Our mission
Supporting salespeople. Strengthening our profession.
We stand with you through hardship, help build resilience and opportunity, and work to make sales better for everyone.
We exist to provide financial support to salespeople when they need it most.
The Salespeople’s Charity was established by five commercial travellers who met in the Union Hotel, Penzance, to discuss ways that they might help one of their colleagues who was unable to continue to work.
From this initial meeting, they recognised a wider need and were determined to form a body that would provide support to commercial travellers and their dependents in times of financial hardship. The Charity was founded on the 27th December 1849 at the London Tavern, Bishopsgate, London.
Originally launched as the Commercial Travellers’ Benevolent Institution, the Charity is today known as the Salespeople’s Charity to reflect the more modern description of a Commercial Traveller. Whilst the name has changed its aims and objectives remain unaltered and the Charity continues to develop as a pro-active, vibrant, contemporary and relevant organisation.
Our team
Rob Day
Chair
Laura Garnett
Executive Director
Phil Monk
Treasurer
Mike Gibson
Deputy Chair
Keith Payne
Trustee
Alison Matthias
Trustee
John Ross
Trustee
Join us
For more than 175 years, volunteers have helped steer our charity, bringing their experience, expertise and commitment to the people we serve.
We’re always interested in hearing from people who want to play a part in our future — whether as a trustee, by sharing specialist knowledge as a subject matter expert, or through other voluntary roles.
If you’ve have something to contribute and share our ambition for salespeople and our profession, we’d love to hear from you.