Impact: It’s our bottom line so why is it not the focus of our funders and regulator?
In this episode, we discuss the bottom line of our sector: impact. We talk about why impact isn’t the easiest thing to measure or be regulated on, and how this complexity feeds into funding and regulation systems that actually hold the sector back – as well as how the language we use about our own sector is undervaluing our expertise and purpose.
So how can we build the trust we need in the sector as a whole to enable our experts to go out and achieve the greatest impact they can?
We talk to an impact expert and a charity CEO grappling with impact measurement on the ground about where they see the challenges, and what solutions might be possible. We also speak with a brand expert to talk about how we can change the language we use about our own sector to centre impact more effectively.
“Celebrating the little changes, the big changes, the difference that we’re making that’s positive, and also to learn from some of the things that have failed… that is also in the realm of impact. The struggle here is that we have to look like we’re achieving only positive things and only tell the good news stories when actually, life is ups and downs.”
Shehnaaz Latif, Impact Expert
“We’re a learning organisation, and more often than not some of our best work and innovation comes from mistakes that we’ve made and so the freedom to tell that story…I think we need more of that in the sector…I wish that smaller organisations could say, not that this project didn’t work, but maybe we were measuring the wrong things and this is actually the success.”
Erin Northey, CEO, Educaid Sierra Leone
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Our hosts
Felicia Willow, aka the Mary Poppins of the Charity Sector, is a seasoned interim CEO and consultant in the Charity Sector, working primarily on strategy, governance, crisis and effectiveness. Her leadership roles include the Fawcett Society and the Shannon Trust. A lawyer by training, Felicia’s career has spanned government, UN and the UK charity sector (the ‘For Impact’ sector) and she finds herself increasingly focussed on discussing and challenging the systemic issues that are holding the sector back.
Chris Pitt is responsible for positive social and environmental impact at Benefact Group, a family of specialist financial services businesses owned by a charitable Trust. The Group is the 3rd largest corporate giver to charity1 and Chris oversees over £2m of giving, namely through the Movement for Good awards which give small donations to a huge diversity of causes and large grants to charities close to the customers and communities of the Group.
1 DSC – The guide to UK Company Giving 2023-24
Our guests
Shehnaaz Latif, Impact Expert
Shehnaaz Latif is an Impact Expert with 20 years of experience with UK charities and funders, who helps organisations to build skills, knowledge, and confidence to effectively assess and share evidence of their work’s outcomes and impact.
Shehnaaz Latif LinkedIn profile
Erin Northey, CEO, Educaid Sierra Leone
Erin Northey is the Chief Executive of Educaid Sierra Leone, an impactful charity delivering schools, school improvement programmes, and related research and advocacy in Sierra Leone.
Erin Northey LinkedIn Profile
Barnaby Wynter, Brand Expert
Barnaby Wynter is an Expert Marketing Practitioner at The Brand Bucket Company, specialising in creating brands and helping businesses across the UK develop marketing-led systems and processes.
