ACF Conference 2008

Event ACF Conference 2008: Thorny Questions, Fruitful Answers: Foundations meeting contemporary challenges
Date 26-27 June
Venue Nottingham, UK
Organizer Association of Charitable Foundations

Robin Hood was a – probably fictional – medieval English outlaw who robbed the rich and gave to the poor. Much of his legend is centred on Nottingham, so it was interesting to speculate on the appropriateness of the Association of Charitable Foundations’ holding their 2008 conference there. Be that as it may, the conference brought together 200 representatives of UK trusts and foundations to explore how independent funders might engage with contemporary challenges such as climate change, inequality and human rights.

The opening plenary focused on the challenge of climate change, the connections with human security, and why we need to ‘break the rules by talking to strangers’. The keynote speaker, Malcolm McIntosh of the Applied Research Centre in Human Security, highlighted the importance of enabling learning across society about the science of climate change and the global ecosystem, and the necessity for adaptation. He spoke of the need to bring people together from very diverse professional backgrounds to exchange ideas and knowledge. These recommendations resonated very well with the findings of the Carnegie UK Trust’s Inquiry into the Future of Civil Society, which highlights the need for creating more ‘spaces’ for meaningful conversations where differences can be acknowledged and articulated, and ideally where conversations can lead to action. As relatively neutral brokers, foundations are well placed to convene or fund such deliberative processes.

Many workshops focused on the challenge of climate change and the potential role for foundations. Sessions explored how foundations can ‘green their own behaviour’; the links between climate change, migration and poverty; and the challenge of bridging the social justice and climate change agendas. As illustrated in a 2007 report, Where the green grants went, published by the Environmental Funders Network, foundation support for environmental or conservation work is relatively low among UK foundations. However, the attention given to the challenge of climate change at the conference suggests that foundations are reflecting on how they can better contextualize or adapt their focus on non-environmental causes, given the detrimental effects climate change and the growing pressure on global resources may have on the well-being of the poorest in society. Of particular interest appears to be how foundations can help to practically bridge the social justice and climate change agendas.

The sessions run by Phil Buchanan of the Centre for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) were another highlight of the conference. The popularity of these sessions suggests that foundations are seriously grappling with the challenge of measuring the effectiveness of philanthropy. As a result, it is likely that ACF will explore how its members could benefit from the experience of CEP.

In the final plenary, Patrick Diamond of the Equality and Human Rights Commission highlighted the depth of inequalities in the UK. And the legendary philanthropist-by-force Robin Hood? The conference did supply one echo of him, at least for me. It reminded me of the book Robin Hood was Right (2000) by Collins, Rogers and Garner, which questions the results of traditional philanthropy, urging funders to tackle the root causes of poverty and other injustices. While there is certainly room for improvement, examples of the work of foundations highlighted at the conference, such as support for the Living Wage Campaign, illustrate how a number of foundations are taking on this challenge.

Lenka Setkova is Director of the Democracy and Civil Society Programme at the Carnegie UK Trust. Email lenka@carnegieuk.org

For more information www.acf.org.uk