Trust for London: Social welfare requires a long term approach, says Tim Cook

Challenges – reflections on funding and change in London 1986-2007 by 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.

Notes:

1. Challenges: reflections on funding and change in London 1986-2007 by Tim Cook is attached as a PDF. This is available as a download from Printed copies are available from CPF, telephone 0207 606 6145.

2. City Parochial Foundation (CPF) is a registered charity established in 1891. It aims to enable and empower the poor of London to tackle poverty and its root causes, and to ensure that its funds reach those most in need. Each year CPF expects to make funds of approximately £6 million available, of which more than £4 million will be allocated to an ‘open’ programme, and the remainder to special initiatives and commissioning other work. Ninety to 100 grants are likely to be made each year through the open programme.

3. Trust for London (TfL) is a registered charity established in 1986. It aims to support small, new and emerging voluntary organisations which have been established to improve the lives of people and communities in London. It believes that local people are often in the best position to identify the problems that affect their lives and the possible solutions to those problems. From the beginning, TfL has remained distinct in its policies and methods of work, despite its clear links to CPF. It has always focused on smaller organisations, making grants to locally-based charitable groups which have no more than the equivalent of one full-time paid member of staff. Each year TfL will make grants of approximately £650,000. The maximum organisations can apply for is £15,000 per year. Fifty grants are likely to be made each year.

4. If you would like to do an article please contact Tina Stiff, Publications Manager on 0207 606 6145 email: tstiff@cityparochial.org.uk.


City Parochial Foundation
6 Middle Street
London EC1A 7PH
Charity number 205629

Posted by cpadmin on November 22, 2007 2:17 PM to Trust for London
http://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/press_releases/social_welfare_requires_a_long_term_approach_says_tim_cook.html