ACF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2022 HOLD THE DATE

We will also be holding a strategy workshop on 15 June with the opportunity to have your say in the next phase of engagement on ACF’s strategy. The workshop will take place at Cazenove, and will run from 3pm-4.30pm, followed by tea and coffee before the AGM starts at 5pm. Places at the workshop will be available on a first come, first served basis. This workshop will only be available for those attending in person but there will be an additional opportunity to engage with the strategy review over the summer.

ACF is inviting nominations to fill vacancies on our trustee board – look out for our email with more information. The board would particularly welcome nominations from:

• representatives of smaller foundations

• individuals with financial expertise

We also want to continue our work towards ensuring diverse representation on our board.

More details about the vacancies, how to nominate and how to vote will be emailed to members and posted at acf.org.uk

15 June 2022, 5pm-6pm, followed by a drinks reception hosted by Cazenove, 1 London Wall Place, London EC2Y 5AU

All members are invited to attend. The AGM will be held in person, with an option to attend online.

Registration details to follow.

ACF exists for you, so please do take part in the AGM and ensure your voice is heard.

Carol Mack OBE welcomes you to this edition of Trust & Foundation News.

This issue, we focus on how foundations approach the issue of strategy. At ACF we’re thinking a lot about strategy at the moment as we work on our strategic review to set our direction for the next five years. The last time we did this was back in 2016 and, reflecting on the six years since then, I’m not sure we ever expected quite as much change and uncertainty as we have seen. Three prime ministers, three general elections, one referendum on Europe, the pandemic, the horrors of the war in Ukraine and the biggest hit to household incomes since the second world war.

Given all this change, it’s tempting to question whether strategies can ever deliver all we hope for them. But I think the examples in this magazine show how important strategies are to set the overall direction, to work through the difficult issues that you know you need to face up to, and perhaps most importantly to choose what not to do.

I am particularly grateful to all those members who are helping us grapple with these issues at ACF. As I set out in my article on page 22, it has been fantastic to have had so many responses to the conversation we initiated in February about our new strategy. Many of the comments you made reflect the same strategic conversations going on in individual foundations – how can we best use the limited resources we have available? How should we approach becoming more diverse, equitable and inclusive? How can we refresh our work to deal with a changing external context?

It’s also been heartening to hear how our Stronger Foundations programme, itself a child of our last strategy, has been helpful to so many of you. There’s more on the approach to strategy and governance taken by Stronger Foundations in the article by Jo Wells of The Blagrave Trust and ACF’s Max Rutherford (pages 12-15).

Finally, I hope to see many of you at our AGM on 15 June – whether in person or online. ACF belongs to you, so it would be brilliant if you are able to join us to hear more about the work we’ve been doing to support you this past year – as well as our plans for the future.