​Robbie Tierney used his project management skills to turn around the fortunes of an ailing charity

I became a trustee by chance. I’d never volunteered for a charity and knew very little about the third sector until I got approached by a colleague who asked if I’d like to help out a struggling charity in Falkirk.

With a background in IT, the charity – Fathers Apart – thought it could use my skills. It quickly became apparent, however, it wasn’t IT support they needed; it was project management. That’s where much of my skillset lies. I manage large IT migration projects for a range of clients and quickly realised what was lacking in the organisation was a structure.

It was difficult at first. You often find with small charities a desire to advance the cause but a reluctance by individuals to change their working practices.

An “incomer” like me can quickly incur the wrath of an established board so I had to tread carefully.

That took a while. Much of my time was spent on internal politics. At one point I wanted to walk away but thought that would look like failure. So I stuck it out and, eventually, most of the old board left, not willing to accept what were essentially small changes to the way the charity operated.

The way I saw it was if the trustees wouldn't budge they had to go.

The irony was the changes we put in place were to make the organisation more effective, more efficient. For example, there was no formal communication with supporters, no marketing, no fundraising. Despite a dire balance book, trustees were still reluctant to take on new fundraising ideas. I just came up against a brick wall.

I’m now chair and I think I’ve managed to instil a bit of commercial savvy into the culture of the organisation. Charities can’t just be charitable. You don’t get something for nothing all the time; you’ve got to get business-like. In today’s climate of ever diminishing returns from funders, you either diversify or die. Sad - but true.

We help fathers who are separated from their children with legal, financial and emotional support. It’s a hefty task. The system just now is skewed against dads when it comes to family break-up. We don’t lobby politicians or anything like that; we just pick up the fallout of failed policies that discriminate against fathers.

It can be traumatic. Courts naturally err on the side of the mother. It’s just the way the system works. We intervene where we can with legal backing and advice.

We have a great team of legal experts we can call on. They form our backbone. When a dad doesn’t have anywhere to turn we are usually able to support them with a positive outcome.

I’ve been involved here for three years now and while it has been a really hard slog, I now love it. I especially love the idea people’s are willing to commit to something that does not involve financial gain; they do it from their own motivation. Our lawyers, one of whom is a QC, all give their time for free. I think that’s an incredible gesture – and they are always there at a moment’s notice.

I’m not sure I’d like the organisation to get any bigger. We have to manage our expectations. There’s definetly scope but if we take on too much we won’t be able to supply such a good quality of support.

That’s when you need to realise your limitations. And bigger isn’t always better.