2025 Shortlist | SNAPS Yorkshire CIO
SNAPS Yorkshire CIO
Winner – People in Governance
About the Charity
SNAPS Yorkshire CIO is a Leeds-based charity providing vital support to children with additional needs and their families. What began in 2004 as a small, parent-led group seeking hydrotherapy has grown into a thriving organisation supporting more than 100 families each month across West Yorkshire.
SNAPS offers a range of inclusive activities—from physiotherapist-led hydrotherapy and rebound therapy to football, arts and crafts, and animal therapy—giving children space to thrive and families a place to connect. The charity also provides a dedicated family support service, group and one-to-one wellbeing support, and is committed to listening to the voices of parents and children to shape its services.
Charity number: 1171244 | www.SnapsYorkshire.org
England – Yorkshire & the Humber | 26-100 paid staff
What the Board Achieved
SNAPS has transformed over the past decade from a grassroots organisation into a professional and ambitious charity, thanks in large part to its dynamic and inclusive board. With a well-balanced mix of skills—including legal, financial, HR and lived experience as parents—trustees ensure decisions are rooted in both professional insight and a deep understanding of families’ needs. Four trustees are parents of service users, and one trustee (who is neurodiverse) now leads a club for older children—reflecting SNAPS’ ethos of representation and lived experience.
Governance is supported by a structured skills audit, targeted recruitment, and a strong culture of consensus, ensuring every trustee contributes meaningfully. The board has been instrumental in strategic decisions such as hiring a chief executive to lead the charity through a period of rapid growth and resilience. Under the board’s guidance, SNAPS has increased its turnover tenfold in the past decade, grown its frontline team, and expanded from one to two—soon-to-be three—delivery sites.
Crucially, the board has not only built financial stability but also safeguarded the charity’s independence by choosing not to pursue restrictive statutory funding. By investing instead in fundraising expertise, SNAPS has created a sustainable model that aligns with its values and long-term ambitions.
What Inspired the Judges
Judges were moved by SNAPS’ deeply thoughtful, inclusive and transparent approach to governance. The board’s blend of lived and professional experience creates an authentic culture of shared purpose and collaboration. Particularly striking was the charity’s commitment to amplifying all voices—including children—through its Junior Ambassadors programme and open AGMs, where families can directly raise questions and offer feedback.
What sets this organisation apart is its measured approach to growth and ambition. Investing in a CEO and fundraising team has been transformational, guiding the charity’s evolution from a small volunteer-led group to a professionally developed organisation.
SNAPS has demonstrated that strong governance doesn’t require vast resources—it requires clarity of purpose, strategic thinking, and compassion. From weathering a potential closure to becoming a leader in its sector, the board’s choices have empowered SNAPS to grow smartly and sustainably. The charity now not only delivers life-changing services but also influences the wider ecosystem through networks like the West Yorkshire CANN.
