Breakout sessions
During the day delegates attended two breakout sessions — one at 1.30pm and another at 3.15pm.
Breakout session 1 (1.30pm–2.e30pm)
1. Funding a more equitable future
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Led by: Farid Kelekun, Impact on Urban Health (Guy's & St Thomas' Foundation), Rowena Estwick, Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation
Devolving power and developing leaders. Join Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation and others to explore more equitable ways of working, and steps foundations can take to devolve power and develop leaders.
Sharing insights and seeking audience reflections on power imbalances, partnering with Black and minoritised-led organisations, participatory grant-making, enabling community voices to shape programming, and frameworks for shifting power.
2. Matching investments to mission in practice
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Join ACF Official Partner Cazenove with special guest appearances and case studies, to examine how Foundations can match their investments to their mission in practice.
3. Yorkshire and Humber: funder challenge and collaboration
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Led by: Kate Hainsworth, Leeds Community Foundation & GiveBradford, Jan Garrill, Two Ridings Community Foundation, Carla Marshall, Sir George Martin Trust, David Warner, Yorkshire Funders, Joe Dobson, The National Lottery Community Fund
Generating intelligence and informing action. Join Leeds Community Foundation and others for an interactive session looking at how emergency challenge informed regional funder collaboration, with learning on best practice and next steps.
4. Mapping the UK Women and Girls voluntary sector
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Led by: Louise Telford, Rosa Fund, Rebecca Gill, Rosa Fund, Annabel Durling, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Rowan Miller, The National Lottery Community Fund, Dr Chris Damm, Sheffield Hallam University, Lorna Dowrick, Sheffield Hallam University, Catherine Harris, Sheffield Hallam University
Join Rosa Fund and others to find out more about a research project which looks exactly at where across the UK women and girls’ sector funding is going, and what gaps might be emerging.
Hear how three funders; Rosa Fund, The National Lottery Community Fund & Esmee Fairbairn Foundation have come together to make it happen.
5. Funding and co-creation
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Led by: Jessica Bridges, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch), Grace Bremner, Local Trust, David Jubb, Citizens in Power, Louisa Hrabowy, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch)
Co-creation is now best practice in arts funding. Join Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and others to look at how has this once-radical community engagement model transformed the way we fund and operate, and what lessons can be learnt. Join us to unpick philanthropy, power and the future of partnership working.
6. Understanding our legacy
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Led by: Felicity Mallam, Wates Foundation, Sufina Ahmad, John Ellerman Foundation, Beth Astridge, Philanthropy Archive, University of Kent University
Understanding our founders' aspirations to ensure relevance for the future. Join Wates Foundation and others to examine the challenges and successes in understanding and documenting a foundation's history.
Hear about the challenges and successes to understanding and documenting a foundation's history - one where living family members are involved and one where no living descendants exist. Find out how the past can inform and develop your leadership in the future.
7. Courageous leadership in the foundation space
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Led by: Cassie Robinson and Sophia Parker from Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Join Joseph Rowntree Foundation and others for a session on what types of courageous leadership we need at this time and over the next decade. This session will explore the different types of leadership roles we need - leadership of ideas and leadership of organisations. How do these different kinds of leadership might show up and what competencies will we need to develop and resource.–
Breakout session 2 (3.15pm–4.15pm)
1. Embedding equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging
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Led by: Denise Ramsey, UnLtd, Mathu Jeyaloganathan, UnLtd, Kisha Bradley, Brightbox, Cecil Adjalo, Foundervine, Ricky Perrin, Sussex Bears
As an endowed grant-maker, UnLtd is embedding EDIB in order to develop the next generation of inclusive leaders. Social entrepreneurs will share their lived experiences of barriers to accessing grant and investment. In an interactive session, reflect on your organisation’s EDI and belonging practice, and steps you can take towards inclusive leadership.
2. Net Zero - the need for a new approach
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Led by: Ajay Johal, Ruffer
A linear approach to reducing emissions within your foundation’s investment portfolio would ‘green’ the portfolio but potentially not society. In this thought-provoking session with ACF’s Official Partner Ruffer, explore how taking a different approach could impact real world emissions in a more meaningful way.
3. What happens when leaders prioritise trust
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Led by: Stephen Fenning, Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust, Bruce Topham, Kent Community Foundation
Investing in relationship and trust building capacity can unlock huge opportunities for foundations. Join Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust and others for this case study from the Kent region, exploring what happens when leaders prioritise improving communication, understanding and accessibility.
4.Change the story, change the system
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Led by: Jessica Bridges, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch), Nicky Hawkins, On Road Media, Eva Beresford, JJ Charitable Trusts / Climate Change Collaboration, Louisa Hooper, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch)
Narrative change and the opportunities for funders. Our deep, interconnected challenges of climate change, injustice and inequality require new global narratives and collective mindsets. Join Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and others to explore why narrative change matters, what ‘good’ looks like, and why fund.
5. Defending our civic space
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Led by: Sue Tibballs, Sheila McKechnie Foundation
Join the Sheila McKechnie Foundation to examine how the UK civic space is narrowing, with serious implications for civil society’s ability to speak up, hold to account, and drive change – ultimately, compromising missions. Funders are uniquely placed to both lead and support the push back. This session will share a new strategy, developed for funders, setting out how.
6. Giving it everything: in defence of spend down
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Led by: Christine Oliver, Polden-Puckham Charitable Foundation, Tessa Durham, Gower Street Foundation, Sally Vivyan, Gower Street Foundation, Sophie Marple, Gower Street Foundation, Nick Marple, Gower Street Foundation, Sarah Ridley, Tubney Charitable Trust, Jessica Cordingly, Lankelly Chase, Amanda Ellingworth, Sir Ernest Cassel Educational Trust, Anne Sofer, Sir Ernest Cassel Educational Trust
In defence of spending down: when perpetuity feels wrong, can exiting the sector through a planned spend down demonstrate courage and leadership? What else could be done? Join Polden-Puckham Charitable Foundation and others as they share their reasoning and experience.
7. A challenge shared is a challenge halved
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Led by: Daniela Lloyd-Williams, JAC Trust, Aisling Johnston, LFT Charitable Trust, Caroline Marks, The AIM Foundation, Felicity Mallam, Wates Foundation
Are you the Director or a trustee of a family foundation? Join JAC Trust and others for a peer learning session – providing a space to reflect on practice, assets and the challenges that are unique to family foundations – sharing and learning from each other.
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