We contribute, shaping policies that affect Londoners through our informed voice. We play a constructive role in policy development and to ensure that the combined intelligence, experience and views of our members are represented to strengthen civil society in London.
Our members receive a weekly briefing email, outlining the five things that funders in London need to know (click here for an example). Received by over 1,500 members a week, we seek to ensure that our members are informed of national and regional policy decisions, new opportunities for collaboration and useful resources to identify funding ‘cold spots’.
We proactively engage with strategic developments where the voice of the funding community can positively support policy. Most recently we have focused on the GLA’s civil society strategy, the new Mayoral youth narrative, and the philanthropy reviews underway in the capital. This cumulated in our ‘Review of Reviews’ report which explores what these reports have in common, and where there are notable discrepancies, or differences of emphasis.
As well as sitting on advisory boards such as the GLA’s Migrant and Refugee Advisory Panel, we host policy-specific forums with regional and national government representatives. Furthermore, we link our members to opportunities to contribute to developments directly, and facilitate joint responses where appropriate to amplify the voice of our members and the funding community.
Most importantly, we provide bespoke individual support for members. Our small and friendly team are exceptionally well connected to London’s civil society movers and players, and we work hard to keep up to date with all of the capital’s comings and goings. We visit and engage with members regularly and connect them with each other when appropriate – for example if two corporate foundations are working on a ‘whole asset approach’ strategy.
