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Community Conversations - Building bridges between people from different backgrounds

In September 2009 Conflict and Change, a voluntary organisation that has developed innovative approaches to building understanding between communities since the 1980s and City Parochial Foundation hosted an event to bring together practitoners who are working on social cohesion and conflict resolution issues in London. At this event a summary document was launched outlining the lessons learned from the work undertaken by Conflict and Change to develop the community conversations model.

You can download the publication in pdf form below:
CPF-Community Conversations - Building bridges between people from different backgrounds.pdf

Annual Review 2008

Posted 1 July 2009

Nigel Pantling, Chair of City Parochial Foundation and Trust for London launched our latest Annual Review at our summer reception.

"During the last 12 months the worst economic downturn that most Londoners have ever known has reached every corner of the capital," said Nigel Pantling. "For many of those close to poverty, the recession has meant a further slide towards deprivation".

"In the current clamour for political attention, the poor of London need champions more than ever," added Nigel. "We believe that independent charities like the City Parochial Foundation have a duty to speak and act on behalf of the disadvantaged".

He highlighted a number of the Foundation's initiatives in 2008, including our support for the Strangers into Citizens campaign, which supports undocumented migrants to improve their rights; the launch of London's Poverty Profile, a new resource measuring what progress has been made in relation to poverty, inequality and social exclusion in the capital; and the development of a new programme on strengthening community-based prevention work on female genital mutilation.

These initiatives and our other work are outlined in the Annual Review, which provides a brief overview of activity under each of the Foundation's and Trust's funding aims and provides details of who we funded in 2008.

The Annual Review can be downloaded below:

Annual Review 2008.pdf

Third Sector, evaluated our Annual Review. To read the article click link below:
Third Sector

London's Poverty Profile welcomed

Posted May 21 2009

City Parochial Foundation and the New Policy Institute have launched a Report and Findings - 'London's Poverty Profile'. It is the first independent report to bring together such a wide range of indicators measuring poverty, inequality and social exclusion in the capital.

London's Poverty Profile was warmly welcomed at its launch on 19 May by the Minister for London and Minister of State for Employment & Welfare Reform, Tony McNulty MP, and Anthony Browne, Policy Director for the Mayor of London.

Anthony Browne described it as 'the best produced and best researched report by a thinktank in a very long time'. The Minister expressed the hope that the Profile would help to raise national awareness of the real deprivation within the capital.

The launch of the research was covered in the media including:

BBC London on the lunchtime and 6 o'clock news, with a live interview with London's Poverty Profile co-author, Peter Kenway of New Policy Institute. You can watch the evening news package again at the link below.

BBC News online

ITN London Tonight, with three pieces including an interview with Mubin Haq, Policy and Grants Director at City Parochial Foundation.

The Evening Standard

The Guardian

Dave Hill's blog on The Guardian online

Inside Housing

East London and West Essex Guardian

New Start magazine

Roger Evans blog

Third Sector

CAF Onine

Urblog

All the research and anlysis in London's Poverty Profile is available online at www.londonspovertyprofile.org.uk, from where the printed report and findings are also available to download. The site will be updated regularly to monitor progress.

Progress made in Tackling Modern Day Slavery

Posted 6 October 2008

CPF has published an interim report on its Tackling Modern Day Slavery special initiative, which collates the significant progress made by the five funded organisations in addressing exploitation in the UK.

continue reading "Progress made in Tackling Modern Day Slavery"...

Funding List and Analysis for 2007

Posted 31 July 2007

In addition to producing our annual review, we have also compiled two other related documents:

The first is a list of all of the groups we funded in 2007. This includes a short description of the organisation, what it was funded for, and the amount awarded.

The second is a statistical analysis of the funding we provided in 2007. It includes the amount of funding we provided under each of our aims, the average size of funding awarded, the types of groups we supported and the geographical location of where the work (we are funding) is taking place - as well as much more.

To download the PDF documents, please click below.

Funding List 2007.pdf

Funding Analysis 2007.pdf

Changing London - Annual Review 2007

Posted 23 June 2008

Staff and trustees of City Parochial Foundation and Trust for London prize their independence, chair Nigel Pantling says in his Foreword to the 2007 Annual Review.

Independence "enables us to use our considerable financial clout to help deserving but unpopular causes which receive little backing from other funders", Nigerl Pantling points out.

"It also gives us credibility," he adds. "It allows us to campaign directly on issues that we feel strongly about, and to press Government agencies and Ministers to make change happen.

"And our independence allows us to take risks where others will not, for example by backing innovative schemes that take new approaches or which help those on the fringes of traditional definitions of poverty."

The Review provides a brief overview of activity under each priority in the current five year quinquennium - of which 2007 was the first year - and provides examples of some of the innovative schemes which CPF and TfL have funded.

Copies of the Review can be downloaded below in pdf format.

Changing London.pdf

Challenges - Reflections on funding and change in London 1986-2007

This new report looking at the work of City Parochial Foundation and Trust for London over the past 21 years, the changes that have occurred and both what has worked and what has not worked.

Challenges: reflections on funding and change in London 1986-2007 was written by former Clerk to the Trustees Tim Cook who concludes that 'grant-making is an art not a science'.

The report describes some of the major initiatives which the Foundation and Trust have undertaken, and provides sources of further information.

Copies of the reports can be downloaded in pdf format below.

Challenges - Reflections on funding and change in London 1986-2007 by Tim Cook

Bellingham Community Project

Posted 26 July 2007

Regeneration in action
Bell cover.jpg

It is possible to make a major difference to the 'feel' of a neighbourhood, according to this report on the Bellingham Community Project which was set up by City Parochial Foundation in Lewisham.

The scheme is in one of the 10% most deprived wards in England where educational attainment has been low and worklessness is high. The Community Project and the Bellingham leisure & lifestyle centre based on playing fields owned by CPF have revitalised the area and brought real benefits to the local community.

Copies of the report can be downloaded in pdf format below:

Bellingham Community Project - Regeneration in action

Investing in the people of London

Posted 24 July 2007

Quinquennial Review 2002-2006

The report gives an overview of our funding during our quinquennial period 2002-2006.

Copies of the reports can be downloaded in pdf format below. Printed copies are available from CPF, telephone 0207 606 6145.

Investing in the People of London - Report of five years funding 2002-06

A short Grants Review listing individual grants made in 2006 can be downloaded in pdf format below.

Grants Review 2006

Building Blocks Open Space report

Posted 8 March 2007

On 1st March we held an Open Space event to explore the findings and recommendations which came out of our recent research, Building Blocks by Alison Harker and Steven Burkeman. This identified a number of challenges faced by second-tier organisations in meeting the needs of voluntary and community groups.

continue reading "Building Blocks Open Space report"...

Building Blocks

Developing second tier-support for frontline groups

Second-tier organisations (STOs) are operating in a very difficult environment with pressures on them from all sides, while attempting to manage high expectations and heavy demands. Many, including councils for voluntary service (CVSs), face difficult issues of quality, credibility, conflict of interest and overwork, and a number of CVSs seem to have lost their sense of purpose and focus, according to a new report published by City Parochial Foundation.

continue reading "Building Blocks"...

Different World

How Young people can work together on human rights, citizenship, equality and creating a better society

Contrary to the general view, events in their local communities and internationally are of concern to young people, according to this new City Parochial Foundation report from Lemos&Crane.

Different World also reveals that while national politics do not interest them as much, young people are prepared to do something about their concerns.

The report calls for a new consensus on the content and purpose of youth work to be based on citizenship, social change and the creation of a better world.

continue reading "Different World"...

Grants Reviews - 1997 to 2006

For copies of our past annual reviews please click the link below:

continue reading "Grants Reviews - 1997 to 2006"...

Challenging Girls

Tackling under-achievement among white working-class girls in schools

The report identifies interventions and strategies for raising the achievement of white working-class girls in schools in Camden.

continue reading "Challenging Girls"...

The Maytree Approach - Suicide Prevention

Maytree Respite Centre is a sanctuary for the suicidal. It aims to reduce the suicidal of its guests through proviing a calm enivronment in which trusting relationships can be developed, and guests feel listened to and understood. The evaluation report highlights Maytree's distinctive approach and how it makes a unique contribution to suicide prevention.

continue reading "The Maytree Approach - Suicide Prevention"...

Disability Programme - Count Us In Report 2000-2005

Count Us In summary jan06.jpg

Count Us In is City Parochial Foundation's Disability Programme, which ran from 2000 to 2005. This report highlights its achievements.

The authors reported that the aim of this special initiative was to look at the lack of support for small disability groups and self-advocacy groups of people with learning disabilities in London. A very important part of the work was to look at the needs of black and minority ethnic disabled people and other disadvantaged groups and to develop ways in which their long term needs could be met.

continue reading "Disability Programme - Count Us In Report 2000-2005"...

Touching the margins

One often overlooked group which experiences social exclusion is young men aged 18-30. A significant number, many of them from black and minority ethnic communities, are marginalised and disaffected.

As an innovative response to the range of issues facing this group City Parochial Foundation and John Lyon's Charity funded and developed the three year Young Men's Initiative, based around two local community projectrs - the Refugee Advice an Support Centre in Hammersmith, and the Bengali Workers' Association in Camden.

continue reading "Touching the margins"...

Valuing Potential 2004

Valuing Potential 2004.

Retention and recruitment in the voluntary sector is an increasing problem. This discussion document by Julian Unwin and Lucy Ball highlights that serious efforts need to be made to contact this otherwise the voluntary sector's contribution to delivering services could be adversely affected. The report raises a number of issues and challenges.

continue reading "Valuing Potential 2004"...