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Barrow Cadbury Trust is very pleased to announce the appointment of Asif Afridi to the CEO post. Asif is currently Deputy CEO at brap, a Birmingham-based, UK-wide, equality and human rights charity, with an inclusive and rights-based approach to equality. Asif is a trustee of Lankelly Chase Foundation and the Baring Foundation. He was also a panel member of the Independent Inquiry into the future of Civil Society (2016-18). He has published widely on topics of poverty, racism and social cohesion, and previously worked in the field of international human rights protection. Asif will take up the post in March 2025.
Asif said: “I’ve admired the organisation’s work for many years under Sara’s leadership and I’m excited and honoured to take up this opportunity to work with such a great team and board. I’ll be doing all I can to continue to deepen Barrow Cadbury’s long-term, thoughtful, collaborative approach to tackling structural inequality and promoting social justice”.
For some time Barrow Cadbury Trust has been thinking about its presence and profile on X. The misinformation and toxic exchanges during July’s riots were a catalyst for us to find out what others in the social justice sector were thinking so we could make a judgement on whether to leave, and, if so, which platform(s) to go to. We sent out a survey to our partners and stakeholders which seems to have tapped into a general concern in the social justice sector around social media. We are sharing it here. A big thank you to everyone who completed it.
It appears from the survey and other conversations that many organisations are moving to Bluesky so we have now created a Bluesky account: @barrowcadbury.bsky.social. Fair By Design have also created a Bluesky account: fairbydesign.bsky.social. Barrow Cadbury Trust and Fair By Design will continue to post on X.
It’s clear from the survey that lots of social justice organisations are keeping a close eye on the social media landscape and on capacity and opportunities to engage with the media and politicians.
If you are interested in our key themes of criminal justice, economic justice, migration and social investment, then you may be the right person to join our Board, at this critical moment, to work with us to bring about structural change for a more just and equal society.
About the Barrow Cadbury Trust
The Trust has a Quaker heritage and a 100+ year commitment to social action. We are an endowed foundation that seeks to promote structural and systemic change by supporting others whilst also running campaigns, carrying out research and policy initiatives. We work primarily in policy, advocacy, campaigning and public discourse. We work collaboratively and long-term with those working in our fields of interest because we understand that changing deep rooted social problems and inequality is challenging and takes time.
About the role
Trustees play an active role in strategic planning, scrutiny, questioning the impact of our work and holding the programmes to account and where necessary acting as a critical but supportive friend. They are also responsible for the legal, financial and compliance duties of a Board.
Our Board brings an ethical lens to every area of its work and trustees are expected to abide by the Nolan principles of public life. We pay a great deal of attention to making sure our governance is robust and fit for delivering our charitable purpose.
About you
First and foremost, we are looking for two new trustees who are passionate about creating a socially just society. Your passion, personality and lived experience are as important as your professional skills. Our Trustees bring a wide range of experiences and backgrounds to the Board and we are open to what you might bring, but it’s important that you do bring a willingness to embrace the responsibilities of being a Trustee and a commitment to prepare for and attend trustee meetings.
A key component of our DEI strategy is recruiting trustees to increase the diversity of our board. As such we genuinely and warmly encourage people of colour, people with disabilities and people from low socio-economic backgrounds to apply. We also encourage candidates from the Birmingham conurbation as we have close ties to the area both historically and today. Our Economic Justice programme is based there, so we really value and appreciate local knowledge and lived experience of the area.
How to apply
Read more about the role in this trustee recruitment pack. If you’re interested in applying to become a trustee of Barrow Cadbury Trust, then please email the following documents to [email protected] by 10am on 29 August, 2023:
- A concise covering letter (no longer than two pages), addressing why you would like to become a Trustee of the Barrow Cadbury Trust and what you would bring to the role.
- An up-to-date CV
- Names and contact details of two referees (referees will only be approached at the final stage of the process, and only with your express permission)
- A completed Equal Opportunities form.
Barrow Cadbury Trust and Lloyds Bank Foundation for England & Wales are looking for expressions of interest from organisations keen to get involved in the development and delivery of a pilot community leadership programme. The programme is specifically aimed at Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic leaders of voluntary and community organisations supporting people in, or at risk of getting caught up in, the criminal justice system. Informed by conversations with leaders of Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic led charities working in the criminal justice system, the pilot will aim to support enable organisations to give them the tools to have their voices heard in the national policy debate, build personal and organisational resilience and network with other criminal justice leaders. Background
In the UK, the voluntary sector plays a vital role in providing services, supporting those most at risk of engagement in the criminal justice system, campaigning for policy reform, informing the media and influencing public debate.
The sector is diverse but, due to historic underfunding, organisations run by and for people from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic groups tend to be smaller and find it harder to achieve critical mass and sustainability.
Informal conversations between independent trusts and foundations and organisations run by and for people from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic backgrounds concluded that investing in leadership development could be transformative and contribute to positive social change for people in the criminal justice system and wider society.
Barrow Cadbury Trust and Lloyds Bank Foundation now wish to commission an organisation (or a partnership) to design and deliver the pilot programme over two years to support Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic leaders.
About the Community Leadership Development Programme
What is the primary objective of the programme?
The overarching objective of the programme is to challenge and change the criminal justice system, from policy through to service design and delivery. To do this a stronger and more experienced specialist sector should be empowered and enfranchised to promote radical change and advocate for new approaches. The programme should be a unique leadership development programme tailored to Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic leaders working in criminal justice.
The pilot programme will have four core elements:
- wellbeing;
- networking;
- policy development and influencing; and
- organisational development.
The aim is to increase the resilience and capabilities of current leaders, supporting them to lead social change.
What sort of knowledge and expertise is needed?
We expect the provider to be, or work in partnership with, an organisation which is led by people from Black, Asian or minoritised ethnic communities, and have knowledge of the policy context for criminal justice charities and leadership development for charities. The provider/partnership should have clear demonstrable experience of delivering work in line with the programme design brief.
Will the programme be monitored and evaluated?
Over the course of the programme the provider will be expected to capture learning and feedback. The provider will be expected to design and implement a robust monitoring and outcome evaluation framework as part of the programme delivery model. The Barrow Cadbury Trust and Lloyds Bank Foundation are considering an external evaluation this which will be funded separately.
How much budget is available?
The Barrow Cadbury Trust and Lloyds Bank Foundation have a budget of up to £200K for this programme.
What is the Application Process?
This is a two stage application process. The deadline for the first stage is 5pm 27 March, with the preferred supplier appointed at the end of June.
Download a copy of the full programme design brief
Download a copy of the bidder profile form
T2A (Transition to Adulthood), a campaign convened and funded by Barrow Cadbury Trust, is looking for a free-lancer for 2 days or 14 hrs per week to have oversight of its social media, the T2A website (a new website is being developed and will be launched soon), and e-news/e-alerts, as well as set up a LinkedIn page, engage stakeholders, and promote T2A’s key messages. The post-holder will also be involved in seeking additional opportunities to share T2A’s research such as identifying speaking engagements at criminal justice conferences for the Chair of T2A and sourcing opportunities for T2A to report on its work in the specialist sector press. If you think this sounds like something you’d be interested in, you can find background information, including what the role would entail, and the sort of experience we think someone would need, as well as details on how to apply, below. Deadline Monday 10 July.
ACF’s October issue of Trust and Foundation News, issue 125, featured a fascinating feature article, by Sarah Myers, of Barrow Cadbury Trust’s chief executive, Sara Llewellin. In the article Sara describes her career experiences, the reasons behind her commitment to social justice and why she feels a moral imperative to be optimistic about social change. Read the article.
The All Party Parliamentary Group on Social Integration, which British Future is the secretariat for, has released a new report, ‘Building stronger communities in post-pandemic Britain’.
This report details the findings from the APPG’s second inquiry into social connection during the Covid-19 crisis, which examined in detail the role that business and the voluntary sector played in improving social integration throughout the pandemic. It asks what lessons we can learn in the long term and makes a series of recommendations to government, business, and the voluntary sector to help build on the upsurge in new volunteers seen over lockdown, and to retain the increased role played by businesses in supporting their local communities.
Leaders Unlocked supports young people from diverse backgrounds to influence change on the issues that affect their lives. It was founded by Rose Dowling in 2015 with the belief that any young person could become a leader if the right conditions were created for them to thrive.
Since 2015 Leaders Unlocked projects have provided young people with the space, support, and tools they need to lead. Completely youth-led, Leaders Unlocked enables young people to define their own priorities, produce their own research, develop recommendations and co-produce solutions.
In 2020, Leaders Unlocked established a Youth Board – a group of motivated young leaders representing all of its work areas: criminal justice, education, health, and policing. These young leaders are helping to drive Leaders Unlocked’s growth as an organisation – working on its strategy, business development, partnerships, media and communications. The Youth Board of Leaders Unlocked have co-produced and authored this Impact Report – a vibrant record of its collective achievement over the last 6 years.
Follow @LeadersUnlocked
According to a new report from Tax Justice UK ASOS and Serco were among six companies across finance, outsourcing, retail, real estate, mining and pharmaceuticals which made £16 billion in excess profits during the pandemic.
The report “Pandemic Profits: who’s cashing in during covid” shows that a number of companies saw their global profits leap during the last 18 months. The profits of one company, the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, were up 801% compared to previous years.
The report argues that these companies are examples of a broader trend where some companies benefited from government pandemic spending, while others were well placed to profit from economic changes that have been accelerated by covid.
Tax Justice UK Executive Director, Robert Palmer, called on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to consider a windfall tax on excess profits made during the pandemic among a string of measures in his forthcoming Budget.
He said: “The covid pandemic has been unprecedented in its impact. Not only did it cause a recession that saw the wealthiest grow richer, whilst others struggled, it also resulted in some companies making what appear to be unprecedented profits.
“We need a tax system that supports a fair recovery and keeps up with the economic changes accelerated by the pandemic. Many people have been hammered by covid, it is only fair to expect those who have prospered to contribute more to the economic recovery. A windfall tax should be part of the mix.”
The report analysed the profits made by six companies during 2020/21 and compared those to profits made in previous three years.
It recommends that the Chancellor:
● Introduces a one-off windfall tax on pandemic profits made during the pandemic,
● Increases the main rate of corporation tax to 25% immediately and closes corporate tax breaks that don’t work, and
● Equalises the taxation of capital gains and income.
The report shows that the six companies examined in the report made excess global profits of £16 billion from April 2020 to March 2021 compared to their average profits from the previous three years. A Pandemic Profit Levy of 10% on their global profits could raise up to £1.6 billion from these companies alone, and a 50% levy could raise up to £8 billion.
An increase in corporation tax to 25% would raise around £20 billion a year, while the government’s Office For Tax Simplification estimates that aligning capital gains tax with income tax rates could raise up to £14 billion a year for the exchequer.
Read the report.
We are delighted to announce that our Chief Executive Sara Llewellin has been awarded a DBE (damehood) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to social justice. Sara has been our Chief Executive since 2009 and has worked with our board and staff team to deepen our structural change approach to all our work. She has been instrumental in developing a social investment portfolio, shareholder activism advocacy and infrastructure support for the sector as well as developing further our pre-existing work in economic, racial and criminal justice.
The citation from the Cabinet Office reads as follows:
Sara Llewellin is a campaigner and activist for social justice, enabling and leading change in multiple capacities. As Chief Executive of the Barrow Cadbury Trust (2009 – present), she has led the organisation to begin impact investing and shareholder activism, and was key to establishing the Connect Fund and Fair By Design partnerships, working with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors. She has been a longstanding steward of civil society, and previously chaired an independent commission ‘Change for Good’, addressing challenges and opportunities for the voluntary and community sectors. She was until recently a non-executive director of Charity Bank and on the Governing Council of the European Foundation Centre. She was previously Deputy Director of City Bridge Trust, Chair of London Funders, Director of St Giles Trust and prior to that spent 10 years in the movement against gender violence.
Sara said:
“I am as shocked as I am honoured to receive this recognition. As all social justice activists know, we can achieve very little on our own and would be foolish to try. I have worked with many hundreds of people on creating social change over the decades and all should take their share of credit for this award. Very many of them changed and shaped me along the way and still do. Special thanks and appreciation though go to my own board and our staff team, most especially for working their socks off during the pandemic and managing to stay optimistic.”
