Ruth Dwight

Ruth Dwight Consulting

Overview

Ruth Dwight Consulting helps charities and social enterprises to do more, sustainably and with clarity.

We offer:

  • strategy development support to help organisations increase their reach and impact through shared and focused goals
  • business planning to increase earned income potential
  • governance reviews to strengthen organisations.

We work with clients collaboratively and with integrity, providing clear, realistic and constructive advice and solutions. We take the time to build relationships and seek to understand issues, from both clients and their stakeholders, before offering suggestions.

Ruth has a successful track record of managing complex programmes and stakeholder relationships, developing successful corporate and public sector partnerships, significantly increasing earned income, and diversifying funding to create financial sustainability within organisations. Ruth is adept at building productive partnerships between people and organisations and is well-networked within the voluntary sector.


Clients

We work with charities and social enterprises, and our clients range from small, local community organisations to large, national household names in education, healthcare, housing, culture and environmental sectors.

Recent clients include:

  • Duke of Edinburgh’s Award - project lead for strategy development and impact measurement
  • NCT (National Childbirth Trust) - interim Head of Governance
  • YMCA St Paul’s Group - strategy development
  • Coram Family and Childcare - service review of parent-led family support programme, interim project management and successful social investment bid application
  • Peeple - business planning, product development
  • Pilgrims Hospices - governance reviews
  • Bristol Museums Development Trust - strategic partnership development and governance support
  • Friends of Devonshire Nature Reserve - theory of change and business planning

Ruth is also an associate consultant for NCVO, Eastside Primetimers and Action Planning.


Qualifications

Ruth has an MSc (Distinction) in Voluntary Sector Management from City University Business School, and a BSc (Hons) in Psychology.

Ruth is also a qualified reviewer and consultant in using Digi-Board™, a governance review tool.


Experience

Ruth has over 20 years’ experience of working within the charity sector - mostly with education and youth organisations.

Prior to becoming a consultant, Ruth worked with charities such as Volunteering Matters, Young Citizens and Coram Family and Childcare where she established and increased earned income models (increasing income by up to 50% in the first year), developed clear business plans, carried out market analysis, established sustainable pricing models and carried out audits of systems and processes.

She has transformed grant-dependent programmes into sustainable social enterprises with resilient business models, and led teams and organisations through strategic review processes and implementation of new plans - including skills audits, restructures to maximise impact, efficiency, effectiveness and opportunities for staff development.

Ruth began her career as a youth worker, and she continues to enjoy using these skills to deliver engaging and interactive workshops with clients.

Ruth is also a trustee of JLGB - a national Jewish youth social action charity, and chaired a Friends group for a local park, raising funds for a new playground.