ABOUT US

We’re experts in interim management, charitable governance and organisational effectiveness with significant experience helping charities achieve transformational success.

We understand the practical realities of running a charity with a small staff team and highly limited resources, and we bring the expert knowledge of how you can meet your responsibilities while delivering the best results for your cause.

Felicia Willow

Consultant and Owner, Willow Charity Consulting
Felicia has been the CEO (or equivalent) of seven UK charities across eight positions during periods of crisis, change and transformation. She brings a range of skills – including crisis management, strategic planning, financial overhaul, sustainability planning, team building and restructuring, culture change, and excellent analytical skills thanks to her legal qualifications – to help charities achieve their full potential.
 
Felicia is a skilled and engaging facilitator, an expert in leading and implementing major organisational and governance reviews, and is highly skilled in supporting strategic plan development.
 
Felicia has worked for 17 years in the UK charity sector, with 9 years in international criminal law, international development and human rights. An excellent strategic planner, Felicia has worked as an expert consultant to major organisations including the United Nations Development Programme, World Vision, UNICEF, the International Organization for Migration, and Addaction, as well as successfully delivering a wide range of consultancy support for small-to-medium charities based in the UK. As you will read in the testimonials and case studies below, Felicia is a proven expert in leading charities to transformational success.

Testimonials

"I have never met anyone with such a diverse range of well-honed skills; the ability to really listen, to make you feel like you are the only person in the world when she is talking to you, empathising, caring, personable and fun too!

Those skills really make a difference in delivering any ‘leadership’ role – our staff truly like and respect her. A professional lady who has so much knowledge in her field, who is strong enough to challenge and change deep seated unhelpful thinking – to respectfully tenaciously then carry that forward. Her ability to assimilate information and use it intelligently at speed is extraordinary. She has done so much since joining us on a strategic level, project work, Board tasks, bringing the team back together. " Anonymous, interim crisis management role
"As a former CEO of a charity, Felicia really understands what charities need — the challenges that any organisation faces in terms of funding and cash flow, and also the issues of growth. Where Felicia really shines is in her knowledge of governance and making connections between that and operational output, which overworked staff (and trustees) may not have had time to consider.

Furthermore, Felicia is kind, fun, knowledgeable and incredibly patient. It's been an absolute joy working with her. I would strongly recommend her!"Annie Vickers, The Harbour Project for Swindon Asylum Seekers and Refugees

CASE STUDIES

CASE STUDY 1

Felicia navigated the Shannon Trust team through the first COVID-19 lockdown, expanding the charity's income and activities and successfully leading the team remotely through enormous challenges.

Shannon Trust is an inspirational national charity supporting thousands of prisoners a year to transform their lives by unlocking the power of reading. The charity inspires and trains prisoners who can read to teach prisoners who can’t. Felicia was appointed to lead the charity on an interim basis just a couple of days before the first Coronavirus lockdown in March 2020. At the time of her appointment, prisons had just been shut down and prisoners were locked in their cells for 23 out of 24 hours a day. The charity’s team of nearly 140 volunteers were unable to visit prisons, and staff were grappling with the challenge of how to access prisoners when there were little to no digital means of communication.

Felicia's achievements at Shannon Trust included:

  • Managing a team entirely remotely, ensuring adequate communication channels and culture to succeed
  • Taking the decision to keep staff on rather than furlough them, enabling the charity to develop new ways to reach learners
  • Undertaking a full cost-cutting review, developing an interim fundraising and communications strategy, and delivering a detailed Charity Health Check
  • Taking forward longer-term strategic goals, including a pilot project plan for expanding work into the community, and a digital scoping activity and strategy incorporating a range of new digital tools to increase the avenues towards reading offered by the charity
  • Developing new ways to deliver the charity's programme, including a CD-based training tool and a self-study DVD
  • Overseeing activities to secure £250,000 in funding to support new initiatives within the appointment period
  • Developing a theory of change and accompanying monitoring and evaluation framework, reviewing and updating a wide range of policies and procedures, and consulting with staff and volunteers on a potential structure review.

CASE STUDIES

CASE STUDY 1

Felicia navigated the Shannon Trust team through the first COVID-19 lockdown, expanding the charity’s income and activities and successfully leading the team remotely through enormous challenges.

Shannon Trust is an inspirational national charity supporting thousands of prisoners a year to transform their lives by unlocking the power of reading. The charity inspires and trains prisoners who can read to teach prisoners who can’t. Felicia was appointed to lead the charity on an interim basis just a couple of days before the first Coronavirus lockdown in March 2020. At the time of her appointment, prisons had just been shut down and prisoners were locked in their cells for 23 out of 24 hours a day. The charity’s team of nearly 140 volunteers were unable to visit prisons, and staff were grappling with the challenge of how to access prisoners when there were little to no digital means of communication.

Felicia's achievements at Shannon Trust included:

  • Managing a team entirely remotely, ensuring adequate communication channels and culture to succeed
  • Taking the decision to keep staff on rather than furlough them, enabling the charity to develop new ways to reach learners
  • Undertaking a full cost-cutting review, developing an interim fundraising and communications strategy, and delivering a detailed Charity Health Check
  • Taking forward longer-term strategic goals, including a pilot project plan for expanding work into the community, and a digital scoping activity and strategy incorporating a range of new digital tools to increase the avenues towards reading offered by the charity
  • Developing new ways to deliver the charity's programme, including a CD-based training tool and a self-study DVD
  • Overseeing activities to secure £250,000 in funding to support new initiatives within the appointment period
  • Developing a theory of change and accompanying monitoring and evaluation framework, reviewing and updating a wide range of policies and procedures, and consulting with staff and volunteers on a potential structure review.

CASE STUDY 2

Felicia worked with NAPAC to help them design and draft their new strategic plan. This included away day planning and facilitation, analysis and drafting. She was then invited back to support the Board on its governance development.

NAPAC is a charity providing support to adult survivors of child abuse.

Felicia's work included:

  • Designing and facilitating four full workshops on four key areas of priority for the new strategic plan.
  • Working in partnership with the CEO and Chair to draft and then finalise the new strategic plan.
  • Delivering a governance away day to help the Board understand how best to support fundraising, while also thinking about the barriers to participation on the Board, and how to plan and manage Trustee time to best effect.

CASE STUDY 3

Felicia provided a package of support to Project MAMA, helping the organisation develop its sustainability following its rapid expansion during the Covid pandemic, and facilitating progress towards a new strategic plan.

Project MAMA is a grassroots charity providing one-to-one birth companions to ensure each mother gives birth safely, makes informed choices and receives the nurturing support she needs for a positive birth and early parenting experience.

Felicia began working with Project MAMA in mid-2021, delivering a mini-health check to identify initial areas for development. She was then brought back in throughout 2021 to 2022 to help support strategic planning development, including:

  • Setting out a plan of action for developing the strategic plan, including identifying where staff and Trustees could lead on activities and where she could fill the gap
  • Coordinating stakeholder consultation, including through directly running focus groups and semi-structured interviews, and providing topic guides, survey questions and support to staff undertaking additional consultation
  • Supporting a new theory of change, and
  • Facilitating two away days to generate ideas, build relationships and plan the next stage of the charity’s development.

CASE STUDY 2

Felicia worked with NAPAC to help them design and draft their new strategic plan. This included away day planning and facilitation, analysis and drafting. She was then invited back to support the Board on its governance development.

NAPAC is a charity providing support to adult survivors of child abuse.

Felicia's work included:

  • Designing and facilitating four full workshops on four key areas of priority for the new strategic plan.
  • Working in partnership with the CEO and Chair to draft and then finalise the new strategic plan.
  • Delivering a governance away day to help the Board understand how best to support fundraising, while also thinking about the barriers to participation on the Board, and how to plan and manage Trustee time to best effect.

CASE STUDY 3

Felicia provided a package of support to Project MAMA, helping the organisation develop its sustainability following its rapid expansion during the Covid pandemic, and facilitating progress towards a new strategic plan.

Project MAMA is a grassroots charity providing one-to-one birth companions to ensure each mother gives birth safely, makes informed choices and receives the nurturing support she needs for a positive birth and early parenting experience.

Felicia began working with Project MAMA in mid-2021, delivering a mini-health check to identify initial areas for development. She was then brought back in throughout 2021 to 2022 to help support strategic planning development, including:

  • Setting out a plan of action for developing the strategic plan, including identifying where staff and Trustees could lead on activities and where she could fill the gap
  • Coordinating stakeholder consultation, including through directly running focus groups and semi-structured interviews, and providing topic guides, survey questions and support to staff undertaking additional consultation
  • Supporting a new theory of change, and
  • Facilitating two away days to generate ideas, build relationships and plan the next stage of the charity’s development.

A select few of the organisations we've worked with:

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