Becoming a mutual was a huge achievement, but we’ve achieved so much more than we could ever have imagined in the last year  – running a fantastic conference just last week, in July hitting our target of supporting one million people to use computers and the internet, launching the new Community How To service and continuing to support our fantastic network of centres to bring the power of the internet to as many people as possible.   I remember vividly being sat at home at the dining table one evening last December, having to sign off our own payroll for the first time ever, and it really feeling like a proper start-up business. I can’t believe how far we’ve come!

One of the best things about being a mutual is just how invested every person within the organisation is in helping us achieve our aims – everyone can have their say and shape the services we deliver, which means everyone feels like they have a really important part to play in driving the organisation forward.  Of course I would say this, but OCF really is a great place to work – and it’s the team that we’ve really got to thank for it.

As a new social enterprise we’ve now got a Board too – with four staff members and six external members who provide us with advice, challenge and support. So thank you also to Jim Knight, our fantastic Chair, and to Gail, Liz, Nick, Pete, Roger, Simon, Vic and William our equally fab Board Directors.