Case Studies

"The session with the Barclays Pilotligthers went well. The programme enabled my colleague and I to share our ideas around the challenge of engagement with young adult carers."

"Our challenge as a charity is that we know what our problems are but haven’t quite found solutions to them. Brain Trust gave us a chance to step away from a specific problem and look with a broader vision and consider viewpoints from those who aren’t quite as attached the details as we are!"

Pallion Action Group (PAG) was set up initially by local residents to address the lack of services and projects for residents in the area. It has grown over the years and is a well-respected community hub with another two buildings in Sunderland.

Youth Leads UK is a social mobility charity focused on empowering young people to fulfil their potential and take an active role in society.

RAY Ceredigion operates in a rural area of West Wales, where public transport is poor, access to services is limited, and poverty rates are high.

Meanwood Valley Urban Farm was set up as a charity in 1980. Its mission is to offer people in Leeds and beyond of all ages, cultures and backgrounds the chance to experience nature, farm animals and food growing in its urban green space.

"I came out of the day with a target list of potential business partners (with names and emails), a strategy to implement the initiative and a fantastic set of creative ideas to initiate the partnerships."

"We are coming to the end of our strategic cycle and are taking the time develop our new strategy, so this event was really timely in helping the team and I think through what some of the key areas of work we will need to plan for to achieve our objectives over the next strategic period. The wealth of information and resource gained has and will be invaluable for that process."

"The project went exceptionally well, thanks to the commitment and teamwork of the Barclays Pilotlighters.... A key output from the project was an implementation matrix, which we’ve incorporated into our next two-year strategy."

"Thank you Pilotlight and Barclays for this incredible growth opportunity – your support and encouragement has helped a small charity dream big and think strategically about how we can support hundreds of children in Manchester to continue benefitting from our work for years to come."

"There have been several positive outcomes from our conversations with the Pilotlighters. Some of them involve examining how a non-executive board member could bring fresh insights, enhance strategic oversight, and contribute to a more diverse and accountable governance structure."

"The challenge we faced was that the CIC had developed organically and quite quickly since starting three years ago. The work was going well, but we didn’t have a formal mission and vision statement. This was something that we felt we needed in order to develop longer-term plans and think about future funding."