Setting our course for the years ahead

22 June 2022

At our AGM on 15 June, chief executive Carol Mack OBE reflected on the past year, progress on our next five year strategy and welcomed new and re-elected trustees. This is a summary of her speech.

When ACF members met together at our last AGM, we anticipated the end of the acute phase of the Covid-19 crisis. We did not anticipate a war within the borders of Europe, that has displaced millions and ignited a cost of living crisis the likes of which have not been seen since the 1970s. While this is impacting all of us, like Covid-19, it is having the most severe effect on those least able to bear it. 

And to add to the sense of polycrisis the warnings about a coming climate and biodiversity apocalypse are increasing in urgency. 

You have told us that many of your grants programmes are seeing an unprecedented level of demand and while so many of you have increased your levels of giving, quite simply you cannot fill a gap of this magnitude.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, as if we are spitting into a wind that is fast becoming a howling gale. 

At times like this it is important to hang onto our sense of hope. Not naïve optimism, but a focus on solutions and on what can be done, what is in our control. I recently heard it described as evidence-based hope. 

At their heart foundations embody the belief that things can be better, and I know that many of you find enduring inspiration in the amazing work and resilience of the organisations and individuals you support. 

For ACF, the urgencies of the current time only strengthen our resolve to support you to be ambitious and effective in the many ways that you use your resources for social good both now and in the future, whether that be in the arts, in communities, research, tackling poverty and injustice, or any one of the many different missions that you pursue – far too many to mention here.

So how have we been supporting you over this past tumultuous year?

A big focus for us has been our strategy review, which will set our course for the next five years. To help us get this right, we appointed consultants Eastside Primetimers after an open competition process and — taking a leaf out of our own Stronger Foundations book — we also appointed the specialist consultancy Diversity and Ability to challenge us to apply a diversity equity and inclusion lens to our thinking.

With their help we have heard from members, partners and other stakeholders about your priorities, the foundation sector you want to see, and the role that you want ACF to play.

We heard that the services you value most from ACF are our practical guidance and newsletters, and our networking and learning events. 

We heard that you want us to continue to help foundations to be effective in their work and fit for the future, to facilitate collaboration where this is more impactful than working alone, and to support our sector to be more diverse, equitable and inclusive. 

It has to be said that none of you were able to identify something that we should STOP doing! And clearly there are limits in the current inflationary environment to the additional work we can take on. This means that we will need to be focused and set clear priorities if we are to realise the ambitions you have for us. We will continue to keep you in the loop as our plans develop.

So with your help we’ve been setting our course for the years ahead.

We’ve also been keeping up the day job! Our newsletters and member briefings have kept you up-to-speed on the issues that matter to you, and our busy events programme provided lots of opportunities for you to explore a wide range of issues and network with peers  – both online and increasingly in person.

With consistent membership growth over the past five years, we have gradually expanded our staff team, to ensure that we continue to serve you effectively.

Over the past 12 months we have also invested in a new CRM system, website and marketing communication tools. These are a vital building block for us to be able to tailor our membership offer to better meet your needs and ensure that you know about ACF activities and services that are most of interest to you. 

We have continued our advocacy work on your behalf – representing foundations on the SORP Committee, ensuring that you are protected against unnecessary bureaucracy arising from international efforts to crack down on money-laundering and tax evasion – worthy aims, but which if not carefully implemented can have unintended consequences for charities with capital. And we were delighted to see the passing of the Charities Act this year, which we have been heavily involved with – giving evidence to the initial Law Commission report that led to the Act, and most recently giving evidence to the House of Lords in their consideration of the Act. Our primary interest has been in the provisions it includes to make it easier for trusts with endowments to use them more flexibly.

As well as continuing the day job, we’ve also been focused on developing and improving the work we already do to support you.

During the last year we relaunched our Funders Collaborative Hub platform with a fantastic new website that makes it easy for any funder to see what others are doing together and to be able to join in. The website lists 98 opportunities to help you connect with other funders on the issues you care about. 

We celebrated the 92nd signatory to the UK Funder Commitment on Climate Change – an easy to use framework to help foundations – whatever their mission and whatever their starting point – to address the defining challenge of this decade. Earlier this month we published a second progress report, setting out how funders are implementing the Commitment. Its full of practical ideas from a very wide range of foundations of all shapes and sizes – please do check it out.

And we continue to support members in implementing the findings of our Stronger Foundations initiative which sets out what ambitious and effective practice looks like for foundations. Over the last year, more than 50 of you used our self-assessment tool to see how you measured up and where you plan to make further changes – and we published a report on the findings.

The report found that of the six Stronger Foundation topic areas, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is the area where you feel you have furthest to go and it has continued to be a focus for our support to you. For example, over the past six months we have run a series of six seminars to help members develop their DEI practice, focusing on the topics that you told us are most challenging to change.

DEI is also an area where ACF itself needs to make more and faster progress. We are proud to have a number of trustees with strong expertise in this area, who have been providing challenge and support to me and my team through a DEI working group. And our new strategy will continue this focus.

Looking ahead, we are all very excited to be planning a face-to-face conference in London this autumn. Our theme is courage and leadership, what this looks like in foundations and how foundations can support courageous leadership in the organisations and communities they work with. 

Before I close, I would like to say a few thank yous.

Firstly to our amazing board, all drawn from our membership – thank you for all of the time and energy you give to your role.

To our official partners – Cazenove, who are hosting this AGM, and alongside them CCLA, Mercer and Ruffer.

To my brilliant staff team – who work so creatively and so hard to support you.

And most especially to you, our members. An especial thanks to all of you who speak at our events, write articles for us, serve on steering groups, convene our networks and share your expertise so readily with your peers. 

And to all of you for your support – together we really can be more than the sum of our parts.

Read ACF’s Annual report 2021-22

Help shape our next five year strategy – book now for our online strategy event in August.

Welcome and congratulations to our new, re-elected and co-opted trustees: Rupert Abbott, Jessica Brown, Rachel Campbell, Daniela Lloyd-Williams, Klara Skrivankova, Edward Walden and Jamie Ward-Smith.