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What are some of the key areas you fund?
Our main areas of focus are health (mental and physical), education, social mobility and artistic opportunity (through our partner fund, represent). Most of our charity partners address at least two of these core areas. We’re a corporate foundation, with a global presence, so our international grants reflect that, but we’re headquartered in London and actively support initiatives based in the capital.
What’s something exciting that you’re currently working on?
Inspired by a conversation at LF’s Autumn conference in 2023, this year we’ve launched our Staff Support and Development Fund, with the aim of recognising and valuing frontline charity staff. Through this fund we’ve sponsored a resilience workshop with an accredited coach for 15 charity partners and are funding 2 charity partner places on an upcoming transformative leadership training programme. We also offered grants to 7 partners towards staff support and development. These have been well received and utilised in various ways, from training programmes and senior leadership development days to life coaching, team-bonding events and a staff Xmas party!
What’s one piece of insight that you’d like to share with other London Funders’ members?
The difference unrestricted funding makes! We’re a proud member of IVAR’s open and trusting grant making community and do our best to adopt their 8 commitments. This has really helped shape the way we think, operate and partner. It has meant that our relationships with charities really do feel like partnerships, and we know that we’re supporting them to be more responsive, flexible and ultimately more impactful. We really recommend IVAR’s research on this, if you’d like to know more. Their reports are very accessible and there are lots of great examples and quotes to share with your trustees/board.
What do you value most about being a part of London Funders?
Feeling like we’re kept informed of what’s happening in the sector and also the impact of wider societal events on the causes we care about most. The monthly Member Memo and weekly Funder Five for Friday emails keep us up to speed on what’s happening and what’s important. We also love the annual conference which is bursting at the seams with inspiring ideas and individuals!
Looking ahead, could you share one thing that is on your radar. What should we prioritise as a network of funders?
Next year is our 10th anniversary so we’re excited to celebrate that and also take stock of learnings from the past decade. We’re looking into offering collaboration grants in recognition of this milestone, helping charity partners to pool resources, tap into one another’s networks and maximise impact by working together. As funders we can often identify charity partners who could collaborate and support one another well but whose paths haven’t crossed. We see this as a strategic opportunity to leverage our support.
What’s an issue area you’d like to discuss with other members?
We were delighted that LF set up the Small Funders Network, so that we could engage with similar funders, who, like us, often comprise of very small teams. It’s great to have a sounding board for day-to-day queries and how to pitch new ideas to trustees and implement change. We’d be interested to learn more about how others are adopting the funder plus model. We’re small but mighty and would love to leverage our support further and maximise impact for our partners.
Connect with us about:
- Unrestricted and multi-year funding
- Corporate philanthropy
- Being a small funder
- Health - especially mental health
- Education - especially access to
- Social mobility
- Artistic opportunity
The Member Spotlight is taken from our monthly member-exclusive newsletter, the Member Memo. The newsletter contains targeted information about upcoming events and updates from across the membership, with opportunities to connect and collaborate with other members. If you are a London Funders' member and would like to sign up, please email ora.ataguba@londonfunders.org.uk.
