Association of Charitable Foundations

Our office will be closed from 12pm today until 2 January. Email and social media won’t be monitored during this time. Registration remains open for our 2025 events (https://acf.org.uk/events), and check out our Jobs board for new foundation roles (https://acf.org.uk/jobs). Thank you for your support in 2024. Best wishes for the festive season and looking forward to learning and growing with you in 2025.

ACF members are invited to an exclusive CCLA symposium hosted by our Official Partner, CCLA Investment Management in central London. You can expect a lively and relaxed, free-for-all discussion on global markets and the political economy, facilitated by CCLA head of investment solutions, Ben Funnell. 📅 6 February 2025 🕠 5.30pm-8pm There is no charge for the event but registration is required. Reserve your spot now as space is limited 👉 https://lnkd.in/eP2buHSX

📢 Join the Charity Investment Governance Principles launch webinar on Thursday 16 January. The Principles are intended to give trustees and charity leaders further clarity and confidence when making decisions about investments, reflect the outcomes of the Butler-Sloss case, and complement the Charity Commission’s CC14 guidance and the Charity Governance Code. Hosted by Charity Finance Group, the development of the Principles has been led by a Steering Group, including CFG, NCVO, WCVA | CGGC, Association of Charitable Foundations and the secretariat of the Charities Responsible Investment Network, consulting more than 100 charities, charity lawyers, chartered accountants, investment managers and advisers. Book your place now: https://lnkd.in/etGtyuze

Foundations are cautiously optimistic about AI. Are they poised to harness its potential for social good? In his latest blog, ACF's head of practice Jim Cooke explores new research suggesting that foundations are cautiously optimistic about AI. While only 18% are already using AI in their day-to-day work, a further 40% are exploring its possibilities. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐈? ✅ Efficiencies that free up admin time for more rewarding work ✅ Generating new insights from data ✅ Responding to wider social impacts of AI 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤? ⛔ Limited staff time and expertise ⛔ Concerns about bias and privacy ⛔ Lack of sector-wide guidelines 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐈 𝐮𝐬𝐞: 🌱 Early adopters sharing their learning 🌱 Foundation staff developing knowledge and skills 🌱 Growing external pressures 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐈’𝐬 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐬, 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥: 🌟 Understand how AI relates to their mission 🌟 Identify and reduce any unintended negative consequences 🌟 Adopt processes and practices that reflect their values Read the blog here 👉 https://lnkd.in/e9SmFvih ACF members can access the full research findings as part of our Salary and operations benchmarking survey 👉 https://lnkd.in/ee_Ffix3 CAST Centre for the Acceleration of Social Technology Dan Sutch Chongyang Zhang Dami Adewale #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Philanthropy #SocialImpact

An excellent example of funder collaboration led by ACF member John Ellerman Foundation. In this blog on the Funders Collaborative Hub, director Sufina Ahmad MBE shares the collaboration’s achievements in environmental conservation in the UK Overseas Territories, and invites other funders to join them in 2025. 👇👇👇

ACF has been proud to be on the project’s steering group over the past 12 months. We are looking forward to the launch of the principles intended to give trustees and charity leaders further clarity and confidence when making decisions about their investments.

📢 Webinar | "Inclusive investing in diverse social entrepreneurs" | 16th January 2025, 11am - 12pm The Association of Charitable Foundations' SIIG is hosting a webinar to explore the barriers social entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds face - and how investors can help dismantle them. Our Chief Financial Officer, ✨Amy Gutcher✨, will share insights from our Inclusive Social Investment Report, which highlights the 'trust deficit' experienced by women and Black/Asian or ethnically diverse social enterprise leaders in the UK. Amy will share tangible steps social investors can take to turn this challenge into a 'trust opportunity.' You’ll also hear from ✨Bayile Adeoti FRSA✨, Founder of Dechomai Ltd, and ✨Daisy Ford-Downes✨ Head of Group Investment Programmes at Firstport, who will their joint research in partnership with Social Investment Scotland, "ACCESS report 2024: Investigating Acces to Finance for Ethnic Minority Social Entrepreneurs in Scotland". Join us for a meaningful conversation on driving equity and unlocking impact through inclusive investing. 👉 Register now: https://lnkd.in/eBwqnh-a #InclusiveInvesting #ImpactFirstInvesting #SocialInvestment #SocialEnterprises #VenturePhilanthropy

We welcome culture secretary Lisa Nandy’s announcement of a new place-based philanthropy strategy. It shows the government’s commitment to boosting place-based approaches and playing an active role in encouraging greater giving. Our place-based network, with over 80 ACF members, provides a vital forum for sharing good practice and fostering collaboration to meet local needs and empower communities. We look forward to working with the government to help shape this new strategy and encourage our members to contribute their valuable insights and experiences to ensure its success. https://lnkd.in/gvuMzi4j

Looking for a new role? Don't wait until January to open yourself up to opportunities. Get ahead of the competition and explore the ACF jobs board, the only dedicated board for the grant-making and foundation sector in the UK. Similarly, if you have a job to advertise, why not post it now and catch people job searching over the festive period? ACF's jobs board gets around 12,000 views per month and members can post jobs for free. If you're not a member but work for a grant-making organisation or charitable foundation, we offer a paid-for jobs posting service. 👉 https://acf.org.uk/jobs

📢 We are excited to share two new case studies that showcase how ACF members use #StrongerFoundations to inform their work around diversity, equity and inclusion. 💫 Social Investment Business outline how they collect diversity data to clearly see – and then address – any barriers to success in their funds. 💫 The Henry Smith Charity share how creating new organisational values ensure they are doing their best for the organisations and communities they support. ACF members can view the case studies here: https://lnkd.in/eWHscR5C We continue to invite foundations to share their actions on diversity, equity and inclusion – wherever they are on this important journey. Email [email protected] to find out more. #Diversity #Equity #Inclusion #DEI