CapitalCommunities1997to2001

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cpfCITY PAROCHIALFOUNDATION Trust

forLondon

19972001

Capitalcommunities

review


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City Parochial Foundation andTrust for London Trustees*The Crown Ms Maggie Baxter (Vice Chairman)

Mr Nigel PantlingProfessor Julian FranksThe Earl of Limerick KBEMs Elahe Panahi

Corporation of London Mr Edward LordMr William Dove

Mr Ian LuderMr Robin Sherlock

Church Commissioners The Bishop of WillesdenMr Peter Dale

Council of the Universityof London Mrs Gillian Roberts

University College London Professor Gerald Manners (Chairman)

City and Guilds ofLondon Institute Mr John Barnes CBE

Bishopsgate Foundation Mr Roger Payton

Cripplegate Foundation Mr Patrick Haynes

Kings College London Mr John Muir

City Parochial Foundation Mrs Lynda StevensMiss Jyoti MunsiffMr Albert TuckerMs Jane Wilmot OBE* As at 1 January 2002

Staff of the Foundation and TrustClerk Bharat Mehta OBE

Director of Finance and

Administration Carol Harrison

Director of Grants and

Programmes Martin Jones

Field Officers Ann Curno (to June 2002),

Helal Uddin Abbas,

Mubin Haq (from June 2002)

Field Officer Responsible for

Monitoring and Evaluation Sioned Churchill

Publications and IT Manager Tina Stiff

Secretary to the Clerk Lorraine Foy(to August 2002) ,Alison Slater (from May 2002)

Secretary to Director ofGrants

and Programmes Beulah Scott

Secretary to Field Officers Jaspal Babra

Accounts Assistant Sue Caller

Office Manager Mara Normile

Administrative Assistant Jason Harley (to May 2002)

Laura Mansfield (from June 2002)

Receptionist Suzette La Pierre

Professional AdvisersSolicitors Farrer & Co, WC2A 3LH

Surveyors CB Hillier Parker, W1A 2BT

Auditors KPMG, EC4Y 8BB

Bankers Lloyds TSB Bank plc, EC2R 8AU

Investment Managers Dresdner RCM Global Investors (UK) Ltd, EC3M 3LBTo February 2002: Schroder InvestmentManagement Limited, EC2V 9QAFrom February 2002: S G Asset Management UKLimited, EC4M 7NL

Veritas Asset Management (UK) Limited, WC2N 6DF

The aims of the Foundation andthe Trust are actively promoted to

draw attention to the needs ofpeople experiencing poverty, andthe needs of community groups toshow what can be achieved; and

to highlight lessons that havebeen learned from the fundedwork

The exchange of information,good practice and ideas betweenfunding organisations has manybenefits. The Foundation and

Trust are active in many formaland informal networks including

the London Funders Group

Because of their extensiveexperience the Foundationand Trust are frequently

asked to comment on policyproposals and consultation

documents produced byother bodies including local

and central government

Liaison

Promotion

Consultation


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Introducing

City ParochialFoundationand

Trust for LondonCity Parochial Foundation and Trust for

London exist to benefit the poor of

London and to provide support for

community organisations that have

charitable purposes. In achieving theseaims, both organisations are involved in

a wide range of activities

The Foundation and Trustprovide direct grants forspecific purposes, oftenresponding to local orexceptional needs as

they arise

These programmes currentlyprovide funding for a numberof organisations working withyoung people, and for three

strategic bodies working withdisabled people, on a particular

scheme called Count us in

The Foundation owns a large property and equities portfolio.The Trustees also manage the endowment of Trust for London.

The resulting income provides the resources to meet the

charitable aims of both bodies. One of the assets of theFoundation is the Resource Centre in Holloway Road, N7,which provides meeting facilities, offices and services

The Foundation owns anumber of sites and buildingswhich are let at low rents toorganisations for charitable or

voluntary activities

Schemes tackling schoolexclusion, refugee education and

work with young men are fundedjointly with other trusts and

organisations

Good governance andpre- and post-grant support

are vital activities ifmaximum use is to be

made of charitableresources. The Foundation

and the Trust organisetraining for potential grantapplicants and recipients

and publish guides to goodpractice

Schemes responding to new needshave been established including an

education awards initiative for youngrefugees, one concerned with access

to appropriate employment fordisplaced professionals and another

on governance of smallorganisations

Community development work

is currently supported in fourareas Bellingham; Greenford;Kilburn; and St Peters, Tower

Hamlets

Properties

Partnerships

Reactive grants

Special programmes

Managing assets

Local area initiatives

Good practice

Innovation


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Capital communities review

munity Project > 201st Islington Scout Group > 2nd Epsom (Christ Church) Scout Group > AVoice for the Child in Care > Abbeyfield North London Society > Accept > Accra Centre for Advancement of Young People > Ace of Clubs (Clapham Ltd) > Ackroyd

South Asian Womens Association > Active Women > Afghan Alliance of London > Afghan Association of London (Harrow) > Afri-Caribbean Peoples Organisation > African and African-Caribbean Peoples Advisory Group > African and Caribbean Family Support

ng Corps 393 Finchly Squadron > Akina MaMa Wa Africa > Alcohol Counselling Prevention Services > Alcohol East > Alone in London (GLAS) > Alzheimers Concern Ealing > Alzheimers Society > AMENDS > An-Viet Foundation > Anchor Housing Trust >

Organisations

funded by

City Parochial

Foundation

and

Trust for London

ity Association > Anxiety Care > Anyadwe Children and Family Welfare Association > Arab Community Education Centre > Arab Cultural Community > Arab Group in Hounslow > Arise Education Project > Asian Womens Aid Zone > Association for Sierra

trice Project > Apex Charitable Trust Limited > Arab Womens Group > Architecture Foundation > Archway Project > Arthritis Care > Arts World Wide > Artsline > ARVAC > Asian Dub Foundation Education > Asian ParentsAssociation for Special Educational

Refugees > Association for Women facing Childbirth in Detention > Association of Angolan Bakongo Refugees UK > Association of Blind Asians > Association of Chinese Women > Association of Haringey Muslim Community > Association of Sierra Leonean

Asian Womens Advisory Service > Association for All Speech Impaired Children > Association for Research in the Voluntary and Community Sector > Aston Mansfield Settlement > Asylum Aid > Attlee Foundation > Autism London > Axe Street Project > Back to

s > Association of Wakirke Comm.of Great Britain and Ireland > Balagan Theatre Company Limited > Bangladesh Womens Association > Bangladesh Youth Forum (Newham) > Bangladeshi Association (Haringey) > Bangladeshi Mothers Support Group >

Bail for Immigration Detainees > Bangladesh Centre > Bangladesh Womens Association in Haringey > Bankside Open Spaces Trust > Barbara Melunsky Fund The Westminster Roman Catholic Diocese Trust > Barking and Dagenham Citizens Advice Bureau >

eshi Womens Society > Barking and Dagenham Vietnamese and Chinese Assoc. > Barnet Blind and Partially Sighted Bowls Club > Barnet Borough Senior Citizens Forum > Barnet Community Counselling > Bayswater & Little Venice Bengali Association > BBC

and Dagenham Crossroads Care Attendant Scheme > Barking and Dagenham DIAL(Disablement Information Advice Line ) > Barnardos > Barnet Citizens Advice Bureau Barnet Law Service > Barnet Mencap > Barnet Voluntary Service Council > Basement Projec

ity Centre > BBC Tenants and Residents > Beckton Islamic Association > Beis Chana Jewish Womens Centre > Bellingham Festival Foundation > Bengal Youth Group > Bengali Community Education Centre > Bengali Education Centre > Bermondsey and Rotherhi

onal > Bengali Workers Association > Bexley and Bromley Citizen Advocacy > Bexley Association of Disabled People > Bexley Mencap > Bexley Moorings Project > Bexley Voluntary Service Council > Bexley Womens Aid > Big Issue Foundation > Bishop Creighton

ity Association > Action Disability Kensington and Chelsea > Action for Kids Charitable Trust > Action Group for Irish Youth > Acton Homeless Concern > Addaction > Adult Dyslexia Organisation > Adun Society > Advisory Centre for Education > Advocacy for

African Caribbean Re-Union > African Caribbean Senior Citizen Organisation > African Caribbean Support Group > African Child Welfare Association > African Families Support Service > African Foundation for Development > African Francophone Community

ople in Greenwich > Advocacy Partners in Sutton > Africa Educational Trust > African Caribbean Family Mediation Service > African Foundation for Development > African Peoples Link > African Womens Support Groups > Afro-Caribbean Housing Association >

ion > African French Speaking Peoples Welfare Association> African Heritage and Welfare Trust > African Welfare Association > African Welfare Organisation > African Womens Forum > African Womens Welfare Association > African Youth Education and

cern > Age Concern Acton > Age Concern Croydon > Age Concern Ealing Borough > Age Concern Enfield > Age Concern Greater London > Age Concern Havering > Age Concern Hillingdon > Age Concern Islington > Age Concern London > Age Concern

Development Organisation > African Youth Organisation > African Youth Trust > Africans and Descendants Counselling Service in Barnet > Al-Huda Arabic School Association > Al-Zahra Womens Centre > Alborz School of Persian Language > Algerian Refugee

> Age Concern Richmond Upon Thames > Age Concern Sutton Borough > Age Concern Tower Hamlets > Age Concern Waltham Forest > Age Concern Wandsworth > Agroforep > Aide Toute Dtresse Fourth World (UK) > Aids Care Education and Training >

> Amhara Refugee Community > Amman Elderly Asians Group> An-Noor Arabic Association > Anand Mandal Asian Elderly Group > Anatolian Cultural Centre > Andover Youth and Community Trust> Angolan Advice and Information Centre > Angolan


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Quinqu enn ium 1997-2001

ersea Neighbourhood Aid Centre > Bede House Association > Bedford Institute Association HomeStore Project > Bell Farm Christian Centre Ltd > Bell Farm Church > Bellingham Community Recreation Project > Bellingham Project (BECORP) > Bengali

tal Health Support Group > Better Life for Women and Families > Bexley Association of Turkish Speakers > Bexley Gujarati Samaj > Bexley Refugee and Asylum Seekers Support > Bexley Snap > Bijoy Youth Group > Black Ethnic Cultural and Welfare

Small Jobs Scheme > Black Employment Initiative > Black Londoners Forum > Blackfrairs Advice Centre > Blackfriars Settlement > Blackliners > Blind in Business > Bonny Downs Community Association > Borderline > Boundary Community School > Bourne

Chairmans foreword page 4

Guidelines 1997-2001 page 6

Lon don the mo saic city page 8

Tony Travers, Director, Greater London Group at the

London School of Economics, looks at influences on the

voluntary sector

Responding to change programmes, page 10

initiatives and fundin g

- more than just funding- governance home and away

- refugee communities and funding plus

- Resource Unit for Supplementary and

Mother-tongue Schools

- tackling exclusion from school

- Count Us In the Disability Programme

Changing times changing structures page 22

Sean Baine, Chair of the London Civic Forum, describes

how the voluntary sector has developed and responded

to new app roaches

Getting messages across page 24

How City Parochial Foundation and Trust for

London are passing on lessons learned from funding

programmes and initiatives

Trustees and staff page 28

Facts and figures where the money went page 32

Loo king forward the n ex t five years page 38

Christina Schwabenland, Director of London VoluntaryService Council, looks at the issues that will influence

voluntary bodies over the next Quinquennium

Loo king ahe ad Guidelines for 2002-2006 page 41

Developing themes The Foundation started page 44

its five year review process in 1935: a look back

shows a remarkable consistency in approach over time

Providing the services page 48

What organisations have to say about City Parochial

Foundation and Trust for London

Contents


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oys Brigade Housing Association > Brandon Centre > Breakthrough Trust > Brent Adolescent Centre > Brent Advocacy Concerns > Brent Asian Womens Refuge > Brent Association for Voluntary Action > Brent Community Law Centre > Brent Community Transport >

deration of Young Choirs > Broadcasting Support Services > Brokerage CityLink > Bromley Baptist Church Lifelink > Bromley by Bow Centre > Bromley CitizensAdvice Bureaux > Bromley Mencap > Bromley Racial Equality Council > Bromley Refugee Network >

tion > Black Womens Rape Action Project > Bluebird Wheelchair Basketball Club > Bold Balladiers Trust > Bosnia Herzegovina Club Brent > Bread and Roses > Brent Iranian Community > Brent Retired Brahmin Association > Brent Visually Handicapped Group > B


4

ach year City Parochial Foundation

submits its Trustees Annual Report andFinancial Statements to the Charity

Commission, and publishes a Grants Review

that details the recipients of its support over

the previous twelve months. The Trustees

planning and grant-making, however, is set

within a broader strategy which is reviewed

every five years and Capital Communities is

a report on their achievements over the

Quinquennium 1997 to 2001.

The activities of the Foundation, which dates

back to 1883, are rooted in three important

end owments. The largest, the Central Fund,

came from legacies for the benefit of the

poor living in the City of London; with

assets approaching 104 million, its income

is now available for the benefit of poor

people throughout Greater London (the

Metropolitan Police District plus the City).

The smallest endowment, Trust for London,

was given by the Government in 1986

following the abolition of the GreaterLondon Council to provide support for small

community groups throughout London; its

original endowment of 10 million was

recently valued at 17 million.

The Foundations third endowment is the

City Church Fund, whose assets come from

ecclesiastical charities in the City of London

and are currently worth 78 million; its

income is passed directly to the Church of

England throughout Greater London as

determined by the Church Commissioners,

the largest recipients being the Dioceses of

London, Southwark and Chelmsford. In

nurturing these three end owments, which

grew from 166 million in real terms at the

end of 1996 to some 200 million five years

later (an increase of 20%), the trustees

benefit from professional legal, property and

investment advice, for which they are

immensely grateful.

The income of the Foundation varies withthe performance of its investments which

are spread between properties both in and

beyond London, equities and gilt edgedsecurities. In recen t years, the Foundation

has benefited particularly from the strength

of the property markets in which it is

invested.

However, this good performance has been

offset somewhat by the weakness of equity

markets over the last two years, by falling

interest rates and by the withdrawal of

Advance Corporation Tax relief. The

Foundations income has also been

adversely affected by the Trustees decision

to rebalance their assets over time towards

equities, and by a revision of its pension

arrangements. Over the Quinquennium, the

annual income of the Foundation has

tended to fall slightly in real terms.

However, the Trustees believe that this trend

can now be reversed following a Charity

Commission Order which will allow

expenditure in future to be based upon the

total return to the charitys assets. The firstyear of this new regime will be 2003.

Between 1997 and 2001 the Church of

England in Greater London received 15

million from the City Church Fund. Over

the same period, the Foundation was able to

give 28 million from its Central Fund and

Trust for London to secu lar charities. Grants

were made to 1,647 organisations helping

Londons poor.

Capital Communities is an account of both

the Trustees response to requests for

assistance and the various initiatives which

they took to support places and

circumstances where the needs of the poor

would otherwise have remained neglected.

Thus, the Foundations concerns about

social exclusion and community isolation, its

commitment to refugee education, and its

desire to help young people in poverty have

all involved both reacting to grant

applications and the Trustees ownprogramme s of supp ort. Sometimes this

Chairmans forewordE

Professor

Gerald Manners


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rish Advisory Service > Brent Mencap > Brent Society for the Mentally Handicapped > Brent Volunteer Bureau > Brentford & Chiswick Victim Support Scheme > Bridge Project Trust > British Bangladesh Welfare Association > British Council of Disabled People >

User Group > Bromley Voluntary Sector Trust > Brookhowse Community Centre > Brunswick Club Trust > Burghley Road Under Fives Community Centre > Cairde Na Ngael > Caldecott Foundation > Camberwell Choir School > Cambridge House and Talbot

ure Association > Bromley by Bow Bangladeshi Forum > Bromley Community Bereavement Service > Bromley Forum of Older People > Bromley Gypsy/Traveller Community Project > Bromley Somali Community Association > Brune Bernard and Carter Tenants


5

proactive work has been as the sole funder;

more often it has been in alliance with

others.

The process of grant-making calls for

compassion, knowledge, discussion,

intuition, judgement and, at times, courage.

In consequence, the Trustees value

enormously the expertise and advice of the

Foundations staff, whose insights into

Londons voluntary sector, and the

challenges it faces, powerfully inform their

decisions.

Our long-established practice of visiting all

grant applicants that are likely to be

successful is a major source of the staffsinsights, and the Foundation has been

happy to share its understanding with

others, including the Government. The

Trustees are also grateful for the advice of

those co-opted onto their committees, and

the numerous consultants who have helped

the Foundation over the years.

Above all, how ever, Trustees are grateful for

the leadership and imagination of the two

Clerks who served the Foundation between

1997 and 2001. Tim Cook completed 12

years of distinguished service to the

Foundation in 1998 and was succeeded by

Bharat Mehta, who has already begun to

leave his distinctive stamp upon our affairs.

Their contribution to the Foundations

achievemen ts cannot be overstated. With

such supp ort, the Trustees ultimate

responsibility for the proper use of the

Foundations resources is less burdensome.

The Quinquennium saw many changes inthe Foundations social and political

environmen t. We therefore invited three

people who are particularly knowledgeable

about Londons voluntary sector to

contribute to this review. We are very

grateful to Tony Travers for interpreting the

shifting influences, political and otherwise,

that have affected Londons voluntary sector

in the last five years. Sean Baine, with his

unique insights into this rapidly changing

scene, kindly agreed to examine how the

voluntary sector has responded to thesechanges. And we were delighted when

Christina Schwabenland accepted our

invitation to speculate on the challenges

facing grant givers such as the Foundation

in the foreseeable future.

Partly in response to the spirit of the times

but mainly for reasons of efficiency, the

Trustees have made significant changes to

the governance and management of the

Foundation since 1997. I pay tribute to my

fellow Trustees for their support, expertise

and energy in these challenging matters,

particularly to my Vice Chairman, Ms Maggie

Baxter, and the Chairmen of our various

Committees through which much of the

Foundations detailed work is conducted.

Over the Quinquennium Trustees h ave

agreed to consolidate the Central and City

Church Funds into a Combined Fund for

investment purposes, to facilitate the process

of asset diversification; explored the

implications and determined a route to the

implementation of a total return approach to

investment and distribution; undertaken a

root and branch review of the Foundations

governance; and, subject to the approval of

the Charity Commission, decided to become

a charitable company limited by guarantee.

With these and other changes the

Foundation and the Trust look forward with

confidence to the next five years. Our

current plans are summarised in the later

pages of this report. As Capital

Communities shows, City Parochial

Foundation and Trust for London are

determined to maintain their reputations as

innovative and imaginative funders for the

benefit of the poor of London.

Profes so r Gerald Mann ers

(As in previous years, a Grants review for

2001 listing all the grants made during the

year has been published in addition to this

Quin quen nial review. Copies are availableon request.)


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Triangle Forum > Camden Black Parents and Teachers Association> Camden CAB > Camden Citizens Advice Bureau Service > Camden Community Law Centre > Camden Jobtrain > Camden Mental Health Consortium > Camden Womens Aid > Cannonbury Co

nts Association > Burundian Refugee Relief Organisation > Busoga Association (UK) > Camden Community Counselling > Cameroon Community Welfare Development Association > Care Alliance > Care for Carers in Hackney and City > Caribb Youth and Communi

n Pensioners and Friends > Carila Latin American Welfare Group > Catholic Housing Aid Society (CHAS) Lewisham > Caxton Trust > CCP Housing Ltd > Cedar Centre > Central London Dial-a-Ride > Central London Law Centre > Centre for Armenian Information


Setting out the prioritiesor almost 70 years, trustees

of City Paroch ial Foun dation

(and sim ilarly, since its

establishm en t in 1986, Trust for

Lon don ) have taken time every

five years to review past

activities and plan for the next

Quinquennium to ensure that

they are m eeting the n eeds for

wh ich they w ere established.

(Details o f previous priorities

and how they have changed aregiven in an article on pages

44-47). In recent years this has

also involved consultation with

voluntary groups and partners.

From this work, guidelines are

drawn up for grant applicants,

highlighting the main areas of

concern and activities which

trustees intend to fund. These arethen distributed widely to h elp

ensure that as many peo ple and

groups as possible are aware of

funds that may be available.

The main priorities es tablished

for the 1997-2001 Quinquen nium

are listed here.

cpfCITY PAROCHIALFOUNDATION

1997

2001

F

the provision of advice, information and assistance

with individual advocacy;

local initiatives to combat racial harassment or

crime;

support for education and training initiatives and

schemes.

Indirect and strategic work to alleviatepovertyThe Trustees also appreciate the importance of back-

up and development work for the voluntary sector

and will be prepared to consider applications to assist

work in the following areas:

Infrastructure support for the voluntary sector

Experience has repeatedly shown that in individual

boroughs and across London there is a need for

infrastructure support for voluntary organisations, and

that service providers need to have the best advice,

information and training to develop high quality

services for the poor of London.

Advocacy for po licy change

Work in the voluntary sector can highlight the need

for policy change, and arguments need to be

constructed and presented to the appropriate

authorities for improvements. This is a legitimate part

6

Direct work to alleviate povertyDuring the preparation for the Quinquennium the

Trustees were struck forcibly by the way in which

poverty can lead to social isolation, injustice and

exclusion in all sections of the community and by the

effect of poverty on young people.

In consequence the Foundation has decided to focusa significant part of its resources upon what it regards

as two priority concerns.

These are:

the need to tackle social isolation, injustice and

exclusion as they affect individuals in any section of

the community;

the need to provide help for young people (aged

10-25 years) exp eriencing p overty.

The particular way in which these two concerns will

be addressed is through grants for direct workinvolving:


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TrustforLondon

Baptist Church > Capital Housing > Cara Irish Housing Association > Cardinal Hume Centre > Carer to Carer > Carers in Ealing > Carers Lewisham > Carers National Association London Office > Carers Support Harrow > Carers Support Merton >

iation Caribb Club > Caribbean Cultural Organisation > Caribbean Indian Social and Cultural Association > Castle Community Association > Centre 4M > Centrepeace > Charity Section Balham Drop in Centre > Chelsea Asian Womens Group > Children and

vice > Centrepoint Soho > Centreprise Trust Ltd > Change > Changemakers> Charities Evalution Services > Chaverim Youth Organisation > Chelsea Social Council > Chicken Shed Theatre Company > Child and Sound > Child Care Association of Barking &


200119971997

Applications will be considered from small

groups in any London borough as follows:

any self-help group but particularly

womens groups and young and elderlypeoples groups;

supplementary and mother-tongue

schools;

organisations working with people with

disabilities;

refugee and migrant groups.

In addition any small charitable group can apply for

a start-up grant of no more than 500;

any small charitable group can apply for

a grant of up to 1,500 for training costs.

Continuation grantsThe trustees will consider applications

from some of the organisations previously

grant-aided for revenue costs by the Trust.

Further grants will not be given

automatically, but Field Officers will

discuss with organisations what they

require to continue effective work.

The Trust targets small locally based

community organisations with charitable

purposes, which are independent of larger

bodies. Small is defined as being entirely

volunteer or membership-based, or with nomore than the equivalent of two full-time

paid staff.

The Trust particularly welcomes proposals

from womens groups, black and minority

ethnic womens groups, and black and

minority ethnic organisations.

The Trust seeks:

to have an initiating and pro-active role,

rather than to wait for applications;

to ensure that its grants have adistinctive and particular impact;

to be accessible to small groups.

Funding prioritiesThe Trust will not make grants above

10,000 a year for capital costs or revenue

costs. Revenue cost may be given over a

two or three year period though normally

with a reducing level of grant.

of charitable activity, provided it falls

within the Charity Commissioners

published Guidelines on Campaigning by

Charities. Within these the Trustees will

consider applications which aim to bring

about changes in policy or service

provision for the benefit of the poor of

London. Such proposals must clearly arise

from the applicants current work.

Collaborative respon ses

The Trustees wish to encourage applications from

organisations working together, within one borough

or across several boroughs, to meet the needs of the

poor.

Continuation grants, small grants andunexpected needsIn addition the Foundation will consider applications,

which are for:

Continuation grants

It is recognised that some work does not easily attract

new funding and a continuation grant for work

previously funded by the Foundation may be

appropriate for a limited period.

Small grantsAny organisation working directly to benefit

the poor of London, [with exclusions] may

apply for a one-off grant of 10,000

Unexpected needs

The Trustees are always ready to consider

proposals to address new or emerging needs.

DisseminationIn certain cases the Foundation will consider with the

beneficiary how best to disseminate the experience or

the lessons learned from the work it has fundedwhether through local workshops, individual reports,

seminars or a publication.

Foundations initiativesDuring the Quinquennium, the Foundation will

continue to take its own initiatives. These are likely to

include:

special funding programmes for which applications

will be invited;

local area based work;

alliances with other funders to deal with certaincomplex issues.

7


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m > Childline > Childrens Centre > Childrens Discovery Centre East London > Childrens Express > Childrens Music Workshop > Chile Democratico > Chinese Association of Tower Hamlets > Chinese Mental Health Association > Chizuk > Choice > Christchurch

imited > Civil Liberties Trust > Clean Break Theatre Company, Camden > Clerkenwell and Islington Medical Mission > Co op Pepys Community Arts Project > Colville Nursery Centre > Comeback > Common Purpose Your Turn, London > Community Accountancy

dvisory Group > Chinese Church in London Croydon Chinese School > Chiswick Mental Health Association > Chochmas Noshim PensionersClub > Christ Gospel Ministry Future Generation Youth Club > Clapton Common Day Centre > Colombian Refugee Ass

ive years is a short time in the 2000-

year history of London. But there can

be no doubt that this particular five-year

period has seen radical changes in the

capital. Labou r was elected into

government; a directly-elected mayor took

office; an array of modernising social

policies were introduced and, all the while,

the capital matured into one of the worlds

most complex and extraordinary cities.

The arrival of a new Labour government

inevitably meant people expected big

changes after 18 years of the Conservatives.

But, in fact, although there have been many

initiatives. These approaches to policy

make it possible to understand much about

the governments motives.

Tony Blair and Chancellor Gordon Brown

want to lift people out of poverty rather

than marginally raising the incomes of the

poor. Tax credits are preferred to extra

social security payments. Narrowly-targeted

programmes of public spending are aimed

at particular neighbourhoods, rather thanwho le local authorities. London is awash

with zones, special initiatives and one-off

funding streams. Simple it isnt, while the

long-term effects will take some years to

assess.

One aspect of new Labours modernisation

and, indeed, of devolution was the

creation of the Greater London Authority,

consisting of a city-wide mayor and

assembly. Ken Livingston e, leader of the

Greater London Council from 1981 to 1986,

became Londons first-ever directly-elected

mayor. This reform brought an element of

American politics into the heart of the

capital. As an elected execu tive for the

whole city, the mayor inevitably has to

govern in such a way as to take account of

the rainbow of races, religions and lifestyles

that make up London .

In the five years since 1997, the capital has

had to absorb many pressures andunexpected changes. The population of

London has continued to rise sharply.

International immigration into the capital has

occurred at an unprecedented level.

Recent research commissioned by the mayor

suggests that the population is now 7.4

million, (not its largest ever population,

which was 8 million in 1939) and will rise to

over 8 million by 2015. Immigration has

included asylum seekers, young citizens

from within Europe and the Commonwealth,

and rich bankers from the United States.

Tony Travers, Director, Greater London group at

the London School of Economics, looks at influences

on the voluntary sector

London

the mosaiccitynew initiatives affecting public policy,

changes within society probably mattered

more.

The Blair government at first adopted an

approach designed to hold public

expenditure at the levels set by the previousadministration. Soon it became clear that

modernisation of local government, the

NHS and virtually everything else was the

key priority. In fact, after five years it is

clear that the desire to modernise public

services derives from a suspicion within new

Labour that existing public services are not

always efficient and effective.

Londons deprived communities, in common

with those elsewhere in the country, have

found themselves the object of abewildering array of government-backed

F


8


11/53

Club > Church Action on Disability > Churches Community Care > Churches Together in Clapham Together in Notre Dame> Citizen Advocacy Information and Training > City and Hackney Alcohol Service > City and Hackney Mind > City Life > City of London

p (CASH) > Community Development Foundation Self Advocacy Team> Community Housing and Therapy > Community Housing Association Limited > Community Language Centre > Community of Refugees from Vietnam - East London > Community

> Community Care Protection Group > Community Care Trust Waltham Forest > Community of Congolese Refugees in Great Britain > Community of Malian Refugees in the UK > Community of Rwandese Refugees in UK > Community of Tigrayan Refugees

London is now a diverse, multi-lingual

metropolis of epic proportions.

But not everyone believes London should

develop in this way. During 1999, a

bomber attacked targets in Brixton, Brick

Lane and Soho. His targets were the

African-Caribbean, Asian and gay

commu nities. His motives as it turned out

at a later court case were explicitly

derived from extremist, National Socialist,

objectives. This random and brutal

incursion into Londons apparently peaceful

community relations was a reminder that

there is a fragility to the capitals unique

culture.

Policing London the Met were highly

effective over the capture of the bomber

has also become a matter of continuous

political and commu nity concern. Tragic

failings in the handling of the Stephen

Lawrence case led to major criticisms of

police practices and manageme nt. The

current senior officers of the Metropolitan

Police (which is now subject to greater

accountability than in the past) clearly

understand the problems of policing a

racially-diverse city in a way that has altered

radically since the murder of Stephen

Lawrence.

Voluntary organisations have, as in earlier

years, been vital in providing help to many

individuals and communities that official

organisations cannot reach. London has one

of the most wide-reaching and creative

non-governmental sectors in the world. City

Parochial Foundation, as a consistent

supporter of organisations for thedispossessed, has played a key part in

underpinning Londons social and economic

development.

Five years is not long for London. But for

those of us who live here, particularly ones

who have arrived from strife-torn countries

overseas, even a few months can seem a

lifetime. Freed oms to work, to relax and

to live peacefully may be mundane, but

they are also precious. London offers the

bright lights and big city attractions thatbring the amb itious to live here . But the

February 1997Labour Party publishes report on voluntary

sector Building the Future Together.

May 1997Labour government is elected.

August 1997Home Secretary Jack Straw announces a full

independent judicial inquiry into the handling

by the police and Crown Prosecution Service

of the murder of Stephen Lawrence in April

1993, to be headed by the former High Court

judge Sir William Macpherson.

March 1998Lawrence public inquiry opens at the Elephant

& Castle.

Tim Cook retires after 12 years as Clerk. He

is succeeded by Bharat Mehta.

More than 300 people most of them from

organisations funded by Trust for London

attend an event at the Guildhall to launch

Trusting in the Community, a report published

to mark the Trusts 10th anniversary.

October 1998CPF report Financial Monitoring of Voluntary

Organisationslooking at 59 organisations of

various sizes is published.

November 1998Lawrence Inquiry ends after 69 days of

hearings.

A compact between the voluntary sector and

the government is agreed, setting out a set of

shared principles, paving the way for codes of

practice on issues such as funding,

community groups and volunteering.

Quinqu ennium 1997-2001

9

city also provides a haven for those fleeing

persecution and poverty.

The period from 1997 to 2002 has seen

London mature into perhaps the ultimate

muddled, creative mosaic city. Whatever it

is, its people made it thus.


12/53

ork on the 1997-2001 quinquennium

began in 1996 when the Trustees and

staff held a series of meetings to consider

and shape grant funding for the coming five

years. This was backed by interviews by

two former members of staff Alison Harker

and Maknun Gamaledin Ashami with 75

people from very poor areas of London to

discover their most pressing concerns. From

this work, the priorities were set.

Setting the guidelinesTrustees were very aware of the way

poverty can lead to social isolation, injustice

and exploitation in all sections of the

community and the effect of policy on

young peop le. As a result, City Parochial

Foundation decided to focus a significant

part of its resources on two priorityconcerns:

the need to tackle social isolation,injustice and exclusion as they affect

individuals; and

the need to provide help for youngpeople (aged 10-25 years) experiencing

poverty.

Grants would be made for direct work

involving provision of advice, information

and assistance with individual advocacy,

local initiatives to combat racial harassment

or crime, and support for education and

training initiatives and scheme s.

Back-up and development work for the

voluntary sector was also considered

important and Trustees agreed to look at

applications for infrastructure support in

individual boroughs as well as across

London, advocacy for policy change,and collaborative work wher e

Responding

to change

organisations work together.

The Trustees also agreed to continue to take

initiatives in addition to grant-making for

programme funding, local area work and

alliances.

Program me fu nd ing aiming to make

significant funds available for new work in

areas of particular concern to Trustees. For

the 1997-2001 Quinquennium these were

social isolation, young people and disability.

Local areas workto achieve geographically

-focussed initiatives through a coherent and

co-ordinated ap proach.

Alliances working with other funders

where the size and complexity of some

issues means that Foundation funding alone

can only make a limited impact.

Trust for London guidelines for the

Quinquennium reflected the Trusts own

distinctive grant-making practices an d

procedures, focussing on small, locally-

based community groups with the

equivalent of no more than two full-time

members of staff. Emph asis was placed on

grants for start-up costs, training, self-help

groups concentrating on young people (16-

25) and elderly people, supplementary and

mother-tongue schools, refugee and migrant

groups and disability groups.

Within this, Trustees also highlighted two

areas:

By kind permission ofGuardianSociety and

Harry Venning

> Complementary Cancer Care Trust > Congolese Community Welfare Association > Congolese (Zairean) Womens Association > Corali Dance Company > Cowley Community Initiatives and Development Group > Craig Park Business and Training Centre > Cranfor

tions Forum Tower Hamlets > Community Reaching Out > Community Self Build Agency > Community Service Volunteers > Concorde Centre for Young People > Consortium of Bengali Associations > Contact a Family > Contact the Elderly > Copleston Centre > Cor

Croydon Association for the Young Single Homeless > Croydon Churches Housing Association > Croydon Citizens Advice Bureaux > Croydon Contacts > Croydon Council on Ageing Age Concern > Croydon Housing Aid Society > Croydon Mencap > Croydon Res


10

W


13/53

More than just fundingThe past five years and the 1990s in general - have seen

significant changes in the operating environment for voluntary and

charitable organisations. As a result the sectors have had to adapt.

It has required new approaches to funding and organisation, and

new approaches which can respond rapidly to needs as they

change.

During this time CPF and TfL have realised that organisations do not

simply need money. In many cases, particularly small organisations

which often have at most one or two members of staff do not

have internal resources for such things as training. And often

activities that would be normally carried out by specialist staff, such

as finance and accounting, are just among a host of tasks which

have to be undertaken.

It is why CPF and TfL have adopted an approach best described as

more than just funding or funding plus. As this review shows,

approaches such as the Small Groups Worker scheme and

Financial Monitoring are two projects which have proved highly

valuable to the small organisations which have taken part.

Neighbours Scheme > Croham Hurst Good Neighbours > Crossroads Christian Counselling Service > Croydon Childminding Association > Croydon Hard of Hearing Project > Croydon Hearing Resource Centre > Crystal Vision Trust > Crystal Vision Trust >

Council for Education in World Citizenship > Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Organisations > Cranstoun Drug Services > Creative and Supportive Trust Limited > Cricklewood Homeless Concern > Crime Concern > Crimestoppers Trust > Crossroads Care

entre Support Services > Croydon Voluntary Action > Croydon Volunteer Bureau > Croydon Youth Development Trust > Croydon Youth Information and Counselling Service > Cultural Co-operation > Dalston Youth Project > Dame Colett House > Davish Enterprise

funds were committed for an initial three-year period to back the establishment of

the Resource Unit for Supplementary and

Mother-tongue Schools;

the difficulties experienced by smallgroups in London were a continuing

concern for the Trust and staff. The

success of the small groups workers

scheme was convincing evidence of the

value of projects to provide general help

to a range of organisations. (This led in

time to the financial fitness and training

projects, and the governance work).

It was agreed that grants would continue to

be made for up to three-year periods, withthe maximum grant remaining at 10,000

per annum.

As well as drawing up these guidelines and

priorities, Trustees also appreciated the

importance of ensuring that the London

voluntary sector knew abou t them. At the

end of 1996, field officers spent three

months talking to a whole range of

organisations collectively and individually

across all London boroughs. In addition

10,000 leaflets each for the Trust and

Foundation were distributed.

One feature of these guidelines is the way

in which many of the approaches adopted

interact with each other. Thus initiatives

often end up as partnerships and alliances

with other organisations and funders, while

alliances complement work in other fields.

And the emphasis on youth matters cuts

across many different strands of grant and

funding programmes.

Funding plusOne important aspect of the Foundation and

the Trust approach has not simply been to

wait for grant applications to arrive, but to

adopt a pro-active approach, and encourage

groups to app ly. And when applications are

made, the practice is always to visit the

groups to understand them better. This can

lead to revised applications because the

visits and discussions have shown that other

needs are more pressing or the group can

benefit more from a different approach.


11


14/53

ment Centre > Dawliffe Hall Education Foundation-Baytree Centre > Day-Mer Turkish and Kurdish Community Solidarity Centre > Daycare Trust > Deaf Education Through Listening and Talking> Deafblind UK > Depaul Trust > Depression Alliance > Deptford Church

Employment Group Employability Forum > Divert, Westminter > Divorce Conciliation and Advisory Service > Downside Settlement > Drummond Housing Care & Support > Dulwich Helpline > Dulwich Volunteers Bureau Trust > Ealing Mencap > Ealing Music Thera

m Baptist Church > Delta Unique Sisters > Detainee Support and Help Unit > Disability Information and Advice Training > Drive Youth Club > Ealing No. 1 Old Age Pensioners Club > Ealing Refugee Forum > Ealing Somali Welfare and Cultural Association> East Afri

12

A similar approach this time in association

with other funders including the Joseph

Rowntree Foundation, and regulatory and

umbrella bodies has been adopted to help

emerging organisations develop their

governance skills through training and

consultancy. The pilot project involves 20

small groups which volunteered to take part

and is due to be completed in 2002.

Working with othersThere is increasing co-operation between

funders both in adopting more standardised

approaches to advice and guidance on best

practice, and in developing similar

approaches to such things as applications,

monitoring and procedures. These can helpimprove understanding both by the groups

which provide services of how they

approach grant applications, and by funders

of the needs and difficulties faced by the

groups.

It has developed towards strategic

It has shown that many groups do not

always have the resources or do not pay

enough attention to administrative and other

necessary functions. Many do not have

access to the training and personal

development resources that are available to

larger organ isations.

These issues have come up time after time,

and have encouraged the Foundation to

develop approaches to help a number of

groups at the same time.

It started with the Small Groups Worker

scheme in the previous Quinquennium.

The project concluded in 1997, and featured

as the first of several special reports on thework of the Trust and the Foundation.

Voluntary groups helping them develop

confirmed that small groups do not just

need money but can benefit substantially

from hands-on supp ort. It repo rted that, in

all, 774 small groups gained advice on

constitutions, legal issues, fund-raising,

finance and a range of other issues.

The scheme involved 1,037 individual

members of these groups, and the nine

organisations (mainly councils of voluntary

services) who were funded by Trust for

London helped groups raise more than

800,000 during the three-and-a-half years of

the project.

CPF and TfL have become aware that many

groups face particular difficulty with

financial control and this led to a similar

cross-group p roject. In 1996 the Trustees

decided to carry out a thorough evaluation

of this area of concern and the reportpublished in 1998 confirmed the

difficulties.

As a result a pilot training project was set up

in 1999, and later the following year, a

follow-up report showed just how much

could be achieved by training and how

important such training is in the early stages

of a groups life. Finan cial fitness revealed

that of 15 organisations that took part, post-

training assessments had shown that 11 had

improved their scores, seven of themsignificantly.

Governance has become a big issue both for

commercial and non-commercial organisations over

the past decade, resulting from concerns about

probity and the need to ensure greater openness and

accountability. Central and local government and

Parliament now have well-defined procedures

operating following the Nolan inquiry and the

subsequent establishment of the Committee on

Standards in Public Life.

In the commercial world, the Greenbury and Cadbury

committee reports played a significant part in

encouraging companies to look at their arrangements

and to improve their practices.

Housing associations held an inquiry under Sir David

Hancock and they too have revised their structures

and procedures to take into account best practice to

ensure good governance. The National Council of

Voluntary Organisations also took action, adapting

the seven Nolan principles into a code of conduct for

charity trustees which was endorsed by the CharityCommission.

Governance

home and away



15/53

Club > Deptford Youth Forum > Detention Advice Service > Disability Action Westminster > Disability Advice Service Lambeth > Disability Foundation > Disability Law Service > Disablement Association of Barking & Dagenham (Steering Group) > Displaced

ct > Ealing Neighbour Mediation Service > Ealing Voluntary Service Council > Earls Court Homeless Families Project > Earls Court YMCA > East Chelsea Community Contact > East London Advanced Technology Training> East London Black Womens

men Community Organisation > East African Youth Group > Eastsiders > Edo State Womens Association > Education and Training School > Enfield Asian Welfare Association> Enfield Bangladesh Welfare Association > Enfield Caribbean Association > Enfield


13

City Parochial Foundation and Trust for London have

over the years had a long-standing interest in how

small voluntary organisations are run and managed,

and set up the Small Groups Worker scheme andFinancial Training Project to assist them in operating

more efficiently. But what has been apparent over

the years is that because of the pressures on them,

many small groups tend to focus on their short-term

tasks often to the detriment of the longer term

governance is often seen as a luxury.

It was this that led to the establishment of the

Governance Project developed in conjunction with

other funders and supported by the Joseph Rowntree

Foundation. The report and recommendations are

due to be published later in 2002. What has alreadyemerged is that what is needed is appropriate

governance based on the differing needs of

organisations, relative to their size and stage of

development. In some cases it means that funders

should not neglect core funding and should even

consider grants for strengthening governance.

But the Trustees recognise that the need to ensure

robust, effective and accountable governance is as

vital for funders such as City Parochial Foundation

and Trust for London as it is for the organisations

which actually deliver services. It was this thatprompted the Foundation and the Trust to undertake

a review of their existing arrangements. It has led to

some major changes in the governance of both

organisations.

The main changes are:

consolidation of the two funds, Central and City

Church to facilitate asset diversification;

new property and equity managers who advise

Trustees;

a total return approach to investment and

distribution;

adoption of Nolan principles for the conduct and

actions of Trustees;

full declarations of interest by trustees;

detailed terms of reference for all the committees;

limitations to the length of service of Trustees and

committee chairmen;

skills audits for Trustees;

proposed change in status to a charitable company

limited by guarantee; and

changes in nomination arrangements to allow the

Greater London Assembly and Association of

London Government to put forward nominees.

Carrying out and implementing such a review has

given Trustees a significant insight into the issues

facing all types of organisations, such as those that

have arisen in the Governance inquiry, and the

implications they have for change.

The Guardians

Society pages

carried an article

on the financial

fitness work,

accompanied bythis cartoon by

Robert

Thompson.


16/53

partnerships with agencies. City Parochial

Foundation and Trust for London have taken

this further in the last five years, through the

development of Alliance Funding where

several funders work together to provide

longer term finance which can hopefully

lead to better outcomes for beneficiaries. So

far, three such alliances have developed on

education issues involving refugees, tackling

school exclusion and mother-tongue

teaching and supplementary schools.

The latter provides a good example of how

strategic approaches can mushroom. It

started with research by Trust for London

which revealed that many such schools

needed skills to handle funds and set up

and run effective classes it was not just

about money.

This led to the establishment of the

Resource Unit for Supplementary and

Mother-tongue Schools , which has now

been established as an independent charity

under the leadership of its founder Director

Mohammed Abdelrazak.

The Unit provides information, runs

workshops and seminars for teachers and

managers of schools and provides a network

to link up both individual schools

themselves and the sector with mainstream

education.

The success of the Unit is such that mother-tongue and supplementary schools are now

being recognised by other major funders

including the New Opportunities Fund.

Further details about the Resource Unit are

given in the panel (See page 16).

Another example of Alliance Funding relates

to the problem of permanent exclusion from

school of an increasing number of pupils

and in particular the disproportionate

number of black Caribbean boys (See panel

page 19). The Foundations education

adviser Robin Hazlewood undertook a

ion > East London Partnership > Eastwards Trust > Eating Disorders Association > Educational Development and Recreational Association > Elfrida Rathbone Committee (West London Branch) > Elizabeth House Association > Employability > Energy Conservation

Ethiopian Advice and Support Centre > Ethiopian Welfare Action > Ethnic Alcohol Counselling in Hounslow > Ethnic Minority Advocacy Group > Evelyn Oldfield Unit > Exploring Parenthood > Fairbridge > Family Information Group > Family Rights Group > Family S

ead> Eritrean and Ethiopian Advice and Information Centre > Eritrean Islamic Society in UK > Ethio Youth England > Ethiopian Advice and Support Centre in Hammersmith and Fulham > Ethiopian Refugee Forum > Ethiopian Welfare Action Group > Euphrates Educ

14

Over many years, CPF and TfL have been concerned with

the needs of refugee communities, as they fit so closelywith the primary aim of meeting the needs of the poor of

London. In the previous Quinquennium, the Foundation

set up the Evelyn Oldfield Unit to support refugee

community groups.

Work over the past five years in this area provides a

further example of how the Foundations and Trusts

various funding strands complement one another and

contribute to the concept of funding plus which looks at

all aspects of the work and not simply that of distributing

grants.

Take alliance funding. The needs of young refugees who

face many difficulties in starting or continuing their

education encouraged the Foundation to set up the

Refugee Education Unit, run by Praxis, in partnership

with other funders including the Tudor Trust and the Henry

Smith Charity. Since the Unit started its work, more than

850 clients from 58 countries the vast majority asylum

seekers under the age of 35 have been interviewed and

guided into further training.

This has been complemented by the Foundations

Refugee Education Awards scheme, which has made

awards to 428 individuals since it started in 1997. TheUnit has now been restructured as the Refugee Education

and Enterprise Unit.

Then there are the initiatives. In 1999 the Foundation

began working with a range of agencies and organisations

to look at the barriers which have prevented professionally

qualified refugees from obtaining appropriate employment.

This led to the establishment of Employability and the

highly successful events aiming to bring together refugees

and potential employers. Such has been the influence of

this work that Employability has become a member of the

National Refugee Integration Forum, which spearheadsthe Governments policy in this field.

The establishment of the Resource Unit for

Supplementary and Mother-tongue Schools is another

aspect of the work relating to refugees. Set up by Trust

for London, the Unit has been the major influence in

raising the profile of the sector. It is now firmly established

and is supported by major funders such as the Community

Fund and its work is recognised and promoted by the

Department for Education and Skills.

Refugee communities and funding plus



17/53

project to investigate the issues.

This led to an alliance with Bridge House

Estates Trust Fund and Equitable Charitable

Trust to see how voluntary organisations

might help to develop innovative solutions.

The London borough of Merton was

selected and three projects set up. These

are working with Jigsaw, Merton Education

Business Partnership and a number of

concerned voluntary organisations.

An important consideration is that the issue

cannot be tackled in isolation from other

social and family matters which is why local

voluntary support will be crucial.

The projects are still in their early days, but

it is already clear how vital the work is

school exclusion continues to increase.

The third example of the Alliance approach

is the Refugee Education Unit established

in 1996 to tackle the many problems young

r Centre > Enfield Law Centre > Enfield Turkish Cypriot Association> Enfield Voluntary Action> English National Opera Baylis Programme > English Stage Company Ltd > Entelechy > Epping Forest Centenary Trust > Equal People (Kensington & Chelsea) >

nits > Family Welfare Association > Feathers Clubs Association-The Fourth Feathers Youth Club> Federation of Black Housing Organisations > Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens > Federation of Independent Advice Centres > Federation of

undation > Europe Roma > Explorers Club > Ezer North West Ltd > Fair and Share > Fair and Share Asian Womens Group > Fairkytes Sight Impaired Pottery Group > Faith in Kids > Family Focus > Farsophone Association in Britain > Faylee Kurds Community


15

A possible new initiative is the Refugee Communities

History Project which is being developed in partnership

with the Museum of London to document the testimonies

of individuals who have come to the London since 1951,

the year of the establishment of the Geneva Convention.The aim is to record the arrival, settlement and

contribution of members of refugee communities.

Another recent approach has been support for

organisations such as AFFORD African Foundation for

Development set up to support the African diaspora

for which London is a global capital. In the case of

AFFORD, the support involves funding for a development

worker to respond to the needs of many disparate,

isolated and fragmented groups. AFFORD also seeks to

develop the enormous potential that exists for mutual

support not just to organisations in London but alsovoluntary and charitable organisations in the countries of

origin.

Other work of the Foundation and Trust also has an

important influence. Financial fitness and the

Governance Project are of particular note. Many refugee

community groups are fledglings, striving to become

established. As the work of the Trust in particular hasshown, it is at this stage that organisations need support in

developing structures and organisation to help provide

them with a solid base from which to move forward.

Many of these approaches involve significant projects. It

goes further than that, though. Grant-funding lists over the

last five years (and before that, too) have shown that the

Foundation and Trust are also deeply committed to

providing direct support to small groups. Significant

numbers of individual grants go to local refugee

organisations which provide services and help which

directly benefits individuals who are experiencing poverty.

The Foundation and the Trust aim to ensure that all

funding is thought through to provide

for all aspects of need, from the

youngest affected to elderly people.

The refugee work amply demonstrates

this, by providing support for the full

spectrum of work, from advocacy and

policy development to direct provision

of services.


18/53

refugees face in starting or continuing their

edu cation. The Unit was set up in

partnership with a consortium of funders

including Tudor Trust and the Henry Smith

Charity.

The Unit has interviewed more than 840

clients, the vast majority aged under 35,

from 58 countries.

Mohammed Abdelrazak, Director of the ResourceUnit for Supplementary and Mother-tongueSchools, chats to DfEE officials at the launch ofthe directory of schools

on and Advice Centres > Federation of London Youth Clubs > Female Prisoners Welfare Project: Hibiscus > Financial Monitoring > Finsbury Park Community Trust > Finsbury Park Homeless Families Project > Finsbury Park Street Drinkers Initiative > Focus TIN > F

nchley Community Network > Finsbury Park Happy Over 60's Club > Fitzrovia Youth in Action > Flanders Club > Focus Club > Forbidden Theatre Company > Fourways Womens Club > Fraternite Evangelique De Pentecote Nzambe Malamu Charity > Friends of Afri

Gateway Technology Centre> Gingerbread > Girls Friendly Society Platform Penge > GLAD > Gloucester Grove Community Centre Association> Gloucester Grove Playscheme Project > Goldsmiths Community Association > Good Enough Mothering > Governan


16

Before 1986, no one at City Parochial Foundation and the

newly established Trust for London knew anything about

supplementary and mother-tongue schools. Laterinvestigation revealed that local education authorities also

had little information and few were providing any support.

But Trust for Londons efforts to reach small organisations

that are isolated or detached from the mainstream

voluntary sector drew applications from several schools.

By 1996, some 60-70 were being funded, and the Trust

decided to convene a conference to discuss their needs,

and appointed consultants to take matters forward. The

eventual outcome was the establishment of the Resource

Unit to enhance the quality of management, establish apool of teachers and train them, and establish links with

mainstream education.

Trust for London agreed to fund the Unit and such has

been the success that further funds have been attracted

from the National Lottery and BBC Children in Need. It has

also attracted support from the Department for Education

and Employment.

The Unit now has 70 core users plus several hundred

schools which have telephoned and written in for advice

it is estimated that there are more than 1,000 in Londonalone. Help has been provided through training courses for

teachers, general advice, and publication of guidelines to

assist those setting up schools with basic ground rules,

standards and a framework. A directory of schools in

London was also produced.

In her assessment of the Units first four years, Elspeth

Kyle commented:

The real challenge is the scale of the potential demand

and the need for additional funding to meet the demand.

The Unit supports schools that sustain the diversity ofcommunities in London and beyond and enable the

children of those communities to achieve their full potential.

There are few more important causes than that.

Attention is now turning to future development, including

whether to increase the size of the Unit, how to develop a

national service, to consider a structure change to amembership body, how to balance policy and direct

services, to strengthen links with mainstream education,

and to develop accreditation for teachers.

Resource Unit for Supplementary and Mother-tongue Schools

For years voluntary sector edu cation

initiatives have struggled on, unrecognised

an d marginalised. We tend to thin k of school

education as something that happens only in

state schools behind closed doors, n ot outside of

school hours in peoples homes, community

centres or youth clubs. The hu ge contribution

made by supplementary/mother-tongue schools

chan ges our understandin g of the whole issue of

holistic developmen t of the child. It is one of the

less visible dimensions of modern education

that has to be recognised and celebrated.

Bro ad cas ter Jon Snow in his For ew or d to

the s chools dir ectory.

It has now been restructured by Praxis

creating a new Refugee Education and

Enterprise Unit which will integrate its work

with Praxis existing activities. The

Foundation continues to support the work

and to back the Education Awards

Scheme which has supported more

than 500 individuals since it started in

1997.


19/53

Taking the initiativeAnother approach by the Foundation and

the Trust has been to concentrate efforts

through special initiatives working with

disadvantaged groups and neglected

communities.

One of these also involves refugees - and

has been developed with the support of a

number of other funders and organisations.

This started in 1998 under the informal title

of Employability to discuss the barriers

facing displaced people in obtaining work.

An important workshop was held under the

theme Hidden (later Undiscovered) Talents,

which was attended by more than 50 people

including refugees, governmentdepartments, representatives of business and

funders.

Employability is chaired by Lord Limerick, a

Trustee of CPF and a former Chairman.

Another event was the Employability Forum

which sought to bring together more than

300 refugees with potential employers (see

page 18).

More formal arrangemen ts followed

including the establishment of a company

limited by guarantee which identified a

number of areas of work including

influencing policy on integration, individual

portfolios for refugees, pilot training

programmes and information.

Sub-groups have worked on policy issues

with government including the Department

for Education and Employment and the

Home Office, employers and refugeeagencies, including Praxis, Refugee Council,

Refugee Education Training Advisory

Service, Refugees into Jobs and Skills for

Southern Sudan.

Employabilitys influence has been

considerable: it was asked to become a

member of the National Refugee Integration

Forum.

Another major initiative was the

Foundations Local Areas Work. This

involves supporting community-based

edit Union > Forum at Greenwich > Foundation for Young Musicians > (Four) 409 Project > Freshfields Charitable Trust > Friends for Young Deaf People > Friends of the Earth Trust > Friends United Network > Frontline > Housing Advice > Fulham Legal Advice

ibbean Suffers and Carers of Dementia > Fulham Court Community Group > Funtime > Get Set Girls > Ghana Union London > Gingerbread Redbridge > Gloucester Court Reminiscence Group > Good Neighbour Scheme in Eastern Enfield > Gospel Oak Action

ct > Governors of Peabody Donation Fund > Grange Park United Reform Church > Greater London Equestrian Centres Trust Ltd > Green Adventure > Greenford Detached Youth Project > Greenwich and Lewisham Young Peoples Theatre > Greenwich Citizen

initiatives which work closely with local

peop le over extended p eriods of time. The

emphasis is on local because many

regeneration schemes can fail to take into

account the views and expertise of the

people, thus by-passing those who should

benefit most.

Four schemes are currently being supported:

St Peter North Com mun ity Project

(Tower Hamlets). Here the Foundation is

working with Peabody Trust dealing with

issues of deprivation and race.

Government funding has been achieved

for a numbe r of training projects. Greater

community participation is now beingdeveloped.

The Bellingham Recreation Project

(BECORP). This has a long history for the

Foundation as it has owned playing fields

in Lewisham since the 1930s. Work

continues on obtaining funding to upgrade

the sports and recreation facilities and

funding of 4 million has been raised from

Sport England, the London borough of

Lewisham and CPF. At the same time, the

facilities are being used to develop

community activities in a deprived area

which has missed out on government

spending in the p ast.

Greenford Southall Detache d Youth

Project. This aims to reach young people

who have fallen outside the job market

and other netwo rks. One strand involves

bringing them into a programme of social

education.

Kilburn Youth Reso urce Centre. The

needs of young people have been

identified as paramount in this area and

has led to the establishment of the

resource centre which the young people

themselves are involved in running. Single

Regeneration Budget funding has been

attracted to the scheme.

Special programmesYoung people again feature strongly in

the special programmes which take a

co-ordinated approach towards tackling


17


20/53

issues of special concern.

The Youth Programm e was established

after consultation with a number of

voluntary organisations. Nine were funded

to provide specific services. As well as

providing grants, the Foundation brought

the organisations together three times a year

to discuss progress and common issues.

The programme has revealed some

important lessons. The accep ted wisdom

had been that the organisations knew best

what young people need and that often

related to the future. But it became

apparent from listening to them that the

young people really want projects that relateto today.

In a report on the project published in 2001,

the Foundation made it clear that it

considered the whole experience an

important learning exercise. Perhaps the

most significant lesson was that young

people should be looked on as just that,

and not as entities in transition to another

age. There may be more to gain by

engaging with them as they are rather than

striving to get them to adulthood as soon as

possible.

As Clerk to the Trustees Bharat Mehta noted

in his introduction they may well make

better adults if society just lets them be

young for these few years of their lives.

The other special programme centred on

disability. Because Trust for London was

concerned that it received few applications

for funds from small organisations

concerned with disability issues, the

Foundation set up the Disability

Programme in 1999 and which was calledCount Us In.

What has become apparent is that there is

major division between physical disability

and learning disability groups. Alongside

that, black and minority ethnic groups are

substantially neglected and there are few

organisations servicing the needs of black

disabled people. What is also striking is the

acute lack of funding and the lack of a

resourced infrastructure to support groups

and individuals.

Initial consultation also revealed that despite

being underdeveloped the sector is under

heavy pressure from government to respond

to consultation papers and initiatives. Yet

such is the pressure on the groups, there is

little capacity to respond to such demands

and carry on everyday activities and

services. In addition, organisations of

people with learning difficulties have

extra problems absorbing lengthydocuments.

Thus it is not surprising that the sector is

underdeveloped and groups are isolated. It

became very clear from early on that

strenuous efforts would be needed.

The purpose was to support small, local

organisations in London to help them

sustain and expand their activities.

Progress has been slow. Halfway into theprogramme it had become apparent that

The Employabilty Forum was attended by Margaret Hodge,Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Employment, seen withLord Limerick, Chairman of Employability, and FoundationChairman Professor Gerald Manners. In her address she gave hersupport to the work of Employability, and stressed that finding ajob is key to the successful settlement of refugees because it

leads to financial independence.

Some 300 people turned up to meet potential employers and hearexpert advice on job seeking.

y > Greenwich Family Link > Greenwich Mencap > Greenwich Toy Library > Greenwich Voluntary Action Council > Greenwich YMCA > Greenwich Young Peoples Theatre > Groundwork Southwark > Hackney African Caribbean Disability Association > Hackney Care

on > Hammersmith and Fulham Citizens Advice Bureaux Service > Hammersmith and Fulham Council for Racial Equality > Hammersmith and Fulham Law Centre > Hammersmith Womens Aid > Hampden Trust > Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute > Hanlon Centr

eater London Pensioners Association > Greenford Neighbourhood Care Services > Greenwich Chinese Association > Greenwich Chinese Community School > Greenwich Cyclists > Greenwich Islamic Benevolent Society > Greenwich Kurdish Community Associatio


18


21/53

e > Hackney Council for Voluntary Service > Hackney Cypriot Association > Hackney Festivals Support Group Ltd > Hainault Forest Community Association > Hammersmith and Fulham Action for Disability > Hammersmith and Fulham Caring for Carers

ngey Asian Womens Aid > Haringey Somali Community and Cultural Assoc. > Haringey Turkish Cypriot Womens Project > Haringey Womens Aid > Harrow Association of Disabled People > Harrow Association of Voluntary Service > Harrow Club > Harrow

nwich Vietnam Womens Group > Hackney Caribbean Elderly Organisation > Hackney Pensioners Press > Halow (London) > Hammersmith Bengali Association > Hand in Hand Refugee and Homeless Support Group > Harambe Womens Organisations >

Not all funding programmes go to plan. This is particularly

so in areas where funders are breaking new ground, or

where changes in government policy require new directionsand approaches.

One example is tackling school exclusion which arose as

an issue of common concern among several funders under

the Alliance funding programme established by City

Parochial Foundation.

Among the initial concerns highlighted by the Foundations

education advisor Robin Hazlewood were the increasing

number of pupils excluded from schools and the

disproportionate number of black Afro-Caribbean boys. His

report concluded that more preventative work was needed,strengthening the pastoral role within schools and adopting

good practice guidelines with a strong support system

between pupils, parents and schools.

Three projects were selected in Merton, managed by two

organisations: Merton Education Business Partnership

which ran Challenger, funded by Bridge House Estates

Trust Fund to provide intensive individual support to young

people excluded or at risk of exclusion; and Fame

(Families, Access, Mentoring and Empowerment) funded

by CPF to draw on the experience of local mentoring

organisations to provide a coherent framework for thoseyoung people in the at-risk groups. Each grant was

100,000 over three years.

Moving Forward Together which manages JIGSAW was

funded by Equitable Charitable Trust to provide a service

for young people who as a result of mental health problems

require specialist counselling support.

An interim report in January 2002 revealed that both Fame

and Challenger had experienced delays and problems such

that the projects have only been working simultaneously for

the last few months of 2001, and to start with, the overall

strategic approach was fractured with a focus on thesuccess of each project rather than the contribution to the

overall objective. Also the highly complex nature of the

issue contributed to lack of clarity about the objectives.

But above all the programme has been greatly affected by

change in government policy. Initially the focus was on

preventing the rise in school exclusions and exploring new

initiatives to support pupils to stay in schools. Now it has

shifted radically towards summary exclusions for certain

offences and re-prioritising alternative education provision

such as pupil referral units.

The conclusion has been to reaffirm the programmes aim

of preventing exclusion.

On a positive note many young people have already

benefitted and inputs have made a positive difference.

On the issue of the funding alliance itself, a number of

lessons have been learned which should contribute to good

practice. All those involved were positive about any future

joint-funding arrangements and felt that a lot has been

learned from the experience.

Work is now proceeding on clarifying the objectives for the

second half of the programme, and agreeing timescales for

the rest of the projects, and what the exit strategy will be.

The Trustees will also need to keep abreast of issues

impacting on the programme such as the rise in female

exclusions, truancy and self-exclusion, bullying and

homophobic bullying.

Tackling exclusion from school


19

The Foundation is now actively discussing

work over the next 18 months with Count

Us In , and in particular ways in which to

fund small groups who will be delivering

services. Another important aspect over the

same period will be to look at funding for

the programme beyond the immediate

period that is from mid-2003 onwards.

greater efforts were needed to build

capacity. Because of the underdeveloped

nature of the sector, fire-fighting has

dominated to the detriment of the strategic

elements.

Achieving a shared vision between three

organisations which have quite distinct

cultures has not been easy developing

joint systems and practices is taking a long

time. More information on this programme

and the issues and problems are describedin the panel (see page 20).


22/53

ds with Outreach > Harrow Mencap > Harrow Young Womens Project > Havering Association for People with Disabilities > Havering Christian

London Office > Health Action for Homeless People > Hertfordshire Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders > Hibiscus Caribbean

Standing Committee on Community Languages > Harold Wood War Memorial Institute > Harrow Churches Bereavement Visiting Scheme > Harrow

Moving into new areas of needcan be daunting. To tackle the

problems requires flexibility,

understanding and, perhaps

above all, new ways of thinking

and developing solutions. The

Disability Programme is a prime

example. While various funders

had from time to time prioritised

disability issues, none had

tackled under-resourcing and the

lack of capacity in a strategic

way.

Trust for London was attracting

very few applications from small

disability organisations, and

especially those working in the

black and minority ethnic

communities, and so the

ambitious Disability Programme

Count Us In was set up in

April 1999 by the Foundation. No

one embarked on it thinking it

would be a quick fix.

Grants were made to the Greater

London Association of Disabled

People (GLAD), People First, (an

organisation run by and for

people with learning disabilities),

and the British Council of

Disabled People (BCODP, based

in Derby).

The overall aim of Count Us In

is to put in place support for

small, local organisations inLondon concerned with problems

facing disabled people, to enable

them to sustain a

CapitalCommunities1997to2001

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