Paul Hamlyn Foundation releases Review of UK Grant-making 2019
Today we have published our Review of UK Grant-making 2019.
This report analyses learning from around 650 grants made under the current strategy. A rich data source for grantees and funders, the review shares what we are learning about the challenges and opportunities emerging through our growing portfolio of grants across the UK. In 2018/2019 the Foundation spent £37.4 million in furtherance of our charitable objectives.
The third in a series of reports, published by PHF since the launch of the current strategy in 2015, this report continues our commitment to the importance of openness and transparency in philanthropy. It shares analysis about the types of grantees being funded, common approaches and methods being used and the major outcomes that charities are focusing on. Much of the insight comes from PHF’s grant-making data and reports from grantees, together with the knowledge of staff and learning from evaluations commissioned in particular areas of work or to support cohorts of grantees.
As in the previous year, the review reveals an increase in partnership working, the importance of core funding and long-term commitments needed to ensure stability for organisations operating at times of unprecedented challenge. The review also reflects upon a range of new funds introduced by the Foundation over the last three years. These include the Backbone Fund designed to underpin the advocacy and policy capacity across civil society, Our Neighbourhood Fund targeted at alleviating severe hardship experienced by those living near the Foundation’s offices in King’s Cross, and Act for Change Fund delivered in partnership with other funders to support young people to lead social action and address injustice.
Moira Sinclair, Chief Executive, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, said:
“The review demonstrates how the Foundation has been responding and where we could go further. From start-up funding for pioneering ideas, long-term commitments to keep good organisations going, or partnerships with others to extend our support in new and important areas – we know that there cannot be a one size fits all approach to philanthropy. In an increasingly complex world, the importance of reflecting on what we hear and the impact of what we fund, continue to be important tools to guide our approach and ensure our strategy is working to its fullest.”
Tom Wylie, Trustee and Chair of PHF’s Evidence and Learning Advisory Group, said:
“Knowledge is our greatest resource. It helps all of us to find the best answers at a time when the world is full of questions rarely or never faced before. As a funder, knowing about important societal challenges and the solutions being pursued, then sharing what we know has become even more important, not just to our work as grant-makers but to others who share our goals of extending opportunity and promoting social justice. We thank the grantees, staff, advisors and evaluators who work with the Foundation to help us to capture, analyse and disseminate intelligence across the different sectors we support and thus enable us to make available this Review which we hope will be a valuable resource for policy and practice.”
Read the full report here