Chair's statement

In these challenging times we are acutely aware that the impact of recession and public spending cuts will increasingly be felt over the coming year.

Young people are being hit hard, and unemployment is high among school and university leavers. The funding we provide to organisations that help young people cope with social problems and the impact of deprivation in all its forms is going to be especially important. Our cover image shows a workshop run by Dance United, an organisation we have worked with for several years. The company uses dance training as a means of helping young people facing a range of social issues, including drug-related mental health problems and gang culture, to integrate and play a fuller part in society.

Paul Hamlyn Foundation is also facing its own challenges as we navigate a period of fundamental change in our approach to grant giving. We are now midway through a journey we embarked on in 2006 to change the nature of what we do from being a traditional grant giver into more of a strategic philanthropist. About half of the money we give away each year is now spent on a small number of Special Initiatives, where we aim to increase our impact by focusing on bringing about change at a deeper level.

For instance, our mental health initiative, Right Here, is aimed at developing new ways to address young people’s mental well-being and resilience and has begun to work with four pilot sites across the UK. Our new Education and Learning initiative, Musical Bridges, aims to build on the success of our flagship Musical Futures initiative, now adopted by one third of all secondary schools in England, by helping to ensure children continue with their music education through the transition from primary to secondary school. In the arts field, we are now into the third year of the Breakthrough Fund. This initiative has made significant investments by backing creative individuals driving forward new ideas and this year we will be carrying out an in-depth review into its impact.

Although we are now committing a large part of our income to Special Initiatives, we remain as committed as ever to our Open Grants schemes. These allow organisations to try out new approaches and sometimes provide the seeds of the ideas that develop into Special Initiatives. As funding from both private and public sources comes under pressure and focuses on the ‘front line’, we will need to consider whether we have got the balance right between funding new approaches and helping organisations adapt to the challenges and opportunities which increasingly face the third sector.

In India we have opened an office in Delhi and have increased our spending there in order to ensure that the needs of the most marginalised in Indian society are not forgotten as that country undergoes huge changes.

One of the biggest challenges we face is measuring the impact we have and knowing whether we are spending our money wisely. This is a huge challenge for everyone engaged in philanthropy and we are devoting increasing resources to a more systematic approach to evaluating impact. As part of a mid-term review of our strategic plan, we conducted an in-depth survey of grantees. This generated some valuable results from which we can learn.

I would like to welcome Tim Bunting to the board of trustees and pay a special thank you to Bob Boas, who ended his many years of service to the board at the end of 2009. All trustees join me in acknowledging the particular contribution that Bob made, leading the Finance and Investment committee, in helping us to weather the turmoil in the markets since 2007.

I am grateful to all our trustees for the generous contribution they make, and to all the staff and our many advisors and consultants for their hard work and commitment.

For me it is a great pleasure and honour working with the trustees and staff of the Foundation.

Jane Hamlyn

Chair