What we offer

Sometimes in the charitable sector we are too charitable for our own good and there are lessons to be learnt from colleagues in the business sector. Hard decisions need to be taken for the organisation’s future and we now feel more equipped to action these.

Dot Horne, chief executive
6VT Youth Café

Does your charity face core challenges around how to become sustainable? Or how to reach more people? Pilotlight matches and manages the skills of senior business people with the needs of charities like yours.

Find out more or submit an application

Some of the most innovative solutions to help disadvantaged people in our communities come from the UK’s 160,000+ charities.  The majority of these charities are small.

At Pilotlight, we recognise that charities often face two core challenges:

  • How to become sustainable in the long-term.
  • How to reach more people, more effectively.

We believe we can help charities address these challenges by matching the skills and expertise of our ‘Pilotlighters’ – senior business people – with the skills and vision of our charity partners. 

We are currently working with more than 75 charities and have helped over 300 charities since we invented ‘Pilotlighting’ in 2003.

How do we help?

We offer capacity-building assistance based on a coaching model.  We take a holistic approach and look at capacity across the organisation – financial resources, staffing, governance, services and planning. 

A project manager from Pilotlight facilitates a relationship between our charity partners and a team of four ‘Pilotlighters’.  Typically, we work through a strategic planning process in order to produce, or revise, a three- to five-year business plan. 

Once the business plan is completed, we can offer other types of support aligned with this plan, such as marketing, fundraising or communications strategies.

Key points:

  • Pilotlight is completely free to charities.
  • Our service differs to traditional consultancy because it is ‘hands-off’.
  • We do not offer funding to charities.
  • Our relationships with charities generally last for 12 months.
  • Typically, you will have one meeting per month with your Pilotlight team.

Pilotlighting has helped us think in different ways and is taking us to places we wouldn't have thought of going. What an enjoyable and instructive journey we have had!"                                                               

Peter Swain, chair of trustees, Living Options Devon

To have a closer look at the ‘Pilotlight Process’ please click here.

Who can apply • How to apply

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