Defining Our Impact: A Transformational Journey with Cranfield Trust
A Unique Opportunity for Growth
We were extremely privileged to be selected by Cranfield Trust in late 2023 for a pro bono consultancy support project to help us define our impact through a Theory of Change. We were fortunate to be matched with consultant Cedric McMillan, and at the outset, we believed this would be a simple exercise—just a few facilitated sessions to create a framework we could apply across all our workstreams. How wrong we were!
A Fundamental Shift in Thinking
Cedric facilitated an initial session with our Board and Executive Team, which completely shifted our perspective. He challenged us to think deeply about our beneficiaries and to answer difficult but essential questions:
- “What difference are you confident you really make?”
- “What would happen if you weren’t delivering this activity?”
Through this process, we identified that YMCA Fairthorne Group serves three distinctly different beneficiary groups. Rather than embarking on a broad Theory of Change for the entire charity, we needed first to redefine our vision, mission, and purpose statements with greater specificity.
Reimagining Our Vision and Mission
This was no simple task. The Board and Executive Team spent months in meetings and strategy sessions carefully refining our purpose. After a year of dedicated work, we were proud to launch our new statements in November 2024:
Our Vision
Children and young people are empowered to realise their potential.
Our Mission
We will deliver our vision by partnering with communities so that all children, young people, and families can belong, contribute, and thrive:
- Under 5s will have the very best start in life at our early years settings.
- Children will develop essential social, emotional, and practical skills through our outdoor activities.
- Young people will realise their potential from foundations set in our supportive housing and youth work.
Additionally, we remain aligned with the YMCA National Brand Purpose:
“Everyone should have a fair chance to discover who they are and what they can become.”
Developing a Theory of Change for Young People
While the Board and Executive Team focused on refining our overarching direction, Cedric worked closely with our Director of Housing and youth work leads to create a Theory of Change for the young people who live at YMCA. These sessions enabled us to:
- Connect our daily activities with evidence of change.
- Clearly define who we serve and their most pressing needs.
- Map out outcomes that reflect real transformation in young people’s lives.
The Future: Strategic Planning with Confidence
Thanks to the support of Cranfield Trust and the expertise of Cedric McMillan, we now have a much stronger foundation to map outcomes against our vision and mission. This ensures that:
- Our services are designed to meet real needs in an evidential way.
- We can measure and communicate the true difference we make.
- Our next phase of strategic planning will be more focused and impactful.
A New Chapter for YMCA Fairthorne Group
This journey has been challenging, eye-opening, and ultimately transformational. As we move forward, we do so with renewed clarity, purpose, and confidence—ensuring we continue to empower children and young people to realise their full potential.
A heartfelt thank you to Cranfield Trust and Cedric McMillan for their invaluable guidance and support.
Phillipa Spicer
CEO, YMCA Fairthorne Group
