Alan Dickson is currently working as a Pilotlighter with Lanarkshire Association for Mental Health and was previously on a Pilotlight team helping the charity, Who Cares? Scotland
The Student Loans Company Limited, where Alan works, was established in 1990 and administers government-funded loans and grants to students throughout the UK.
PL: Have you always been interested in the charity sector?
AD: "Yes, I wanted to give something back to the community and had tried a couple of times but it had not been very structured. For example, I had volunteered to use my financial skills and then found I was getting drawn into other areas like driving the charity’s bus!!"
PL: What causes do you feel most passionately about?
AD: "I do not really feel passionate about any particular cause but I do feel passionately about the work that the charity sector does as a whole. BAND AID also raised my awareness of the charity sector in the 80s."
PL: What motivated you to get involved with Pilotlight?
AD: "I liked the fact that I could use my professional skills within a structured framework. I wouldn’t be over-committing as there are definite monthly meetings. My skills also wouldn’t fall through the net by being diverted onto other activities. I liked the dual benefit of giving something back to the community as well as developing my own career through networking and learning from fellow Pilotlighters on the team."
PL: What did you bring to the teams?
AD: "I brought financial skills, general management and experience of working in a large organisation. I have been able to pass on my skills and knowledge of how to change systems, deliver change and implement plans. I think my background in working in the public sector has helped as other Pilotlighters mostly come from the private sector. I understand that things can take a bit longer as you need to build consensus. There are also a different set of governance issues to address."
PL: How do you think you helped the charity you worked with?
AD: "I have worked with two charities with the first one I helped the director to think about the financial side of the organisation and we assisted with a variety of operational issues. I think the team worked well bouncing ideas off each other and giving good feedback to the director of the charity. The director seemed to want a sounding board to help her reach decisions, which was both interesting and constructive. We also helped structure the strategic plan. The second project is in the early stages.
PL: What have you learned from the experience?
AD: "I’ve realised how difficult it is to work in voluntary organisations. As well as the financial constraints, there can be valid but difficult challenges, for example, a charity insisting on the chair of the board being a young person.
"It is interesting to work with people from a variety of organisations in the team. It can be very powerful to get so many different perspectives.
"I’ve also learned about the valuable role that voluntary organisations play in our society. Unless you need a charity, you often don’t realise they exist but without them life would be very difficult for many people and actually impact on everyone’s life.
"Yet, so many of these organisations struggle to get funding and live from hand to mouth rather than building up reserves."
PL: What would you say to other people thinking about becoming Pilotlighters?
"It is definitely a worthwhile experience. You get a lot of satisfaction from helping the charity. You also gain personal benefit from building up contacts."