Last year we had a conference for the first time and, after a very successful afternoon, we decided to make it an annual event. The topic for today’s conference is ‘Investing in Success’ and, although we’ll hear from external speakers from both commercial and third-sector backgrounds, we think it’s important to share a bit more why we chose that topic and how we invest in success.
Planning this type of event requires plenty of time and effort and can feel quite hectic at times. So why do we do it? What is the value of getting people into one room for a full afternoon to talk about the charity sector and have a few drinks afterwards?
I see it as an opportunity to somehow stop and look at the bigger picture. We work with people from very different professional backgrounds, who come to our offices once a month for a meeting. Both charity directors and Pilotlighters see the impact those meetings have on each individual charity, but they don’t get that many chances to see the wider picture – what else is happening? How are different organisations dealing with different (or similar) issues?
Today we’ll hear from two charities that finished the Pilotlight engagement only a couple of months ago, but also from two others who finished about seven years ago and will give us a bit of an update of where they are now.
We’ll have three keynote speakers. Steve Bright, HR expert, will talk about the different challenges organisations (big and small, commercial and charitable) face to have the best people and, more importantly, keep them.
As is obvious from my own background, I’m really looking forward to hearing from Ollie Lloyd, Co-founder and CEO of Great British Chefs, who’s going to talk about key aspects to keep in mind when investing in marketing and keeping things simple.
Our third speaker, James Fairweather, CEO of Big Issue Invest, will give an overview of the opportunities and challenges around social investment for both potential investors and charities.
I can’t reveal the details yet, but our Chairman, Graham Clempson, will close the conference with a preview on how Pilotlight is investing in success – watch this space!
The main reason for having very different people talk about very different topics, ones that can even seem disjointed, is the learning piece. We have access to a fantastic pool of talent and knowledge and we believe it needs to be shared.
So, people coming to our conference, whether from a small charity or large corporate, can expect to learn, and we hope they’ll be inspired to think about the different ways charities, individuals and businesses can invest in success. We’re looking forward to hearing from everyone and sharing some highlights of the day very soon.
Although having a conference sounds very old school, we believe it’s a very good investment.