The Association of Charitable Foundations has recently asked its members to give their perspectives on ACF’s chosen themes for its 2022 annual conference.  One of the themes they have chosen is “Courage: foundation leadership in the next decade”. ACF’s call for perspectives on their conference theme: “Across all of society’s institutions, including foundations, new models... Continue Reading →

In response to the call for racial justice underpinning the Black Lives Matter movement and the response to the murder of George Floyd, some foundations in the UK have begun the process of assessing the origins of their wealth – specifically in relation to profits from the enslavement of African people and from colonialism.  Examples... Continue Reading →

This post sets out some points for family foundations to consider when recruiting trustees – specifically in relation to the value of recruiting non-family members as trustees. You can download a PDF version of this post by clicking here. It is set out in a Question and Answer format and draws on 3 main sources... Continue Reading →

Endowed foundations always have to consider two things – time and money.  How much income they’ll have, over what time period, and how their endowment will be maintained to help tackle future needs – assuming they intend to continue to exist indefinitely. The current Covid-19 crisis makes the time factor more urgent.   At this time... Continue Reading →

At the beginning of 2020 I was asked to write a piece about the relationship between foundations and fundraisers - for the Chartered Institute of Fundraising's recruitment guides which aim to support the fundraising profession, and more widely the whole sector, to become a more equal, diverse and inclusive profession. Much has changed in the... Continue Reading →

A .pdf version of this post is available to download here: These Are Exceptional Times. Most Trusts & Foundations currently formulating their short, medium and longterm responses to Covid-19 will be considering 3 things: their own likely income reduction due to falling investment capital values and returns; a desire to spend as much as they... Continue Reading →

Written by an autistic fundraiser & a neurotypical funder for Autism Awareness Week – before the recent escalation in the Covid-19/coronavirus crisis – this blogpost isn’t about the immediate response to the pandemic.  But it does suggest things we should consider as we develop our first response (eg equity) as well as suggesting how we... Continue Reading →

I'm interested to know what theoretical framework (or theory of change) is being applied in all of the talk, and the beginnings of action, on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) currently taking place in the charitable sector. What behavioural, social and systems change theory is being applied?  Which experts in these fields are being consulted?... Continue Reading →

As I’ve argued elsewhere (‘Trusts and foundations have a diversity deficit. Is it time for regulation to fix it?’), the charity and not-for profit sector is running out of time to get our own house in order in relation to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) - particularly in relation to the leadership and funding decisions... Continue Reading →

There are 6 main reasons why we should apply Diversity, Equity and Inclusion principles in everything we do.  But there are many more reasons – personal, organisational and systemic – why we don’t.  The reasons we should are: Fairness and Engagement: Embracing diversity and practising inclusion is part of our commitment to social justice and... Continue Reading →