News from the Baring Foundation
Climate Change and the Third Sector
The Baring Foundation has issued an invitation to tender for a programme
of work to help non-environmental voluntary organisations think through
the impact of climate change on their charitable purposes. The project
will share the results of this work with other practitioners and policy
makers with the aim of influencing wider practice and policy on tackling
climate change. We think that by connecting up experts in climate
change with experts in non-environmental areas of the voluntary sector,
new perspectives on the urgency for action can be generated. This
project builds on the environmental audit pilot that we ran last year
in collaboration with the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. It also reflects
the conclusions of two roundtables held at the Foundation earlier
this year on climate change and the third sector. The notes from these
meetings can be found in the 'publications and past events' section
of this web-site. The deadline for tender submissions is 8th September
2008. The
tender can be downloaded by clicking here.
Report on Activities 2007
This can
be found by clicking here
Wilton Park Conference
As a follow-up to Going Global (click
here for document) the Baring Foundation and the Nuffield
Foundation part-funded in April a major conference at Wilton Park,
the residential centre for the Foreign Office. The Partnerships for
Development Forum brought together development experts, NGOs and foundations
from the UK and abroad to look at the contribution private funding
can make. A
full note of the meeting can be found by clicking here.
New Chair appointed
The Trustees of the Baring Foundation have elected Amanda Jordan
OBE to succeed Tessa Baring CBE, who retired at the Annual General
Meeting held on 2nd June 2008. Amanda has extensive experience of
the voluntary sector, including as current Chair of the National Literacy
Trust. Her track record includes many senior roles for instance as
a member of the inaugural Board of the National Lottery Charities
Board where she was Chair of the England Committee and of the International
Committee. She retains a strong professional interest in Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) as Chair of Corporate Citizenship. Corporate
Citizenship is a new business which includes the SMART Company, which
Amanda founded in 2001. She is also the Non Executive Chair of IWF
which regulates illegal content on the internet in the UK. In the
1990's she spent 10 years developing and managing an award winning
CSR programme for UK Banking Group NatWest. She has written widely
on CSR and advised the UK Government on business and social exclusion
issues.
Arts and Refugees; History, Impact
and Future - new publication
Along with two other funders, the Arts Council England, London and
the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, the Baring Foundation commissioned Hybrid
Consultancy to look at work over the last fifteen years across the
UK to involve refugees and asylum seekers in the arts. The researchers
identified over 200 arts organisations working with refugees across
all media. The report was launched at the Baring Foundation on 20th
May. The report is free while stocks last from the Baring Foundation,
or it
can be downloaded in full by clicking here.
Strengthening the Hands of Those Who
Do - new publication
This is a new report published by the Baring Foundation looking at
a decade of project grants awarded under the Foundation's Strengthening
the Voluntary Sector grants programme. Through interviews with fifty
grant recipients, the report reviews the impact the grants had and
concludes that the activities supported have been tremendously significant
for the recipient organisations. It encourages funders to consider
grants for organisational development as an excellent use of funds.
The research was carried out by independent consultant Margaret Bolton.
Copies
can be downloaded by clicking here
Interculturality - Awards
The Baring Foundation is running a Special Initiative to promote intercultural
dialogue. A major element of this is the creation of awards to reward
good practice at the local level. These awards are being run by the
Institute of Community Cohesion and funded by us. They are called
the 'Awards for Bridging Cultures'. The deadline for application is
1st October. The categories for the awards are smaller and larger
voluntary sector organisations and public or private organisations
helping voluntary organisations in this regard. Full details can be
found by clicking here www.bridgingcultures.org.uk.
Please do not contact the Baring Foundation regarding the awards but
go straight to the special website.
More
details about this initiative can be found on the Special Initiatives
page of our website by clicking here