September 2010
SMART MONEY... MAGIC BULLETS?
A meeting of London’s funders on new and different forms of investment and support for London’s VCS
Tuesday, 28 September 2010 from 1.15 pm at Bates Wells & Braithwaite (St Pauls)
Whatever their response to the government’s approach to reducing the deficit through public expenditure cuts, all funders are inevitably affected by it. While much attention is going into managing cuts intelligently and coping with reduced budgets, many funders are asking whether it is time to break away from the same old funding and investment processes and try something different from contracts for commissioned work, and grants.
But how to make sense of the social investment market, the broadening array of charitable and enterprise vehicles and increasingly blurred boundaries, eg in public sector delivery? Just how relevant and viable are the ideas? How do they work? How risky are they? Will they stretch meagre budgets? Is there an appetite in the VCS for new forms of funding? Are they relevant to London’s VCS? Do funders need different assessment skills to use them? And where are the new ideas in investment that respond to some funders’ wishes not to rely on the financial institutions which recently let them down so badly?
We will take a cool look at some of the new or different vehicles; explore how useful they may be; offer information and tools for follow up and introduce you to people and organisations who can help.
To book for this event, click here to download the booking form.
Recent meetings
June 2010
London Funders: AGM and members meeting
Alongside a short amount of formal business our AGM featured a discussion on the impact of the elections on funders and the third sector in London.
We were very fortunate to have as our main contributor Tony Travers, Director of the Greater London Group.
Click here for a short report
Click here to download his presentation
From left to right: Tony Travers - LSE, John Griffiths - Rocket Science, formalities begin
(Photo credit: Martina Protze-Galas)
May 2010
Sinking & Swimming
 Organised in partnership between London Funders and the Big Lottery Fund (a major funder of this research), this event looked at the 'Sinking and Swimming' report launched by the Young Foundation late last year.
Many funders combined to support this research into “Britain’s unmet needs”, and its look into the future at those areas of need which will become more pressing over the next generation. The report raises questions about London’s resilience, examines why and how some people can cope with shocks, setbacks and transition while others cannot and offers far- reaching recommendations on policy, public action and funding.
(Photo credit: Martina Protze-Galas)
March 2010
The funders’ footprint?
Climate change and the environment: how can funders have an impact?
London Funders members’ meeting - hosted by Mazars LLP
What are the incentives to action – and the barriers? Can funders help each other, and those they fund, recognise their potential for positive impact? Are we too daunted by an issue that is so big that individual action seems irrelevant? This meeting looked at the connections between responsibility for the environment and social justice, and explored how and why groups that serve London’s communities can be encouraged and supported to bring environmental awareness and changed practice into mainstream work.
Meeting report: download
(Photo credit: Martina Protze-Galas)
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