Alan Davidson Email & Phone Number

Livingston, Gb

After a rewarding decade leading the Bridge Community Project, where I guided the charity's delivery in financial and emotional wellbeing, I made the decision to step into a new role. This transition marks an exciting opportunity to apply my extensive experience in leadership, project management, and social enterprise innovation to a new challenge, while continuing my commitment to making a meaningful difference in the sector. The role involves:- Developing and implementing a Fundraising Strategy, securing and managing grants and financial support from diverse sources. This year (2024) I have raised over 400k.- Exploring options for Income Diversification including optimising the use of our Wellbeing Hub to create new revenue streams, new training initiatives, developing a business plan for Employee Wellbeing and growing our first social enterprise ‘Counselling West Lothian.’- Fostering strategic partnerships locally with the local authority, third sector and NHS with the aim of expanding the charity’s reach and community impact.- Managing all of our funding budgets, currently c500k, and ensure alignment with business plan and strategic objectives. I also oversee the day to day finances of the organisation. - Ensuring robust reporting and evaluation criteria across the organisation in line with our outcomes - Development of our CRM systems, Beacon CRM and Salesforce, both of which I have developed from scratch

Livingston

Following a period of mental ill health in 2013, I founded the charity in 2014 to bring essential services closer to home in West Lothian, having experienced the need to travel to Edinburgh for affordable support. Officially launched in August 2014, I led the organisation for over a decade, providing strategic leadership that developed 3 core services, expanded the staff and volunteer teams, and secured diverse funding sources. Under my guidance, the charity grew to support hundreds annually, delivering compassionate and person centred services that enhanced wellbeing across West Lothian communities.- Drove the early vision of the charity to address local service gaps, successfully growing to three core services that support over 300 individuals annually in enhancing financial and emotional wellbeing.- As co-founder, developed essential systems still in place today, including the early business plan and strategy, evaluation practices, policies and procedures, health and safety protocols, IT systems (Google Workspace), HR practices, financial systems (Xero), and CRM systems (Beacon CRM and Salesforce).- Fostered partnerships with the Local Authority, NHS, GPs, and Third Sector organisations to enhance service delivery and collective impact.- Managed significant organisational growth during COVID-19, leading to a fivefold increase in the organisation’s size. This prompted a comprehensive review of operational resilience and the establishment of new positions to effectively meet this increased demand.- Personally raised and managed nearly £2 million in funding, increasing the organisation’s turnover to £500k with a team of 17 staff and over 30 volunteers.- Secured a permanent home for the charity in 2021 by raising £195k for the purchase, followed by an additional £150k to refurbish the building into a Wellbeing Hub.

West Lothian

The Bridge is a big part of my story. Back in 2013 I was struggling with my mental health and eventually reached out for support, but had to head into Edinburgh. I was motivated to ensure that people within West Lothian could access the right help and set out on a journey to establish the Bridge Community Project and the services that could make a difference. Initially I served as the chair of trustees during the setup and foundation stage.

Scotland

I led the charity’s expansion into Scotland by establishing and supporting five new money advice centrers across diverse communities, significantly enhancing access to essential financial support. In this role, I developed all relevant policies and procedures to ensure compliance with national regulations, fostering a robust operational framework. Additionally, I built strategic partnerships with key Scottish money advice agencies, and directed marketing efforts toward local organisations to explore community-led delivery of money advice services

Established my own business focussing on weddings and family portrait photography.

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Was a key part of the team that led the growth of the Housing Association’s Wider Role programme from its inception to a fully operational service. This involved securing and managing £200k in annual funding dedicated to projects that focus on youth development, employability, financial capability, and digital skills. Collaboration was key to our success. I worked closely with key partners, including the Local Authority and Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), to effectively implement these projects. Through these partnerships, we delivered vital services that reached over 400 individuals annually in Edinburgh’s most deprived communities, significantly improving their access to essential support.My role also demanded adaptability and cross-sector expertise, as I managed diverse projects while fostering youth and employability programmes. This required building strong relationships with funders and external partners, which was essential for sustaining our initiatives and enhancing our impact within the community.