Posted 22 November 2007

Tackling and solving the major social welfare issues is a long term task – and even at the end there are few, if any, neat solutions, according to Tim Cook, former Clerk to the Trustees of City Parochial Foundation

He made his comments as the author of a new report published by CPF (see note 1) to mark the 21 years of Trust for London, and the lessons that funding programmes of both CPF and TfL had revealed over that period.

“Funding is not science – it is not a question of discovering the DNA,” Cook said. "But funders are sitting on knowledge and experience built up over a long period. At the moment, little is made of it. They need to share that knowledge, to create a ‘social policy databank’ which can be used to influence the way they fund.”

The report describes how CPF and TfL funding has developed over 21 years and looks at what has worked and how these have affected subsequent initiatives. At the same time, it describes programmes which have not turned out as hoped or expected, and the lessons that need to be learned from these failures.

In his foreword, CPF chair Nigel Pantling states that Tim “is unusually well qualified to examine the development of the Trust for London, and the changes that have been taking place simultaneously at CPF…. we are immensely grateful to him for the insights and wisdom that he has provided.

The lessons that Tim draws from the way that the two charities have tackled the difficult business of grant making will, we hope, prove valuable to future generations of CPF trustees, staff and advisers. If the lessons of our mistakes – and hopefully some successes – prove useful to a wider audience too, then so much the better.”

For Bharat Mehta, Chief Executive of CPF and TfL, two of the most important features the report draws attention to are the constancy of the voluntary sector and the increasingly local/global nature of its work.

“Despite all the organisational and structural changes in government and social services, the one constant is the voluntary sector, where thousands of groups continue to pursue their aims to benefit the most disadvantaged in society.

And while so much of the work is at a local level, the connections are global. Events overseas have direct and immediate impact at the local level, particularly for diaspora communities and organisations working with them”.

For more information please contact Bharat Mehta, Chief Executive of CPF/TfL on 020 7606 6145
email: info@cityparochial.org.uk

Issued by City Parochial Foundation 6 Middle Street London EC1A 7PH.

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. The aim has been to bring out the lessons which it is hoped will prove valuable to trustees, staff and advisors for the future, and other funders.

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 here in pdf format below. Printed copies are available from CPF, telephone 0207 606 6145.

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

(On behalf of the five independent funders involved in this initiative – City Bridge Trust, City Parochial Foundation, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, John Lyons Charity and the Wates Foundation).

CALL FOR TENDERS: EVALUATION OF THE FEAR AND FASHION PROGRAMME

Fear and Fashion is the name given to a three to five-year programme of work aimed at tackling the carrying and use of knives and weapons amongst young people. This is a collaborative programme funded by five independent grant-making trusts. Four projects have been funded, one in Lambeth/Southwark and three in south Brent/north Westminster, to develop and test out different interventions to prevent young people from carrying and using weapons.

We are seeking a team of evaluators to conduct this evaluation during the first three years of the programme, primarily in years 2 and 3. Work on the programme started in April 2007.

The projects funded to undertake this work include:

1. Kick YIP/Crime Concern – working in Lambeth and Southwark to decrease the use of knives by young people whilst also raising awareness of the problems and consequences of carrying knives.

2. Leap Confronting Conflict – working in North Westminster to create a new project in a school with the aim to provide evidence that intensive group work and training in conflict management is a successful intervention to help prevent the use of weapons and violence.

3. Rainer – working in Brent to reduce the carrying of knives by young people who have committed offences involving knives or at risk of being involved in carrying or using knives.

4. Working with Men – working in North Westminster and South Brent to reduce the use and carrying of knives and other weapons by young people, to support victims, and to provide positive alternatives and long-term change, to support victims, and to provide positive alternatives and long-term change.

The funders are keen to receive proposals from suitably experienced individuals and/or organisations. Full details of the tender can be downloaded below:

Fear and Fashion Evaluation

Closing date for tenders is Friday 23 November 12 noon 2007.

Registered Charity No. 205629

Deadline for tender: 6 December 2007 (3.00pm).
Timescale: Up to 12 months for completion of Tasks 1 to 3.
Total Budget: Up to £40,000 (including expenses and VAT).

Aims:
There are four main aims for this work:

• To gain a better understanding of the factors contributing to poverty and social exclusion in London and the impact this has on the lives of Londoners.

• To measure and analyse local and UK Government performance on key areas related to these issues.

• To identify emerging trends and concerns, which may not be in the policy spotlight.

• To help CPF, as well as others, to develop policies and undertake work to tackle poverty and social exclusion in London.

Tasks:
Task 1: To identify and collate key poverty and social exclusion statistics relating to London into an accessible data resource, listing all relevant data sources that will inform the work.

Task 2: Drawing on the datasets identified in Task One, to develop related sets of indicators to monitor major poverty and social exclusion trends which are particularly relevant to London, and progress being made in relation to them.

Task 3: Production of a final written report and a key findings summary.

Task 4: Indicator database maintenance (funded separately).

Further details are outlined in the tender document which can be downloaded in PDF format below:

Poverty and Social Exclusion Monitor for London

For any queries about this tender, please contact:

Mubin Haq
Principal Officer (Policy & Grants)
City Parochial Foundation
6 Middle Street
London EC1A 7PH

020 7606 6145
mubin@cityparochial.org.uk

Independent charitable funders City Parochial Foundation (CPF) and Trust for London (TfL) have awarded £450,000 to four organisations addressing faith-based child abuse linked to a belief in spirit possession.

The funding, through TfL/CPF’s ‘Safeguarding Children’s Rights’ special initiative, will support work with London’s African communities that develops and strengthens community-based preventive activities in this field. The initiative was established in response to concerns raised with TfL and CPF by African community groups about the need for support at a grassroots level. Funding will support work with young people, parents, social workers, policy-makers and church leaders.

Grants have been awarded to: AFRUCA, UK Congolese Safeguarding Action Group, Churches’ Child Protection Advisory Service, and the Victoria Climbié Foundation, who will work closely together through the initiative.

“These organisations have a track record of addressing this complex and difficult human rights issue, often with very limited resources”, says Bharat Mehta, Chief Executive of TfL and CPF. “This new initiative will sustain and develop their work in London and enable them to contribute to the safety, quality of life and well-being of children and to promote children’s rights.”

CPF and TfL will support funded organisations through an advisory group involving experts from relevant fields including the Metropolitan Police and child protection/children’s services. An external evaluation will be commissioned to assess the impact of the funded work.

- Ends-
For more information about the initiative and the grants made, please contact
Rachael Takens-Milne, Field Officer (Special Initiatives) on 020 7606 6145 or
rtakensmilne@cityparochial.org.uk

You may well be interested in a new website developed by Lemos and Crane for practitioners working with young people on building a better world. Please click link below for more information:

Website: Unboxed Suporting young people working together for a better world

Bellingham Community Project - Regeneration in action

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

The scheme is in one of the10% 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

Quinquennial Review 2002-2006

City Parochial Foundation and Trust for London invested in the people of London ‘because we believed in them’.

This is how CPF chair Nigel Pantling describes funding over the past five years, in his foreword to the ‘quinquennial’ report. He pointed out: “We saw the long-term unemployed man or woman, the survivor of domestic abuse, the disorientated refugee migrant, as people who can and should prosper and enjoy their own lives, and who by doing so would enhance the quality and diversity of the lives of everyone in the city in which we all live.”

The report gives brief synopsis of all funding categories and special initiatives such as the Bellingham Leisure and Lifestyle Centre which opened in 2004, ant the Refugee Communities History Project which culminated in a major exhibition at the Museum of London.

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

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

A short Grants Review listing individual grants made in 2006 can be downloaded here in pdf format below. Printed copies are available from CPF, telephone 0207 606 6145.

Grants Review 2006

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.

Many second-tier organisations face difficult issues of quality, credibility and overwork, CPF report reveals

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.

Second-tier organisations face issues of credibility and loss of focus, CPF report reveals