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Our Model of Working
The Trust sees itself as a change-maker rather than a grant-maker. We work on structural and systemic change to challenge and change what we see as the root causes of injustice.
- We have an enduring commitment to racial, gender, criminal and economic justice and this looks different in every decade. Our values remain the same but the form that our work takes changes over time.
- We work with others in collaborations and alliances to bring about long-term, lasting change to the structures and systems which perpetuate inequality and injustice. For example, we run the Fair By Design initiatives to end the Poverty Premium, working with policy makers, regulators and essential services industries.
- We consult with others about what needs to change and how best to achieve it. Then we use a variety of resources, including money, to build towards that change, adapting the approach as we go.
- This kind of approach usually requires a long time frame, building support and evidence and chipping away at unbalanced power structures – a time horizon of at least a decade is needed. We recognise that many foundations do not have this luxury and that working in this way does not suit us all. For us, it is a way to create change with lower budgets than many of our peers.
Using all our assets and resources
Because our resources are relatively modest, we use more than just our funding to achieve our goals including:
- Social investment
- Serving on boards and advisory groups
- Contributing to a healthy civil society
- Convening practitioners and partners
- Working Catalytically
All of our activities and grants aim to catalyse and contribute to our partners’ joint goals.
- We aim to bridge the divide between those with lived experience and policymakers
- We ‘speak truth to power’ and try to make sure that our work is informed by ‘Experts by Experience’
- We work with think tanks, campaigning organisations and pressure groups to feed into public dialogue on some of the difficult issues of our age
- We fund research to influence public policy and practice
