We help organisations to achieve their social purpose.

The Institute of National Anti-Doping Organisations (iNADO) is an international member organisation which exists to support national and regional anti-doping organisations (NADOs/RADOs) to uphold the regulations and practices that promote clean sport. In 2022, Oaks were commissioned to create both their brand and communications strategy and a donor/sponsor strategy to underpin their new five-year strategic plan. Working with their executive team, we completed a comprehensive stakeholder consultation process which included representatives from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), national anti-doping organisations, corporate sponsors and members of their wider community. We produced a brand strategy and actionable communications plan which showcased their strengths – enabling them to educate and engage the entire anti-doping community and advocate for the needs of NADOs and RADOs globally. Our income generation team also created a detailed donor/sponsor management strategy which allowed iNADO to grow their income while simultaneously offering their sponsors an opportunity to engage with the community in a more meaningful way.

Oaks and Sport England have worked in partnership for over six years; as part of the national commercial framework we have delivered over 20 Sport England funded consultancy projects with National Governing Bodies, Active Partnerships, and Sport England funded partners. In 2021, Sport England ran an Open Call for Innovative Solutions that resulted in investment into 15+ different sport and physical activity interventions. The six-month investment helped to build momentum and deliver significant impact but Sport England recognised that securing more funding was an increasing priority for the Innovation cohort. Sport England knew another short-term investment would only delay the problem and so commissioned Oaks to devise a plan to support and upskill the cohort in their planning for long-term sustainability, and that delivered through a bespoke support programme of workshops, 1:1 support and accompanying resources. From late 2021 through to mid 2022, Oaks co-ordinated and delivered a business transformation programme for the Innovation cohort based on identified needs, focusing particularly on governance, organisational strategy, impact measurement, grant funding readiness and corporate partnerships.

Challenging Education is an organisation which supports schools, multi academy trusts and local authorities to raise aspirations and improve life chances for disadvantaged young people. Their founders and directors were keen to find a way to use their programmes to have a wider impact: engaging with more schools who could benefit from them but might find the standard costs prohibitive. We worked closely alongside their team to understand their business, the education sector and their philanthropic aspirations. It was agreed that creating an additional charitable vehicle would be the best way to meet these goals, and we set out to write and manage the application to the Charity Commission. In July 2023, their charitable vehicle – The Achieve Equity Foundation – successfully achieved charity status and will be ready to support schools to close the attainment gap later this year.