Historical Press Releases - September 2006 to November 2008
TESTING ONLY PLEASE IGNORE
Current: Press releases
Parent: 02 Media Centre
Subcategories:
Subcategories called by name from parent: 01 Logo guide 02 News 03 Press releases 04 Calls for Tenders
Top level categories: 00 Home|01 About us|02 Media Centre|03 Special Initiatives|04 Grants|05 Publications & Research|06 Monitoring, evaluating & learning|07 Case studies|08 FAQ & Links|09 Contact Us|Accessibility statement|Privacy policy|Terms of use|
Level: 01 Logo guide 02 News * 03 Press releases 04 Calls for Tenders
Social welfare requires a long term approach, says Tim Cook
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.
Building Blocks - developing second tier-support for frontline groups
Posted 31 May 2007
CPF's new report Building Blocks reveals that second-tier organisations 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. Over 100 frontline voluntary groups as well as second-tier organisations and funders were interviewed. The report was followed by an Open Space event to discuss issues related to the findings and recommendations.
Funding Guidelines 2007-11
Launch of our new funding priorities
Natural justice and social justice part of the whole - Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty, stresses at launch
Posted September 2006
Our new funding priorities for 2007-11 were launched on Thursday 21 September 2006 at an event at Toynbee Hall. Natural justice and social justice are two halves of a whole, keynote speaker Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty, told guests at the launch. 'Even many progressive politicians do not see the relationship,' she continued. She informed the audience that there were different types of poverty and human rights was an important issue - if the poorest and most vulnerable in society did not have access to legal advice it amounted to social exclusion. 'The idea of human rights is thought of as odd in Britain - it is something for people abroad,' she stressed. 'It is because we have become complacent after a long period of stability: campaigners tend to concentrate on poverty rather than looking also to human rights as part of the issue.' There was a contradiction in policy which demonised people. Families were either regarded as good or bad guys - with natural justice appearing to be thrown away. They were treated as either decent, hardworking families or the neighbours from hell, with criminal justice solutions to deal with them. 'We can't have these hermetically sealed categories,' she argued. Too much money was being put into dealing with handing out ASBOs - which was turning children into offenders rather than tackling the issues that led to the problems. She praised CPF and TfL for highlighting social justice as an issue in their new funding priorities, and for having the imagination to plan five-year programmes. "A significant development will see us focusing on campaigning and policy change to achieve social justice," Maggie Baxter, Chair of CPF and TfL, commented on the new priorities. She added: "Often our funding goes to causes that are not always 'popular' but that does not deter us from taking up the challenge and taking risks: we believe this approach means we meet our objective of reaching those who need the most help." CPF's priorities for 2007-11 are to improve employment opportunities for disadvantaged people; promoting the inclusion of recent arrivals to the UK; promoting social justice; and strengthening the voluntary and community sector. A significant development will see the Foundation focusing on campaigning and policy change to achieve social justice. For CPF's sister fund, Trust for London, the emphasis over the next five years will be on challenging discrimination faced by disabled people; promoting the inclusion and integration of recently established communities; strengthening mother-tongue and supplementary schools to provide creative educational opportunities; and addressing new and emerging needs. Both CPF and TfL have decided to make fewer but larger grants and to enhance the 'funding plus' approach both have developed over the years. Grants are not given in isolation, but additional support and training is offered to help organisations grow and develop, achieve additional benefits through creative approaches, and learn from their work. Click here for more information on the 2007-11 guidelines and how to obtain copies. A press release is available to download below. Posted 6 February 2008 Posted 6 February 2008 Ian Allsop talks to Bharat Mehta, Chief Executive of the City Parochial Foundation. Copies of the interview can be downloaded here in pdf format below. 
Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty, speaking at our launch
Press release
Meeting the Maker