Donating time and skills can be rewarding, as many partnerships are finding

IT SEEMS an obvious conclusion that, as businesses and wealthy individuals tighten their belts during the recession, the amount of money they give to charity will plummet. Evidence of this trend is already rearing its head, causing some charities to worry about their future.

Last month, Oxfam revealed that donations to its shops had slumped by 12 per cent this year. Sir Tom Hunter, one of Scotland's most generous philanthropists, donated almost 1m every month in 2007 and 2008. However, his Hunter Foundation has warned that the figure will have dropped.

It is smaller organisations that are likely to be hit the hardest by the economic downturn. In the UK, the majority of charities are at the lower end of the scale, with 86 per cent having an annual income of less than 100,000. They may not be able to adapt quickly to cope with increased financial pressures.

Some charities are now realising they have to be more creative if they are to survive. They are finding that money is not the answer to all their woes. Instead, practical help from experienced business executives can help them through troubled waters. Companies are also waking up to the fact they can meet their corporate social responsibility targets by encouraging their staff to get involved with charities. This will also help businesses train their executives in new skills and build their networks.

Many charities across the UK, including a number in Scotland, are using the services of Pilotlight, a non-profit organisation that places teams of business experts in small, often community-based groups that are facing challenges. Pilotlight targets charities with a turnover of between 100,000 and 1m that need specific help, such as producing a business plan. Operating out of offices in London and Edinburgh, it matches teams of business people with charities, and project-manages all their meetings. Corporate members include PricewaterhouseCoopers, Aegon, Scottish Power and KPMG. Such companies encourage their employees to give up time to work with charities. Pilotlight also has a number of entrepreneurs on its membership list.

Glasgow-based Jeely Piece Club is one of the first charities to complete a project with Pilotlight since it launched in Scotland about 18 months ago. Since 1975, Jeely Piece has worked in Castlemilk and other parts of the city with vulnerable families. It offers help with parenting skills and provides a learning centre, nursery and after-school clubs.

It teamed up with Pilotlight in November 2007 in a bid to improve its services, costing and charging structure, staff performance and communications. The aim of the project was to come up with a strategic plan for Jeely Piece for the next three to five years. The project was recently completed. On the back of the plan that was produced, Jeely Piece has secured nearly 50,000 of corporate sponsorship. It has also been awarded 10,000 from Children in Need to take eight to 12-year-olds on holiday this summer.

Tracey Black, the director of Jeely Piece, says: "I got involved with Pilotlight through one of my board members who recommended I speak to them. We went through the meeting and application process and a team of four was put together for the project."

In the team were Alex Borthwick, head of IT at Bank of Scotland, Brian Gillies, managing director of property company Alchemist Estates, Frank Colhoun, director of property portfolio management firm Sparklestone, and Graeme Thomson, head of test and commissioning at BAE Systems.

Black says: "Pilotlight gave me focus and pushed me to get there more quickly. I'm now looking at developing services and new income generation. It helped us to sharpen-up,"

It is not just charities, but also companies working with them that benefit, as staff develop their management and team-working skills. In the current downturn, many companies have found that employees have more time than before to give to good causes.

Gillies says: "I've now signed up to work with other charities and paid for two associates to become members of Pilotlight. It's a good way to develop staff, it's a bit like being a non-executive board member."

Chris Horne, director of Pilotlight Scotland, says he was told by a member that being involved in a project is "an opportunity to learn as effectively as if doing an MBA".

He agrees the recession is one reason that executives are willing to share their experience rather than their cash. "The feedback we are receiving from the charities we are working with is showing a tough picture. The majority are having to think creatively about how they raise funds to secure survival. Recently I spoke to a senior manager from a bank who said, 'I hope you're not asking for lots of money, because we don't have any. However, I certainly have a willing pair of hands.'"