About Us

MBA, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, is a leading provider of training and consultancy to voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations. Our job is to help you to become the best you can be, your team to excel, and your organisation to thrive.

We’ll help you to raise the money you need, improve your skills and find the best way forward. In practice, this might be anything from working with your board to produce a successful strategy, helping you create a change management programme, inspiring your audience at your annual conference, reviewing your fundraising process to help you maximise income, or improving the resilience and skills of your team.

In the past 25 years we have worked with international foundations such as the King Baudouin Foundation and the European Cultural Foundation; national charities such as the Age U.K., Mencap, ReThink, Scope, Shelter and Barnardos; local charities such as the Customs House Theatre, Cumbria Youth Alliance and Pennywell Neighbourhood Project; and numerous local authorities. We’ve partnered on projects with the Northern Rock Foundation, the Community Foundation for Tyne and Wear, the National Association of Hospice Fundraisers and others.

We offer training, consultancy and mentoring in the areas of:

Fundraising
Bid writing
Strategic and Business Planning
Project Management
Creative Thinking and Problem Solving
Presentation Skills
Leadership and Team Building Skills
Time Management and Personal Effectiveness
Influencing and Communicating

The Team

We are a small company with a very personal focus on the needs of our customers.

Mark Butcher

Our Director, Mark Butcher, has been a manager, consultant and trainer for 27 years. He is a renowned speaker on strategic planning, income generation and personal effectiveness and has had two books published on this latter subject by the Directory of Social Change.

Mark has worked as a trainer and consultant for hundreds of organisations in more than a dozen countries and has vast experience of working with nonprofit organisations, large and small, in the arts, social welfare, sports and health. Mark can help your organisation to become more sustainable, your team to become more focused and motivated and your own skill set to improve - whether that be with regard to dealing with increased pressure, becoming a fantastic communicator, raising more money or managing others.

More than likely you will work directly with Mark, but we also have an associate team of world class professionals who we can call upon to solve particular problems for our clients if need be.

Elaine Hill

Elaine has worked for over 28 years in health and social care initially as a social worker and later for over 16 years as a senior manager within the NHS and Social Care.

She has worked in a range of organisations including Help the Aged, Richmond Fellowship, National Autistic Society and several local authorities, PCT and CQC.

Elaine established the North East Autism Consortium and later joined the Department of Health as the Ministerial Advisor for Autism for two and half years where she supported the development of the autism strategy “Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives”. Elaine is currently Chair of Learning Disability North East.

Nigel Scott

Nigel is a former Senior Lecturer in Charity Accounting at London South Bank University, Course Director for their MSc in Charity Finance & Accounting and a Financial Consultant to Moorfield Hospital Charities.

He is currently a Trustee for the Children’s Trust and the British Dragonfly Society. His consultancy customers include Blackfriars Settlement, the Police Rehabilitation Centre, Volunteer Centre Greenwich and Wintercomfort

Viv Butcher

Viv is our Company Secretary and Courses Administrator. Her career has included stints in business administration, careers advice, fundraising and the setting up and running of a successful holiday cottage business.