News

Creating better charity boards

Iain McNicol | 14 November 2023

Governance can be a challenge for charities. It's also often the key to the door that needs to be unlocked before a charity can get to the next stage in its development. Each board faces individual challenges, but over time, we have seen certain trends emerge when exploring the governance of an organisation.

Soaring high for Eagle’s Nest Project

13 November 2023

Eagle’s Nest Project is a charity set up to work with young people aged 11-18 that are struggling to engage in mainstream education, often as a result of early childhood trauma. It offers alternative education solutions that build confidence and to equip them for more positive engagement in education and society moving forwards.

How charities can help business embed a values-led culture

Ed Mayo | 7 November 2023

Helping charities as a volunteer is a great way for people to give to the community. This is particularly the case for skilled volunteering – where you are using your workplace or professional skills to make a difference. Seven out of ten charities are looking for support in the form of professional skills, but only four out of ten find it. Charities need skilled support.

Grant Applications Open for 10th Annual Weston Charity Awards

6 November 2023

Applications for the Weston Charity Awards 2024 are now officially open thanks to a collaboration between The Garfield Weston Foundation and charity partner Pilotlight. The Weston Charity Awards celebrate and support ambitious front-line charities working in Community, Welfare, Youth, and Environment. This year is the 10th anniversary of the transformational support package worth over £22,000 to small charities in the North of England, Midlands, and Wales.

Green action, not greenwash or greenhush

Ed Mayo | 18 October 2023

Some writers predict that the world cannot avoid an environmental collapse, others that we have it within our power to mitigate the worst effects of climate change and to make the transition to a sustainable economy.

Câr y Môr – the love of the sea

Ed Mayo | 12 October 2023

In St David’s Bay in Wales, a community co-operative has formed that aims to change this. Its name is Câr y Môr, which means ‘love of the sea’, and its magic ingredient is seaweed.

Pilotlight’s recipe for developing interpersonal skills in staff

Hagit Amsterdam | 10 October 2023

In today’s fast-paced business environment, having a skilled workforce isn’t enough to guarantee success. Companies invest heavily in training and development programmes to enhance the technical skills, but these hard skills alone are not enough to guarantee success.

100,000 skilled volunteers needed

9 October 2023

New research from Pilotlight estimates that 100,000 skilled “climate volunteers” are needed to accelerate environmental action in the UK. Published today, the findings reveal an urgent need amongst environmental charities for professional support from skilled volunteers.

Stepping into the learning & development limelight

Tom Leavesley-Matthews | 5 October 2023

As a social enterprise focused on supporting charities, Pilotlight is sometimes perceived as an outlier in the corporate learning and development sector. This year we’ve challenged ourselves to better understand the impact of our programmes on employees and the return on investment for their employers.

Embracing change through volunteering

Sarah Cooper | 29 September 2023

Little did I know that a seemingly simple email was about to change my perspective in a big way. It was from Pilotlight. Thanking their ‘Pilotlighters’, both past and present, for their contribution to the skills-based volunteering programmes they run in partnership with Barclays. And whilst reading it, the thought struck me that I actually had a lot to thank Pilotlight for.

Helping SNAPS engage a broad range of new corporate supporters

21 July 2023

"From a personal perspective and also the team’s perspective, to be able to go back and have full confidence in our plans to grow corporate support, following feedback from the Pilotlighters, allowed for a stronger pitch to recruit the additional team member required."