“This award is a public statement acknowledging the efforts of all reformed offenders,” says Bobby Cummines, chief executive of UNLOCK, the National Association of Reformed Offenders.

UNLOCK has just embarked on its pilotlight process with the support of project manager Crystal Waldman and four pilotlighters. The charity, which employs just three full-time and two part-time staff has a vision of a society, "in which reformed offenders are able to fulfil their positive potential through the enjoyment of equal opportunities, rights and responsibilities." With eight million people on the government's offender index (one in three middle-aged men has at least one criminal conviction) and the limiting effect of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA) it has quite a challenge on its hands. The main thrust of UNLOCK's work involves persuading the banking and insurance industries not to be afraid of engaging with people who have criminal records.

To read the rest of this article go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/voluntary-sector-network/2011/dec/21/guardian-charity-awards-2011-unlock?newsfeed=true

Former British tennis number one, Greg Rusedski, proved a winner at the annual Pilotlight Auction last week (November 22) when he donated not one, but two chances to play against him at Wimbledon.

Rusedski, who reached the last eight at the All England Club in 1997, agreed to treat another lucky bidder to the match of a lifetime on the hallowed courts of SW19, following fierce bidding.

Other exciting lots at the auction, hosted by TV and radio star Emma Forbes, included two entries to the “ultimate five-day-party-on-wheels,” otherwise known as the London-to-Cannes Grand Tour; Grand Tier seats, dinner and a backstage tour of the Royal Opera House and a 15-seater box for the JLS concert at the O2 Arena next March.

The Royal Opera House and JLS lots, donated by Pilotlight corporate members BP and Barclays Capital respectively, attracted the most bids at the event,  which was attended by 160 guests.

Pilotlighter Oliver Lloyd ensured everyone had sweet memories of the evening by donating chocolates. In addition, he offered an eight-course tasting menu and matching wines at Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley.

Pilotlight would like to thank everyone who donated prizes and who attended the auction for helping to make such a big difference to people’s lives.

Fancy tickets for the X Factor final and the chance to meet judge Tulisa? Or how about playing Greg Rusedski at Wimbledon? Maybe a look behind the scenes in the BBC newsroom appeals or a box at the O2 to see BRIT award-winning band JLS? All are up for grabs at Pilotlight’s “Money Can’t Buy” dinner and auction on November 22.

Bid for the experience of a lifetime at the Pilotlight “Money Can’t Buy” auction


Fancy tickets for the X Factor final and the chance to meet judge Tulisa? Or how about playing Greg Rusedski at Wimbledon? Maybe a look behind the scenes in the BBC newsroom appeals or a box at the O2 to see BRIT award-winning band JLS? All are up for grabs at Pilotlight’s “Money Can’t Buy” dinner and auction on November 22.

This year’s event comprises an online auction on the Pilotlight website (http://www.pilotlight.org.uk/auction) from November 10, with a live auction of selected lots as the highlight of the dinner on November 22.

Pilotlight provides its services to charities for free and at the centre of fundraising efforts is our annual auction. More than 200 charities access Pilotlight's teams of senior business people, giving charities and social enterprises the equivalent of £6.5 million of training.

Tickets for the auction and dinner cost £300 per head. Tables are generally for 10, although there is some flexibility on numbers. The evening will start with a drinks reception followed by a three-course meal, the first showing of the new Pilotlight film, and, of course, the bidding for the top auction lots.

We are also looking for more exciting “Money Can’t Buy” lots to auction and for prizes to go with the “Wish Trees” that will be on each table.

Coming to the auction, donating a lot or bidding online will raise money to give the best and brightest of the UK’s small charities a helping hand.

Where: Bluebird Restaurant, London SW3

When: Tuesday, 22 November

For further information on the auction or how to donate a lot see: auction@pilotlight.org.uk or call Ann Montagu on 0207 396 7414

Social Return on Investment (SROI) involves measuring social outcomes in a quantifiable way. For example, a charity engaged in rehabilitating prisoners could look at the re-offending rate of people it had worked with and compare it to the re-offending rate of a similar population of prisoners. A positive difference would enable the charity to argue that investment in its activities had a positive social return. This return would be calculated by showing the lower cost to the State of reduced re-offending (comprising lower criminal justice costs; lower prison costs and possibly lower welfare costs) compared with the cost of the services provided by that charity.

Scott Greenhalgh, Chair of Pilotlight’s Evaluation committee, says: “We believe it is increasingly important for charities to demonstrate to their funders the social impact of their work. In some cases it will be possible to express this as a SROI, showing that the benefit to society of that charity’s work is £y for every £x the charity receives.  Part of the Pilotlight process is to help charities measure and articulate their impact on society; this is not an easy process, however we do believe it is important to focus on this area, especially at this time of budget constraint.”

A report last year by the think-tank, Demos found that there has been a recent surge in interest in SROI thanks to its unique feature of attributing monetary values to ‘soft’ outcomes. However, many organisations are struggling to measure outcomes adequately in a quantitative way.

Dan Ritman, Pilotlight’s Evaluation Manager, says: “It can be hard for some organisations but the basic concept of evaluating your work to show how money is spent and the impact you are having is fundamental to attract more funding.”

A useful resource is the SROI network. Several organisations share their experience of SROI and there is a guide to SROI. Here is one quote from the site:

"Using SROI to explore the value of our online question and answer service, askTheSite, helped us develop new mechanisms for speaking to young people and gain a real insight into the impact of our work. The project enabled us to demonstrate YouthNet's commitment to robust impact measurement as well as our commercial approach to project evaluation. Perhaps most importantly, being able to assign a monetary value to askTheSite has enabled YouthNet to convey to current and potential funders how valuable the service is for both young people and the wider society in a language that they understand"- Sarah McCoy, YouthNet
From http://www.thesroinetwork.org/content/view/81/95/

Another useful resource is a guide to SROI, published by the Cabinet Office and available to download for free from this link:
http://www.neweconomics.org/publications/guide-social-return-investment

Dr Helen Bulbeck, director of Brainstrust, one of the 88 charities Pilotlight London has worked with over 2010, gave an account of her experience of starting a charity.

Dr Bulbeck’s daughter, Megan, was diagnosed with a brain tumour a week before going to University. “She was so focused on going that she went anyway but I shut the door and cried for four days. We struggled for a year, trying to find out more information. She wasn’t even given a follow-up appointment. I threw myself into research and eventually found a surgeon in the United States, who would operate on her. We had to raise £35,000 for her operation but decided to set up a trust fund. We ended up raising £70,000 and Megan had a successful operation. We have been able to use the extra money to fund the charity.”

Brainstrust is now a charity dedicated to improving clinical care for brain tumour sufferers and providing co-ordinated support in their search for treatment. It provides support and advice at the point of diagnosis and beyond, by updating treatment, improving care and, ultimately, saving lives.

Dr Bulbeck also outlined how she had been helped by Pilotlight. “It has been fabulous for our organisation to have business people who could look at our organisation from a critical distance. Every small charity should have this experience.”

She added: “It is important to realise that the process is about coaching and facilitation, you don’t need to give a polished presentation and have all the answers when you meet the Pilotlighters.”

“We now have a very clear vision for the next five years. When we are following our intuition, we always check ourselves and think, is it in the business plan? We have a definite structure to our work now. And by the way, the Pilotlight process is also fun.”

Since working with Pilotlight, Brainstrust has seen 100% increase in those helped over the phone and by email.

Pilotlighter, Anne Turrell said her experience of working with Brainstrust had provided her with opportunities to meet inspirational people from the charity sector, to learn from other professionals and to feel that she was having an impact on worth while causes. She said: “Working with Brainstrust, Pilotlight and my fellow Pilotlighters has been a fantastic adventure; inspiring, challenging and immensely humbling.”
 
To add entertainment to the evening, representatives from Epic Arts, a former Pilotlight Partner Charity performed ‘Duologue’, a short dance duet between two female dancers, one of whom has Downs Syndrome. See below for more about Epic Arts and its work with Pilotlight.

 The event was kindly hosted by Reed Smith, with spectacular views across London, which added to the evening.

Thanks to everyone for bidding in our Behind the Scenes auction. After two weeks of online bidding the auction reached a magnificent finale.  The auction ended with a bidding frenzy, both online and at dinner at BAFTA where great fun was had by all.

Spellbound by the magic of Fay Presto and serenaded by the sounds of Incognito, guests at dinner caught the Pilotlight fever and bid higher and higher. With your help we exceeded all expectations and raised an amazing £110,000 for Pilotlight!

It is thanks to our generous online and live donors; the lot donors and to all those who put our wonderful auction together and most of all  Emma Forbes and Graham Clempson that this auction really worked... and will help our work.

Next year we will be working  with 90 charities, 10 more than planned, thanks to the auction.  And we will be using some of the money to trial ways to work with our charities so they have all the tools to survive a very difficult year ahead.

And, after all the fun, we are already looking forward to holding the auction again next year…

Cumnock & Doon Valley Credit Union (Ayrshire) - serves communities which have been affected by high levels of social and financial exclusion, providing saving, affordable credit and money management services which are ethical and accessible to all.

Perth & Kinross Council of Voluntary Services (Perth) - are a valued resource to the people of Perth and Kinross, one that can; respond to changing needs, contribute to community life and speak out on behalf of the voluntary sector.

CAIR Scotland (Dundee) exists to promote and protect the health of all people, including those at risk of substance misuse, those involved in unsafe sexual activity who may be HIV positive or at risk from HIV, and those involved in offending.

Dundee Volunteer Partnership - a new Partnership between Dundee Voluntary Action and Volunteer Centre Dundee now recognised as the Single Interface for volunteers/volunteering in Dundee City.

We have successfully recruited several charities and now need more business people to help develop their strategic plans.

Our Project Managers will guide you through a process of team mentoring to produce impressive results for the charities. On average, we increase the income of charities by 48% and double the number of people they reach within two years.

To use your business skills and help give something back to your local community, please contact Mark Furnival on 029 2078 6400 or email Mark Mfurnival@pilotlight.org.uk

The charities that need your help include Swansea YMCA, Vale Plus and Pen yr Enfys.

Swansea YMCA is part of the world-wide YMCA movement, an international network that aims to improve the quality of life for all through development and nurturing of young people.

The charity provides support services including training and employment programmes for young unemployed people (NEETs) and projects supporting the BME community in Swansea.

The chief executive, Anne-Marie Rogan, wants Pilotlight’s help with change management, the infrastructure of the organisation, bringing in new people and planning for the future.

ValePlus provides a range of day services for adults with learning and related disabilities who live in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. The charity was started ten years ago by Melanie and Steve, who were both teachers in a special school and saw a gap in the market.

Now they want to explore different organisational models and would like advice on change management. The aim is to maintain their current geographic outreach and add new products.

Pen yr Enfys promotes the welfare of people who suffer from the misuse of alcohol or other substances. Pen yr Enfys has been running a well respected drop-in service for 20 years.

The charity is very good at providing services for people with problematic alcohol and drug use and needs to diversify its income but it needs a realistic strategic or marketing plan to make this achievable.

It wants to develop a business plan and ultimately to become a viable, self-sustaining service provider.

To read more about becoming a Pilotlighter, click here

Please support our fundraising efforts by buying tickets to our auctions, taking place in London and Scotland, or by donating a lot – we are looking to add to our growing list of amazing experiences on offer.

Pilotlight provides its services to charities for free and demand is always increasing. We have set ourselves the ambitious target of doubling the number of charities we reach in the next two years and to achieve that growth we need to raise more money through these flagship fundraising events.

The online auction will run on our website from midnight on Friday 19th to Tuesday 30th November. On the 30th November there will be two simultaneous events, one in London and one in Scotland, where the final ten lots will be auctioned as the climax to a fabulous dinner event.

The London event will be hosted at the BAFTA Building in Piccadilly and the Scotland event at the Glasgow Science Centre. They will start at 7.30pm. 

About the Lots

There are five broad categories for lots:
• Arts & Fashion
• Sporting Experiences
• Professional Experiences
• Health and Leisure
• Just for Fun

We are looking for unique, one-off experiences to auction. If you’re interested in bidding for a lot online, you’ll need to register on the website, if would like to come to one of the events, you just need to buy a ticket and turn up!

About the events

Tickets for the London and Scotland events are going fast. In London, tickets are £300 a head. Tables of ten and twelve are available. In Scotland, tickets are £100 per head and are available to purchase individually or in tables of ten. There will be a Champagne drinks reception, a three-course meal, the premiere of the new Pilotlight film, and, of course, bidding for the top auction lots.

It will be a perfect opportunity to network, enjoy an evening with friends and colleagues and make a huge difference to charities across the UK. Every penny that is raised by the auction will go towards helping us work with more charities – tackling issues such as unemployment, child poverty, the environment, drug and alcohol addiction and homelessness.

For more information, please contact Matt Oliver.

Pilotlight provides its services to charities for free, and demand is always increasing. We have set an ambitious target of doubling the number of charities we reach in the next two years. To achieve that growth we need to fundraise.

Just a sample of some of the lots we’ve already attracted include a kicking lesson with the Scottish International Rugby Coach, and a week working with the most famous bag designer in the UK, Anya Hindmarch and number one court tickets at the Wimbledon championships.

Pilotlight’s ‘Behind the Scenes’ Auction 2010 is composed of an on- and off-line auction of amazing experiences. The online auction will run on the Pilotlight website from midnight on Friday 19th to Tuesday 30th November. On the 30th November there will be two simultaneous events, one in London and one in Scotland, where the final ten lots will be auctioned as the climax to a fabulous dinner event.

The London event will be hosted at the BAFTA Building in Piccadilly, the Scotland event in Glasgow Science Centre.

About the Lots

There are five categories for lots:

Events & Leisure
Arts & Fashion
Sports & Adrenaline
Professional Experiences 
Just for Fun.

About the Event

Tickets for the London event are going fast. They cost £300 per head; tables of ten and twelve are also available. There will be a champagne drinks reception, a three course meal, the premiering of the new Pilotlight film, and, of course, the bidding for the top auction lots. It will be a perfect opportunity to network, enjoy an evening with friends and colleagues, and make a huge difference to charities across the UK.

Why?

Pilotlight has been evaluating its work since it was first established in 2002. We have found that on average, 2 years after working with us our charities turnover is increased by 48%, and the number of people they reach increases by 104%.

Being a part of the Pilotlight auction, whether that is through attending one of the events, donating a lot, or bidding online, will raise money to help the best and brightest of the UK’s small charities continue to develop their own skills and abilities and make a difference to the people who need it most.

Contact Matt Oliver for more information.

Please click here for an electronic version.

If you would like to receive a hard copy in the post, please contact Nicola Hill, Communications Manager, at 020 7396 7414 or nhill@pilotlight.org.uk

Special thanks to Katie Warner at StudioThreeCreative for her hard work and to an anonymous trustee for helping to support the printing costs. 

The six new charities and social enterprises are:

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, sustainable and grow.

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 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.

We have reached an important milestone of 300 business members,
‘Pilotlighters’, across our three offices in London, Scotland and Wales.

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

An effective way to give something back

Eighty-nine per cent of business people join Pilotlight because they want to give something back to the charity sector. Given this motivation, we are delighted to report that 75% of our business members think Pilotlight offers them a better opportunity to make an effective contribution to charities compared with other volunteering or CSR programmes.

Professional development and learning

The second most important reason given by business people for joining Pilotlight is professional learning and development. Again Pilotlight compared well with other professional development programmes, 61% said their experience with Pilotlight was more satisfying.

In terms of skills and attitudes, 54% of Pilotlighters said their experience of working with charities had made them more ready to see things from different perspectives. Nearly half said their experience had improved their coaching and mentoring skills. A similar amount said that they were now better at working with limited resources – possibly a key skill in this time of economic austerity.

As a side benefit, forty-five per cent say they have made useful contacts through working with teams of other senior business people and attending our events.

High levels of satisfaction with Pilotlight membership

The decision to join Pilotlight has certainly paid off. Ninety per cent said they were satisfied or extremely satisfied with their Pilotlight membership. Sixty-seven per cent thought Pilotlight’s project management was good, the highest rating possible.

Danny Friel, Head of Operational Model Transformation at HBOS, who works with Pilotlight Scotland, says: "I feel enriched by the Pilotlight experience."

Increased volunteering

The experience of working with Pilotlight has changed business people’s 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. This means that 20% of Pilotlighters becoming trustees while the number volunteering more than seven days a year has trebled.

Pilotlighters become voluntary sector champions

Not only are Pilotlighters giving more time, they 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.

Going forward

Our aim is to make sure business people continue to derive satisfaction from their work with Pilotlight by providing an efficient and effective way of donating time and skills to the voluntary sector. This in turn will encourage others to help more charities to become sustainable and reach more people. 

To find out more about becoming a Pilotlighter, please visit our business membership section

Dan Ritman is featured in the National Council for Voluntary Organisation's newsletter, Value of Infrastructure Programme Newsletter.

He outlines why we gather data, how we gather it and how the information is used to demonstrate impact.

He says: "Keep it simple. You know what difference you make – when you have a good day; think about the simplest ways to demonstrate that. Don't worry about whether it's an output or an outcome or an impact…!"

Pilotlight collects the following information:

• Baseline data at the start of the Pilotlight process (such as turnover, services and people helped by the partner charities)
• Reports at the end of the Pilotlight process based on interviews with all participants.
• Annual updates (for up to three years) covering significant changes in the partner charity. This helps to show the lasting impact.

Dan adds: "This takes time! But as a result we have seen improvements to the Pilotlight process and have built a strong, confident case for communicating the difference we make."

To read the full article click here