 Letter from Fiona
I am very pleased to announce that we now have 300 business members, ‘Pilotlighters’, across our three offices in London, Scotland and Wales. You can read about our latest team in Wales in this newsletter. Every year Pilotlight surveys our Pilotlighters, to find out about their experience of volunteering with us. This year, we asked them about their motivation, whether they had benefited from being a Pilotlighter and whether it has changed their attitude towards the voluntary sector. In terms of motivation, 89% said they joined Pilotlight to give something back to the charity sector and 44% said it was for professional learning and development. The decision to join has certainly paid off. Ninety per cent said they were satisfied or extremely satisfied with their Pilotlight membership. How have they benefited? In terms of skills and attitudes, 54% said they were now more willing to see things from different perspectives, 49% said their experience had improved their coaching and mentoring, 47% said they were now better at working with limited resources and 35% said they were now more diplomatic! Pilotlighters have also benefited in other ways. Forty-five per cent say they have made useful contacts. Compared with other volunteering or CSR programmes, 75% think Pilotlight offers them a better opportunity to make an effective contribution to charities. Pilotlight also compares well with other professional development programmes, 61% said their experience with Pilotlight was more satisfactory. What is the wider impact? The experience has also changed overall commitment levels to the voluntary sector. Before joining Pilotlight, nearly 60% of Pilotlighters did not spend any time volunteering. However, now, over 70% volunteer outside of their commitment to Pilotlight. Twenty per cent of Pilotlighters have become trustees and 32% are now giving more than seven days a year. Not only are they giving more time, Pilotlighters have become voluntary sector champions. Over 70% have encouraged colleagues or their company to change their approach to volunteering or corporate social responsibility since working with Pilotlight. I am delighted that our members are benefiting in these ways so that the whole Pilotlight experience is a two-way process. Fiona Halton
Chief Executive, Pilotlight Group Behind the scenes auction On Tuesday, 30th November, 2010, Pilotlight supporters will come together to enjoy an evening ‘Behind the Scenes’ at BAFTA in London and at the Glasgow Science Centre in Scotland. Lots include a lesson from the coach of the Scottish Rugby Union team and work experience  with fashion designer, Anya Hindmarch - click on photo to see more details. The events will be the climax of a ten-day online auction and we will see the final ten lots go up for bidding as the centrepiece of an exciting evening. Preparations are underway and we are collecting some fantastic lots but are looking for more. If you are in a position to offer a unique ‘Behind the Scenes’ experience, please let us know as we’d love to hear from you. For more information and to buy tickets, please contact Matt Oliver (moliver@pilotlight.org.uk) for the London event and Gemma Simpson (gsimpson@pilotlight.org.uk) for the Scotland event. Keep visiting the Pilotlight website for more information in the run up to the auction.
Pilotlight Cymru New Pilotlight team We are delighted to report that we have recruited a new team of Pilotlighters in Wales. Kate Reid, a chartered accountant, is a partner at Watts Gregory LLP. She trained with Touche Ross. Jon Allen (pictured) is head of HR, design and development at Royal Mail.  He is responsible for 90,000 staff members. Jon has instigated several innovative programmes to reduce sickness and absenteeism across the business on a national level. Alessandra Quartucci is a business analyst and deals with marketing, including website content and communication for Confused.com. Lynda Campbell (pictured) is a general manager at British Gas, where she is the leader of  1,200 people. She drove a cultural change programme over a two-year period and has won awards in the UK and Europe. The new team will be working with Cancer Support Cynon Valley. The charity provides emotional and practical support to cancer patients and their families, who live in and around the Cynon Valley area of Wales. The Cancer Support Cynon Valley’s transport service was started in 2002 by people who were determined that their community deserved something better. Volunteer drivers, using their own cars, have now become an integral part of Cynon Valley life. The charity has grown rapidly and now services over 6,000 clients. There are 3 full-time members of staff, one part-time and 88 volunteers. The challenge
The staff would like help to develop their next business plan and to learn new skills in marketing, HR and finance in order to manage the planned expansion. The charity generates income through its own shop and has a contract with the local health board but it wants to find other sources of income. The aim is to become sustainable within three years.
Pilotlight London Fine Cell Work continues to flourish  Our evaluation team has revisited the charity, Fine Cell Work (FCW) to monitor its progress since Pilotlight worked with it. The charity, which trains prisoners in needlework, continues to flourish, receiving publicity, increasing its income and planning to recruit a marketing and business director. FCW was one of three charities named as part of The Times Charity Appeal, and was featured in several articles in the newspaper. FCW also received significant publicity from several major commissions, including one at the Sage Concert Hall in Newcastle, an English Heritage Commission at Dover Castle and a V&A exhibition. FCW also recently held its biggest ever event; a private viewing at the V&A. Sales have increased by 17% on the previous year to £161,000. Reflecting back on the original engagement with Pilotlight, the director, Katy Emck, notes that FCW was at the right stage in its development to really benefit from the process, being a small organisation looking to formalise its business practices. She says: “Pilotlight was a real turning point”.
Picture caption: “Chairseat for the King’s Throne – embroidered by hand in prison”
Case Study - Tender Susie McDonald, Director tells us how her charity benefited from working with Pilotlight What are the aims of your charity? - To enable young people (5- to 25-years-old) to develop positive attitudes towards relationships in order to prevent domestic abuse and sexual violence. Tender uses the arts to engage with young people and to enable them to explore the issues.
- To equip adults with the skills and resources they need to promote healthy relationships among young people.
Why and how did your charity start? Domestic and sexual violence accounts for approximately one sixth of all violent crime in the UK (British Crime Survey, 2006). Its victims are overwhelmingly female, and reporting rates, whilst improving, remain low. At the same time, surveys repeatedly show that significant sections of British society feel that the victim is often to blame for these crimes. Tender was established because it believes that changing attitudes towards gender violence is the first step towards creating a culture in which adults and young people can speak out against experiences of abuse and in which perpetrators are held accountable for their behaviour. Why did your charity approach Pilotlight? Tender approached Pilotlight to seek support in its strategic planning, including the production of a business plan and communications strategy. Having achieved stability through a number of three-year grants, Tender was in a position to plan ahead to fulfil its vision. What did your work with Pilotlight involve? Meetings took place once a month for 18 months between Pilotlighters and the charity's artistic director and trustees. Tender underwent a full organisational review with Pilotlight which culminated in a five-year business plan, providing an ambitious road map for achieving Tender’s aims. How has the charity benefited from working with Pilotlight? With Pilotlight’s help, Tender has clarified its direction and enlarged its vision. Pilotlight supported Tender to:
• improve budgeting and financial management
• use the business plan to help raise funds
• resolve a longstanding staffing question by appointing a full-time director
• Recruit a new trustee from the Pilotlighter team. What impact has your work with Pilotlight had on your clients? Since working with Pilotlight, Tender has raised more funds, taken on more staff and reached more people, more efficiently, and adheres to some ambitious targets for further growth. Can you provide any quotes from your clients? “I am an aggressive person, but the Tender programme has changed me. I look at this in a different perspective, I can see now a woman needs to be loved and cherished.” (Young man, 14) What would you say to other charities thinking about working with Pilotlight? Our relationship with Pilotlight was of huge value to us – it is a fantastic organisation to work with. Website: www.tender.org.uk | August's Contents
- Letter from Fiona
- Pilotlight Auction
- Pilotlight Cymru
- Pilotlight London
- Case study - Tender
- Pilotlight People
- Pilotlight Scotland
Pilotlight People:
Sue Robertson  Sue Robertson, director, One Parent Families Scotland (OPFS). Sue has worked for the charity for over 25 years and is due to retire at the end of the year. Pilotlight has been working with Sue and the board of One Parent Families Scotland to ensure that the succession is handled as well as possible, making sure the organisation is in a strong position. OPFS now reaches out to over 5,000 families every year, offering a free lone parent helpline, a wide range of fact sheets and specialist information for lone parents. It also offers advice about returning to work or education, flexible childcare services for all families and support for parents and their children in the local community. Sue says: “In everything we do we try to promote a positive image of lone parent families. I am proud of the wide range of services we have been able to offer families over all these years." Sue notes that recent government policy has emphasised the importance of moving parents back into employment at an earlier stage. “This gives us a narrower time period to build up confidence and skills in parents before returning to work.” During Sue’s time at OPFS she has noticed a shift towards much more complicated funding arrangements. “When I first started we could rely on one source of funding for four years with a possibility of extending for three years. Now we have to draw on a mix of funding over much shorter periods and we are increasingly earning our funds for services delivered. Our flexible childcare is a business with an element of public subsidy.”
Why Sue approached Pilotlight “I’d had some experience of receiving individual support in the past but the skills match wasn’t that great. Working with a team that has been matched to our organisation’s needs is much more useful. I’m getting valuable external feedback on what we’re doing. Often this involves positive reinforcement of our strategy as well as new ideas and useful contacts. “We have also had helpful input into our events, for example, our recent parliamentary reception – the Pilotlighters gave advice on how to structure and market the event. We are now working on getting their help to strengthen our links with the private sector. “You can often become too internally-focused and it is helpful to have to explain what we do to an external audience and learn how to sell what we are doing. “Hopefully, it has also been a two-way education, informing the Pilotlight team about the voluntary sector environment and its complexities.” Reflecting on her time at OPFS, Sue says she is proud of maintaining and developing an organisation, which is family-friendly and where people enjoy working. In terms of her future, Sue plans either to continue involvement in the same area or to look for other similar areas where her skills can be used on a part-time basis, as well as taking a bit of time to rest and pursue other interests, including hill walking, cycling and travelling. Ken Wardrop, board member of OPFS says: “In my three years on the board of OPFS, I've been tremendously impressed with how Sue has run the organisation. The link forged with Pilotlight is an example of how Sue looks for ways of improving the organisation. It has been really helpful to have another group of eyes cast over OPFS, its challenges and opportunities. A lot of the feedback has been reassuring – that we are on the right lines in our strategic thinking – but in addition the different, private sector perspective has helped shape our thinking and planning for the recruitment of a successor to Sue.” Pilotlight Scotland Scotland takes on six new charities Pilotlight Scotland has recently accepted six new charities and social enterprises. Pilotlighters will begin working with them in the next couple of months. Baillieston Community Care Ltd provides high quality service to people with disabilities and their carers. It is looking for support from Pilotlight to develop its strategic business plan, and explore different models of funding to enable them to grow and expand the organisation. Craigowl Communities provides adult learning opportunities, support, advice and training for people who want to increase their skills and confidence. It runs an employability project, a tenancy support project, delivers adult literacy/numeracy support and runs a job brokerage service. It hopes Pilotlight will help develop a clear strategy and a strong sense of future direction. 6VT Edinburgh City Youth Cafe works with some of Edinburgh’s highest risk and most marginalised individuals. The organisation has steadily grown over the years from a small charity to a 'medium' size charity and it would like assistance to improve business planning skills and strategic funding opportunities to become competitive and sustainable. Children’s Parliament seeks ways to ensure children’s views are understood and voices are heard at all levels of society. It “hopes Pilotlight will help us ‘see the wood for the trees’ and bring specialist support and knowledge that we don’t have”. West Lothian Youth Action Project works with 10-21 year-olds who may be involved in crime and anti-social behaviour. The organisation has grown considerably but needs a business plan that supports the high level of demand now placed on the service. It is entering into a tendering phase for which it needs a clear strategy and better management structure. CFINE is a community food initiative in Aberdeen that promotes the benefits of a healthy diet. It provides opportunities to improve employability and personal confidence, and encourages and supports volunteering. It is looking to Pilotlight to help it strengthen its commercial enterprises and e-commerce opportunities in recognition of the changing funding structure.
Jeely Piece launches new outdoor PlayZone  One of the charities supported by Pilotlight Scotland has just launched an outdoor PlayZone after receiving a £200,000 boost from the Scotland Go Play fund. A team of play workers from Jeely Piece will teach children aged between five and 13 to enjoy the great outdoors. Activities will include play around the woods and the water. Tracy Black, director of the Jeely Piece Club, said: “We want to help parents and kids overcome any fears they may have about playing outdoors.” | 
"When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world." George Washington CarverWhat is Social Entrepreneurship?Statement of Faith
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