Kevin Bone, Managing Partner, OBMC LLP
"It is the best way I know to help charities if you want to do more than just give money."
Which charities have you helped?
Tourettes Action: which aims to improve the lives of people affected by Tourettes Syndrome
Albert Kennedy Trust: which supports young, homeless, lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gender people
What motivated you to get involved with Pilotlight?
My Masters was in aid economics and following that I worked in the field, most impactfully in Rwanda during the war in 1994, building an orphanage founded on sustainable agricultural principles. During that time I saw the good and the not so good of the charitable sector. For many years thereafter I focused on the pursuit of my career and various personal goals.
Whether the coming of a certain age (38 in my case), birth of my first child, reaching a degree of professional freedom or just a frustration at observing but doing nothing about the hardship faced by so many in our society, a couple of years ago I realised that blind giving was neither satisfying nor maximising what I could do to alleviate such problems. I had to get involved, hands on, and try to use whatever talents I had directly.
I wanted to gain exposure to a number of charities, be able to influence them in a truly fundamental – as opposed to single-issue or campaign orientated – way and to do so in a structured, measured and managed environment where the time between touch points could be sure to still bring steps forward rather than back sliding.
How have you helped the charity/social enterprises?
I would like to think we have:
• Given them the confidence in their own abilities in many of the more classically business orientated functions of the charity;
• Provided a touchpoint for debate and consensus building between management and trustees;
• Acting as a probing but supportive sounding board;
• Helping the development of the business plans and the implementation plans that sit alongside them.
What have you learned from the experience?
- How much people can achieve through passion and dedication
- To focus more on coaching than directing
- Many lessons in management/board interaction
- How much scope there is to alleviate exclusion and hardship by supporting the many willing people focused on particular issues and therefore that hope not pessimism should prevail.
What has your company gained from the experience?
A more empathic me to the benefit of all others that interface with OBMC, a greater social awareness in what we do and how we do it and some terrific business contacts.
What would you say to others thinking about joining Pilotlight?
It is the best way I know to help charities if you want to do more than just give money;
• Be committed: it is an intimate process involving a lot of trust between the charity and the team and that deserves focus and appropriate prioritisation;
• Be patient: remember this is about building the charities own capacity which requires coaching and support. That is slower but ultimately more impactful than the way we tend to impact our businesses by doing something ourselves or directing others.
