impact measurement framework. From concept to commissioning skilled volunteers, Nick has driven the creation of a framework that allows BeyondMe to accurately estimate the value we generate for the social sector. With this powerful tool we can track the progress of our work, record its impact and really understand the less tangible ways BeyondMe adds value to its community.
- Nick has used his vast knowledge of BeyondMe’s 180 partnerships to seek out new opportunities to prove and develop our model making it easier to be generous by delivering bids for investment funding. Most notably, this included a successful bid in 2016 for funding from Big Potential, a Big Lottery Fund grant programme. As a result, BeyondMe was able to commission external consultants to help inform our strategy for scaling, testing the assumptions underlying our feasibility and ultimately, strengthening our growth.
As a colleague, we will miss….
His ‘four states of knowing’ Bootcamp speech that has inspired generations of generous leaders; his empathy and patience for others; the witty edge that runs alongside Nick’s calm and composed exterior; his intellect and genuine enthusiasm for working with our Advisory Panel, portfolio of charities and portfolio partners.
As friends, we will miss….
His Scottish and Irish accents; his dancing (WeWork building launch party whoop whoop!); his immense ability to eat; his rating scale for work: from “nailed it” to “smashed it” to “absolutely smashed it”….
… And this thing he does with his office key card when he is concentrating really hard— beautifully captured in the background of Sarah’s gif:
But more than any of these qualities…
The passion and care he takes in his duties as a Trustee of Street Child and as a champion of education in Sierra Leone —alongside a full-time job and more recently, wedding planning too — speaks volumes of his own generosity and testifies to just how driven he is.
In the words of those who look up to him — literally:
Adam Pike, BeyondMe’s Co-founder:
“We were extremely fortunate to hire Nick as our first ever employee. He has a natural warmth and charisma. He is a confident and super-smart colleague. Most important of all, he practices what he preaches and is a dugma ishit, someone who leads by example. He may think that he owes BeyondMe a debt for believing and investing in him, but the honour and privilege is ours.”
Jack Follett, Portfolio Associate:
“I’ve had the pleasure of working really closely with Nick over the last year, he’s been a great friend as well as a source of advice and encouragement every single day I head into work. I’ve learnt so much from his patient, determined and balanced approach to work.
When you start a new job it’s always slightly nerve-racking, but when I arrived at BeyondMe, Nick made me feel extremely welcome and started investing in me from the word go.”
Ambica Jobanputra, Former colleague:
“I’ve basically spent the last three years looking up to Nick. He is a role model to me and I miss learning from him every day; because it really was… pretty much… every day. I don’t think Nick quite understands the impact working alongside him has had on how I approach work (and life) now.”
Sarah Hutt, Head of Engagement:
“It has been a pleasure to benefit from Nick’s wisdom, insight and humour in the first three months of my time at BeyondMe. It has been an absolute blast and I really hope he doesn’t travel too far….”
Joel Cohen, Growth Campaigns and Communications Manager:
“I’ve learnt so much plundering Nick’s immense knowledge of the social sector. But after a chat, the real privilege is returning to my work to find his intellect, ingenuity and good judgement baked into what BeyondMe is today. He has gifted our model some of his own virtues. This guidance will continue to be a source of strength for me, for BeyondMe and for all of his endeavours for many years to come.”
Kawika Solidum, Chief Executive:
“Nick is both patient and impatient, for exactly the right reasons. He is patient when it comes to investing the time and diligence to watch something grow. He’s shown this in every thing he has done for BeyondMe. He’s also impatient to see the results, which will inevitably add up to making change happen. It’s this drive, matched with his curiosity for the world, that makes me exceptionally excited about what he’ll achieve in the future.”
