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This five-year strategy (2023-2027) commits us to continuing what we think we do well. The capital funding we provide through our Open Grants Programme for small- and medium-sized charities (which enables them to develop their services, sustainability and impact) will remain central to our work. We’ll adapt that programme to meet more needs, including funding digital infrastructure for the first time.
Importantly, this strategy will take us into new areas – particularly providing core funding to organisations advancing equity in different ways. Equity is a core theme of this strategy: We are taking action to be an equitable place to work and to serve, to fund our grantee partners in more equitable ways, and to fund organisations and interventions that can advance equity for individuals and communities. Related to this is our belief that charities and social enterprises know best how to spend their money – whether through capital or core funding, we will seek to give them the freedom to build their long-term capacity, sustainability and impact.
Throughout the development of our strategy, we asked ourselves whether our decisions were in line with our values: equitable, adaptive, enabling, and collaborative. Now the challenge is to keep asking this question as we implement the strategy. We welcome your views on how we’re doing, and your partnership as we seek to best support the organisations that make a difference.
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This is the second part of a two-part blog written by Natalie Cleary of Liberating Knowledge, and Dee Breacker and Derek Bardowell of Ten Years’ Time. Liberating Knowledge and Ten Years’ Time are the Learning Partners to our Racial Equity Programme, and have been working with The Clothworkers’ Foundation and the four Racial Equity grantholders over the last three years. The Racial Equity Programme provides core funding to support the strategic development and growth of the four organisations, and these blogs describe the ‘funding trap’ that can hinder racial equity organisations as they grow, as well as the way funders can act to avoid this.

This two-part blog was written by Natalie Cleary of Liberating Knowledge, and Dee Breacker and Derek Bardowell of Ten Years’ Time. Liberating Knowledge and Ten Years’ Time are the Learning Partners to our Racial Equity Programme, and have been working with The Clothworkers’ Foundation and the four Racial Equity grantholders over the last three years. The Racial Equity Programme provides core funding to support the strategic development and growth of the four organisations, and these blogs describe the ‘funding trap’ that can hinder racial equity organisations as they grow, as well as the way funders can act to avoid this.
