Read Pilotlight’s latest news.
Congratulations to Forensic Therapies Limited and to all the Pilotlighters who have worked as part of the team. Forensic Therapies Limited (FTL) provides offence-focused therapeutic interventions to prisoners both in custody and following release. FTL has grown from an organisation with an annual turnover of £10,000 to one which now has a turnover of £300,000 and growing. They are now running several projects in London prisons and have government funding to develop new and exciting services. We wanted to pass on the comments from their trustee, David Moffitt, about Pilotlight: “The advice we have received has been absolutely vital in ensuring that our expansion has been planned, manageable and operationally secure. The experience and knowledge of the Pilotlighters has allowed FTL to maximise its potential for undertaking demanding work with some of the most vulnerable members of the prison population. I would therefore like to extend our deepest gratitude and respect for the staff and volunteers of Pilotlight who have helped immeasurably in our ongoing development and success.”
Pilotlight in the News: In December, Pilotlight’s partner charity, Safeguarding Children Services, was featured in The Times and Pilotlight’s Chief Executive, Fiona Halton, was also in the Financial Times. In January, Fiona was profiled in the FT Weekend “How To Give It” column. February sees Pilotlight in the European Venture Philanthropy Association’s newsletter with an article on trustee training by Chief Executive of Pilotlight London, Deborah Xavier, and in the Social Enterprise Coalition newsletter. Pilotlight Scotland also featured in the Chartered Banker magazine this month. We wanted to share with you the recent quote by Deborah Xavier in the FT’s Weekend magazine “How to Spend it” (February 7th): “Many charities are chronically under-resourced and lack the business skills in-house to grow and develop,” says Deborah Xavier, Chief Executive of Pilotlight London in the new edition of Philanthropy UK’s “A Guide to Giving.” The charity’s mission is to “help the world’s most talented business people to work with innovative and ambitious charities.” Volunteers with business skills can help charity managers plan for stability, efficiency and growth bringing a range of much-needed skills to ambitious organisations including financial planning, marketing, income diversification, information technology, human resource management, change management and legal expertise...An intelligent and sympathetic eye from outside can be a great source of support and perspective.” Though she urges volunteers to see themselves as coaches and advisers, their role is to improve the way charity operates.
Pilotlight Scotland ran a very successful Fundraising Day in conjunction with the Institute of Fundraising for Scotland, for their partner charity directors, which has already had a positive impact on their fundraising strategies.
The first Scottish project to complete the Pilotlight process is The Jeely Piece Club which works with children 0-12 years in a deprived area of Glasgow. We are delighted to have worked with Tracey and her team over the last 18 months. The charity has gone from strength to strength – not least in having secured £46,000 from a corporate sponsor – and looks set for a bright future.
The Yard in Edinburgh, a facility for children with additional support needs, is also due to complete in March/April and again the entire process has been extremely valuable for everyone in the team, with a new staff structure and policy system now in place.
Former Pilotlight partner charity Sixty Plus, which supports older people to maintain their independence, is now merging with Age Concern Kensington and Chelsea. Cynthia Dize, the Director of Sixty Plus, will be running the new merged organisation.
The pioneering work of Pilotlight London’s partner charity, Tender, which educates young people about domestic violence through its TRUST project is to be featured in a BBC3 documentary entitled “Dangerous Love.” Click on the link above for more details.
CoolTan Arts, one of Pilotlight London’s partner charities, is holding an International Women’s Day Conference on 11th March. Click on the link above for more information.
Welcome and Farewell: Staff Updates
Pilotlight Scotland welcomes two new members of staff. It has doubled its membership team for 2009 to step up recruitment of business members and meet demand. New Membership and Business Development Manager, Graeme Powrie, has joined the team. He brings a wealth of customer service, sales and business development experience. Most recently, Graeme was Area Director of Sales and Origination at Bank of Scotland Commercial based in Edinburgh. In addition, we welcome Jason Dawes to the team, also in the role of Membership and Business Development Manager. Jason joins us from Head Resourcing, where he was a Consultant in the Sales recruitment team. Jason is covering for Fiona Ramsay who is now on maternity leave.
Pilotlight Group welcomes Sylvia Attoh. As Development Officer, she will be supporting Pilotlight’s Foundation Board, helping us raise the funds to enable Pilotlight to reach twice as many charities over the next three years. Sylvia’s background includes work for the Institute of Cancer Research and the University of Westminster.
Pilotlight London welcomes Keith Short as Evaluation Officer. Keith joins us from the programme funding department at Oxfam GB. Prior to that, he researched and wrote several chapters for a guide to the world's leading financial law firms, focussing on Eastern Europe.
And a farewell: Pilotlight is sad to have to say goodbye to Kat Morley-Fletcher, but happily Kat is not leaving the Pilotlight family. She is going to be the Business Manager for one of our partner charities, Maytree, and we think she will do wonderful things for them. Pilotlight would like to thank Kat for all of her hard work in the last three years and we’re sure you will join us in wishing her every success in her new endeavours.