WELCOME

It’s been an exciting start to the year for ACF. After an inspiring year-long journey, we’re proud to have launched our new fve-year strategy. To all our members and civil society partners who helped shape it, many thanks – your insights were greatly appreciated. From now until 2027, ACF will be guided by the same values but under a refreshed mission and purpose. We outline these changes and what they mean for you on page 15.

The backdrop to our strategy work, and for trust and foundations’ work in general, remains grim. Structural issues like climate change and inequalities cast a long shadow. The cost of living crisis (more on pages 4 to 7), the knockon effect of the war in Ukraine, other conficts, and a series of international disasters continue to strain many funders. They increasingly face decisions on how best to juggle funding for long-term solutions with short-term relief.

Throughout, we’ve seen that trusts and foundations continue to collaborate and learn with each other, while striving to improve their practices and effect positive change for the communities and causes they support. I’m constantly inspired and uplifted by the work that you do, and all of us at ACF look forward to continuing to support you throughout 2023.

In this issue, Anand Shukla, CEO of The Henry Smith Charity, refects on why foundations make the best risk takers, and Rowena Estwick from Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation discusses their wo r k to advance diversity, equity and inclusion. In a time where investment markets are more unpredictable than usual, we take a closer look at the issues impacting on foundation endowments, drawing on the expertise of ACF’s four Offcial Partners in a special feature on this important topic for the health of our sector.

At our November conference we began a conversation about courageous leadership – now it is time to harness that courage to collectively rise to the challenges of our times. I hope you fnd this issue a source of inspiration.

Lastly, we’d like to know what you think of Trust & Foundation News . We want to make sure our resources are of most use to you and that they refect the interests and concerns of our diverse membership. Over the summer, we will be reviewing Trust & Foundation News , so please do email us at acf@acf.org.uk to share your views, and look out for other opportunities to input that will follow. In the meantime, you can access this issue and previous editions online at acf.org.uk/tfn