UK Study Tour: ‘The changes being made to power sharing practices was the standout learning’

A group of Philanthropy Australia members have returned from an enriching study tour in the UK buzzing with fresh insights and enthusiasm to invest in their work in Australia. The members had an action-packed itinerary meeting with more than 40 speakers from 20+ organisations sharing best practice and deep understanding of the many ways philanthropy is making a difference today. Here, Rachel Findlay, Director, Engagement (NSW/ACT), and the key driver behind curating the tour, shares her reflections.

The tour was kicked off by Rhodri Davies, founder and director of Why Philanthropy Matters thinktank, who spoke about trends at play in the UK now and beyond. Read a Q&A with him on philanthropy’s biggest challenges and opportunities ahead.

We learnt a great deal during our week in London on the Philanthropy Australia Study Tour. For me, it was extra special, blending my new and old worlds in philanthropy having spent the previous decade working in London at New Philanthropy Capital and the last seven years in the sector in Australia.

One of the real benefits of the tour was sharing the experience with the study tour participants, and the friendships and connections that were made. I also acknowledge the generosity of our UK speakers for giving up their time to share their work with us. Every organisation I reached out to willingly accepted the invitation. That is a real sign of generosity and openness within the sector.

Below are six of my key takeaways from the tour.

1. Participatory practices and lived experience are key to shifting power

A real standout learning was how the UK is putting into practice tangible changes to start the process of shifting power, particularly through participatory approaches. We were lucky to hear from Sabir, a young person who sat on the grantmaking panel at Camden Giving, who shared that “surely [participatory grantmaking] is the future of funding. Young people here go to loads of knife crime workshops, but that achieves nothing. Being part of Camden Giving does.”

Sabir reflected on the benefits of the approach for more effective decision-making, but also for his own personal growth, especially his confidence. We heard from Leeds Community Foundation, Newcastle Community Foundation and the Power of Pop Fund on their participatory approaches. There are many resources on Camden Giving’s website. The move towards participatory approaches seems to really make sense. As Sabir shared, those who are living and working in the community are best placed to know what the needs of the communities are and what will work. 

The other mechanism towards shifting power we heard about was Open and Trusted grantmaking, led by Ben Cairns at the Institute of Voluntary Action and Research (IVAR). IVAR describes Open and Trusted grantmaking as “an approach that is characterised by patience, empathy and kindness”.

Ben said: “The fundamental hypothesis is that this kind of grantmaking will enable people to do their best work and that will lead to more impact across a range of social change goals because people will be freed up to practice in a way that is most suited to the needs of their communities or causes.”

IVAR is calling for funders to sign up to their Open and Trusted grantmaking community of practice, which involves following the eight commitments below:

We also heard from New Philanthropy Capital on how to carry out measurement, evaluation and learning with this approach – they are have released a guide this month and we were treated a sneak preview. Many funders we met with are signed up to IVAR’s Open and Trusted program, including the Pears Foundation and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

2. Pooled funds empower strategic collaborations on complex problems

The other stand-out learning was the need to work in collaboration. We all recognise that the world’s problems are so large and complex that no one funder can solve them. While there are many ways in which we can work in collaboration, we focused on the pooled fund model by spending a morning with consultants Lena Baumgartner and Alice Sachrajda.

They explained how the  model works, including advantages and disadvantages, and we heard from two examples: the Power of Pop Fund and the UK Democracy Fund. 

A pooled fund is described as “multiple funders contributing money and delegating grantmaking authority into a separate entity to advance a particular objective or strategy”. Crucial is the delegated authority for grantmaking, often to panels of people with lived experience.

This approach feels like a win-win: funders gain the chance to share knowledge, build expertise, and reduce risk through collaborative funding, while also creating more opportunities for field building. But the benefits extend beyond that – pooled funds also support the organisations they fund by streamlining processes, increasing efficiency for grantees.

To read more about this approach, I recommend Lena and Alice’s report here, commission by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

3. How the Black Lives Matter movement led to a foundation created for and by grassroots communities to drive racial equity

One of the newer organisations we visited is the Baobab Foundation. It is also a pooled fund and was created with impressive effectiveness off the back of events starting in 2020. These events included the murder of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement, the disproportionate number of deaths within black communities during the COVID-19 pandemic and black-led organisations being hit the hardest by lockdown measures.

Baobab is mobilising resources to challenge the current funding system and heal the ongoing experiences of underfunding, marginalisation and anti-blackness. Created by and for grassroots communities, Baobab believes that the communities harmed by racism are best placed to create change and decide what support they need to do this. Baobab is fully participatory – not only do they work to redistribute wealth but also to ensure decision-making power lies with communities. Baobab has grown rapidly since its inception, with leading trusts and foundations in the UK, including the former Lankelly Chase Foundation, funding its work. It was inspiring to witness large, established foundations directing funding to Baobab to support their racial justice initiatives, acknowledging that the Baobab team and their partners are in the best position to tackle this type of inequity.

4. UK foundations are starting the journey of making reparations for the origins of their wealth

Like many other institutions, some UK foundations are examining the origins of their wealth and recognising its connections to historical practices of enslavement. Catherine Seymour, Director of External Affairs at the Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF), shared insights on how some of its members have undertaken this work. The foundations have investigated any links between their origins of wealth and money from enslavement, published their findings and made changes in response. Understanding the roots of this wealth enables organisations to take intentional action toward addressing the root causes of social injustices and fostering repair.

ACF has developed a Toolkit for others who are embarking on this journey. The toolkit gives practical guidance for foundation boards to hold conversations, understand the relevance for their organisation and make decisions about the right path for them.

5. A full spectrum of capital approach to impact investing enables greater clarity on how the endowment can meet social and financial objectives

We heard from a range of organisations engaging and supporting social investment including ACF’s SIIF Group including some of their steering committee, Access Foundation, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Barrow Cadbury Trust, Trust for London and Schroders.

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation shared with us its impact investing strategy across a full spectrum of capital. They explained how they use a variety of financial tools and funding methods to achieve their impact goals – from grants to loans to equity investments to other forms of capital – ranging from philanthropic support to more market-driven investments. This approach means that the foundation can support a wider range of initiatives and organisations at different stages of development, maximizing its social and environmental impact while also considering financial sustainability (see diagram below). This allows the foundation to be clear about why it’s making an investment and from which “pot” of funding – be the objective impact first or for market returns.

6. Social enterprises are the way of the future – providing excellent services to customers alongside delivering social impact

We were fortunate to visit several social enterprises in London. It was great to experience amazing food and service while knowing our dollar was going towards supporting vital programs. One of my favourites was Redemption Roasters – a roastery and coffee shop that works with people in prison and with those exiting the criminal justice system. The reoffending rate for people on the program is around 3% compared with a national average of 25-32%. And they do amazing coffee!

We also had dinner at the Brigade Bar and Restaurant. Brigade, alongside The Beyond Food Foundation, provides employment and training opportunities to people who are vulnerable, socially isolated or those impacted by past or current circumstances. Not only was the food and service excellent, but it was also great to know that by eating at Brigade we were supporting people’s pathways into employment. I’d recommend a visit next time you are in London!

It was sobering to spend time in the UK. We heard some shocking statistics on the level of need, including that 30% of children there are now living in poverty.  The delegation stayed in King’s Cross, and I could see the increase in people sleeping rough in the area since the last time I visited. It is a difficult and polarising time for the UK, as it is with many countries, so it was especially appreciated that these philanthropic leaders took time out of their schedules to meet with us. Thank you to all who gave their time and to our fantastic study tour participants (Philanthropy Australia funder members).