Denizen of trust

David Dennison seems the perfect choice as president of the industry charity. An affable character, he is well known and respected throughout the field, especially so following his presidency of the ECA in 2002.

He is also clearly passionate about the cause and in interview his focus remains determinedly on the aims of the charity and how these can be achieved. “We become insulated in society to the needs of others because we so seldom see behind each other’s front door. It’s only when you get down to the nitty-gritty behind that exterior facade you realise there is still poverty and hardship out there,” he stresses.

Having been approached to consider the post of president of the Electrical and Electronics Industries Benevolent Association (EEIBA), he initially agreed to serve a year in office. “I accepted [the post] because I always like to try to put something back into the industry that has provided me with my income and enjoyment, and I do mean enjoyment, over the last 40 years. I thought this was a way to help,” he explains. He was voted in for a second year at the June 2005 council meeting, taking the charity through its centenary year.

The timing of his presidency does not mean he will be purely enjoying a year of celebrations. “Being a charity you cannot afford the luxury of pampering yourself and patting yourself on the back because you’ve reached 100 years,” stresses Dennison. “The money has still got to go to the beneficiaries. While reaching 100 years is a significant achievement, next year will still just be another year of helping people.”

His determination to ensure this help continues well into the future is clear. Dennison has already immersed himself at the coalface of the EEIBA’s work. Early in his presidency he spent some time visiting beneficiaries around the country with EEIBA welfare visitors. His desire was “to get an idea of the worth of the activities of the Association” by seeing first-hand how it can help individuals in need.

Meeting the more traditional demands of his role, he chairs the EEIBA council and is helping to guide the Association towards the goals of its 2004 Strategic Review (see box). “This is currently being implemented and monitored and as the chair and president, one of your purposes is to ensure that comes to fruition,” he says.

This Review identified general changes in social and economic trends that are likely to affect future fundraising. As ever, the primary issue remains financial. The annual review for the year to December 2004 showed a total income down £68 000 on 2003 and a published deficit of £308 000.

“The real problem is, as with most businesses, containing overheads and generating income. I hope we can increase our revenues and decrease our overhead costs to end up distributing more per pound donated than in the past,” says Dennison. Much headway has been made in containing overheads, with emphasis being put on ensuring the charity is run as efficiently as possible. And on a positive note, the financial outcome was £35 000 better than in 2003. The EEIBA plans to break even in 2007.

But changes in the economic structure of the industry mean action is also needed to ensure a continued flow of income. “One of the real problems is the demise of some very large companies who were donors. That has left a shortfall we have to seek to fill and expand on,” explains Dennison. “In this world of ever increasing economic pressures it’s becoming more difficult, so we are very dependent on individuals giving. This appears to be a general trend in industry-related charities.”

I hope we can increase our revenues and decrease our overheads to end up distributing more per pound

With this shift to individual donors in mind, one of the main thrusts for the EEIBA at present is determining a figure that accurately represents how much of each pound donated reaches a beneficiary. “We feel it’s imperative to do that,” says Dennison. “People in business understand overheads and all the add-on costs of business, but when you’re speaking to individual givers their main concern is ‘how much of what I’m giving is going to those in need?’ That’s the importance of getting a figure that’s right. It can strengthen our case for obtaining donations from people because we will be able to prove they are getting real value for money.”

The problem in determining this figure stems from the services the EEIBA provides. In addition to direct grants, it provides help in obtaining benefits from other sources that benefactors may not have been able to obtain by themselves. “That takes a lot of time from the organisation and obviously costs a lot of money, but still has a very beneficial outcome,” Dennison explains.

Clearly, the primary aim must be to increase income. The EEIBA runs many promotions and events to achieve this. “We have to get through to a wider audience,” explains Dennison. “One area where we really need to raise the profile is in the electronics sector and, to a lesser degree, in the contracting sector. Most of the funding now comes on a corporate basis from power utilities, electrical equipment manufacturers and distributors.”

In addition to his work with the charity, Dennison is a director on N Ireland’s training body, Electrical Training Trust, and remains focused on the health of his contracting firm DM Engineering. He founded the Belfast-based firm in 1974 and has built it up to a multi-million pound concern. He currently remains as md but is looking to the future here also.

“I’m getting to the stage where I have to be thinking about retirement, therefore it’s good to let others have their day and work without me,” he says. EEIBA duties mean he is away from work for around one day per week. “I am fully committed, but for the short periods I’m away with the EEIBA, it’s good training for my retirement,” he says. “It’s probably as good training for me as anybody else. It’s like everything else, having done something for so long it’s always hard to let go.”

Dennison plans to keep working “until I stop enjoying it”, but directors are in place to take over following his retirement. In the meantime, plans for expansion into fields other than electrical contracting continue. “We’re trying to develop more into general maintenance and facilities management,” he explains. “We’re also steadily increasing our mechanical side so that we can offer a one-stop-shop service.” The firm has taken on a number of mechanical personnel to achieve this goal.

Back at the EEIBA, ensuring efficient operation will remain the primary focus for the time being. As Dennison says: “You can only progress in an orderly fashion as opposed to being totally avant-garde about these things. We cannot just go in and turn the whole thing on its head. We cannot afford to. We are trustees in the true sense and meaning of the word.”