Safe Harbour Inverclyde (SH) work with vulnerable individuals in Inverclyde experiencing long-term mental and emotional issues, making them more emotionally resilient by focusing on the individual instead of the condition. Through its therapeutic programmes SH supports disadvantaged families, carers and individuals who have long term mental and emotional health issues, many classed as mentally disabled and emotionally damaged by trauma or difficult life events.
Why Pilotlight 360?
SH applied to Pilotlight for help with developing its overall strategy, with a focus on improving its service and becoming more sustainable. The charity wanted to produce a workable business plan to move the organisation forward and to improve credibility by engaging with a ‘business model mind’.
What we did
The Pilotlight team worked together over 12 months to ensure it understood the charity, its values and purpose, and how as a team it could support SH to move things forward in a sustainable way. The semi-structured approach of the Pilotlight process helped to build trust and enabled the team to find solutions, share ideas, give perspective and coach the charity to create and develop its own strategic plan. The team helped provide the CEO, Duncan Shaw, with a consistency of vision and kept him focused, which was vital.
Results
By the end of the project SH developed a strategic plan, structure and framework. Duncan commented: “The team of Pilotlighters gave me the confidence to make changes and really develop our services. They were tough but fair, compassionate and respectful. The business plan we now have in place has helped us to bring in more funding so that we can increase our services and help more people.”
Four years on and Safe Harbour Inverclyde is thriving, having recently secured significant funding from Big Lottery on the back of its five-year plan created during the Pilotlight project. The charity has seen a major positive impact in the number of disadvantaged people it reaches and in the effectiveness of their board and staff confidence in their future.
Duncan: “none of these short or long term plans would have been possible without the intervention of Pilotlight, without this support we would not exist.”
