Clients

Why Choose Us?

We love the work we do, and we’re proud to have helped a number of companies and charities take the next step of their journey towards development and growth.

Raystede Centre For Animal Welfare

Raystede was holding a Strategy Day for its Trustees, CEO, and SMT in order to enable the team to get clarity about its current plans and to discuss key issues.

Ruth worked to support Raystede in the planning and facilitation of the day – ensuring the team keeps to the agenda, on time, and stimulating debate through questions.

“Before working with Ruth, we were concerned about handling our strategy day, but we managed to achieve everything we hoped for. Ruth’s support and advice in the run-up were critical to our success; her guidance made all the difference, and the day was facilitated very well.

Thanks to Ruth’s expertise, we’ve created a solid platform to build upon. Despite finding some concepts challenging, Ruth’s patience and understanding helped guide us towards making better decisions. Working with Ruth was excellent; she ensured our objectives were delivered promptly, with great value for money, and demonstrated a deep understanding of our organisation and its challenges.

Ruth exceeded our expectations in every aspect. Her support was professional, knowledgeable, and helpful throughout the entirety of the project.”

Stephanie Smith, Chief Executive

Tandem

(formerly Morrison Trust)

Tandem wanted to strengthen its strategic aims and develop its governance further, ensuring the organisation’s values underpinned everything.

Ruth worked with Tandem to develop: a governance plan based on identified strengths and weaknesses, and a 5-year strategic plan, including a theory of change, that truly reflected why and how they provide support and the difference it makes to those they work with.

“It was a pleasure working with Ruth. She was encouraging, and very quickly understood us as an organisation – in terms of how we work and the support we provide, and also what we were looking to develop and put in place.

We’ve gained a huge amount as an organisation and I’ve gained really useful insights into strategic development. I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending Ruth to colleagues in the sector.”

Sarah Bentley, CEO

The Diverse Creative

Ruth worked with The Diverse Creative to develop a feasibility study of their proposed new revenue stream, a conference event.

Ruth carried out market research to understand other events offered in the sector, supported Diverse Creative to clarify their value proposition to ensure the conference would be tailored to the needs and wants of the market, and developed a financial model to understand the viability of the offer.

“We approached Ruth with an idea for a project but working with her gave us the insights to strengthen the decisions we want to commit to. Ruth’s warm, open and friendly support served as a great sounding board.

Since working with Ruth, we have been able to sharpen our focus moving forward. Ruth’s approach of providing an outside perspective and prompting deeper thinking was invaluable in helping us hone our mission and next steps.”

Remi Ray, Founder

Choices Islington

Ruth provided support to Choices Islington in exploring the feasibility of generating earned income through their parenting course. This included conducting market research on similar providers, engaging with potential customers (parents), formulating a compelling value proposition, and developing a business model template.

Ruth also facilitated the examination of various pricing options and sales volume scenarios to identify optimal strategies. Additionally, the project revealed opportunities to expand the customer base, enhancing the organisation’s potential for diversifying its earned income streams.

“We really didn’t know where to start. Ruth understood how we work and what we needed in order to deliver greater impact. She consistently delivered high-quality, strategic work.

Now, we have a clear map for where to go next, and a base of research on which to build our next steps.”

Sophie Guthrie-Kummer, Chief Executive

GROW

Ruth worked with the team at GROW to carry out a feasibility study of a service for businesses, including market research, a value proposition workshop and a financial model to create pricing and sales targets.

This resulted in a package for GROW to take to corporates, and a realistic plan to work towards. Within a couple of weeks, GROW secured its first corporate customers.

“Working with Ruth was great – she was so approachable and open and really took time to understand our organisation, its values and where we were heading. With a range of different tools and approaches, she guided us through a process of looking at what we had to offer and how to tell our story to a new audience.”

Jo Wren, Director, The Grow Project

Coram Family and Childcare

Ruth led the development of a successful paid membership model for an early years programme at Coram Family and Childcare, formerly funded by the government.

This included the design and implementation of a modern CRM system to support sales growth now and into the future.

“Ruth is a great strategic thinker. She transformed our programmes, increasing their impact and reach – while also moving them onto a sustainable footing by diversifying income streams away from grant dependency.

Her thoughtful approach means she takes people with her even as she challenges.”

Ellen Broomé, former Chief Executive

NAFAS

Following some financial and membership challenges, Ruth was asked to conduct a thorough governance review for the charity. This involved engaging in discussions with key personnel, administering a governance survey, conducting a skills and diversity audit, and conducting interviews with trustees to gain a comprehensive understanding of the situation.

Ruth subsequently produced a detailed report containing recommendations, and facilitated a workshop aimed at providing training and fostering discussion on key development topics.

“Ruth is an absolute professional, so clear, helpful and methodical. People opened up and were honest with her, which is so important when putting a review like this together. She took the time that was needed and was always available.”

Steven Lane, CEO, NAFAS

Key4Life

Ruth collaborated with Key4Life through the Lloyds Enhance Programme, supporting them with the formulation of an action plan and furnishing mentoring, as well as offering targeted practical support and advice aimed at fostering the organisation’s strategic expansion and financial sustainability.

Her involvement encompassed business planning, infrastructural enhancement, and refining the charity’s corporate partnership proposition.

“Ruth has provided invaluable support to Key4Life in so many different ways. Her ability to both identify the problems but importantly come up with solutions has helped us refocus our strategic goals to enhance the performance of Key4Life.

We would strongly recommend her services.”

Eva Hamilton MBE Founder & CEO – Key4Life