Official response on the impact of Covid-19 on health, social and economics of society
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Response from Nathan Dennis, Founder and Trustee at First Class - to Association of Charitable Foundations recent statement on the impact of Covid-19 on the health, social and economic of society.
The Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF) has convened a meeting of organisations across the sector to discuss what could be done as they have been developing a proposal for a Funders Collaborative Hub.
To put in place a collaboration focused on the next phase of the crisis as the country looks to recover and renew.
The Hub would be a time limited, effective and collective approach to co-ordinate recovery funding and support with the charity sector.
The Hub would be hosted by ACF and led by foundations and sector partners. The focus of the Hub initially would be on sharing information, learning and data and using a “hub and spoke” approach to connect with organisations who are building collaborations on particular issues thrown up by the emergency.
The hub will help to target resources more effectively.
Response from Nathan Dennis:
“Many grassroots providers and organisations want a chance to be able to scale and improve their offer and reach. We no longer want to be the subcontractors to larger charities. There are times where it feels as thought the larger charities get the positive press, keep their reserves and have what feels like at times, a monopoly on the fundraising system.
It is my hope and ambition that COVID19, will bring about some much needed change. Many on the ground are tired, even though they have a phenomenal reach, connections and relationships on the ground – many do not have professional fundraising teams or the governance levels to access many of the opportunities and funding that is available.
Let’s put the heart back into grant making because I feel as though, even though I understand the rationale why, we have taken the heart out of it and replaced it with a system that is heavily focused on processes combined with complex levels of matrix that has to be input.
We are missing the people on the ground! There used to be a time where the grant makers would come out to visit different projects, meet the people and the community and see and understand the type of work that was happening and the difference it was making.
Nathan Dennis – Director, First Class
We are missing the people on the ground! There used to be a time where the grant makers would come out to visit different projects, meet the people and the community and see and understand the type of work that was happening and the difference it was making.
It has stopped now and many of the grant makers are missing out on those key relationships because it’s changed into an application and form filled process.
I feel that grant makers and funders should attach a ‘Capacity Building and Development Programs’ section to the grant arrangement requirements. This will help the smaller grassroots organisations get the much needed resources they require and will be able to build capacity in their organisational structure and their infrastructure to secure their future and legacy.
Finally, I’d recommend that at all levels of governance structures and the tables where all the decisions take place, they should ensure that there are more people around it that are from diverse backgrounds that can act as a critical voice. As a leader from the BAME community, our plight and experience is even harder!”
