As an invite-only grantmaker, we believe that we can be most effective by prioritising work that we are knowledgeable and passionate about. We have therefore developed a framework to guide our decision-making, which will be annually reviewed to ensure that our giving aligns with the reality of people’s lives in the North West.
This Purpose Framework, below, reflects the Trustees’ values, the outcomes we are particularly interested in, and the way we approach our work with charities. Of course, the four giving priorities – arts, environment, health and social inequalities – do not exist in silos, and we often support activity which works across multiple issues. Our full Purpose Framework can be downloaded here.
For all the issues and people we decide to focus on, we take the following positions:
- All communities have innate strengths.
- Expertise comes with experience – therefore the people with experience of the issue hold the most expertise on the issue.
- The end target communities of the work should be consulted on its design (if not involved in co-design) and their views sought throughout delivery and evaluation.
- Our role is not to solve problems but to help create the conditions in which people can find their own sustainable solutions.
Our Purpose: Creating Thriving Communities
We focus on… |
Arts |
Environment |
Health |
Social Inequalities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
With the aim of… |
Supporting cultural vibrancy and the arts to enrich all communities and people |
Supporting nature based solutions to the climate crisis and enabling all communities to engage with the natural world |
Supporting medical research and patient care initiatives with selected organisations |
Supporting initiatives that tackle systemic inequalities and their impact on people’s lives and communities |
|
Working towards key outcomes… |
A wider range of people engage with arts and culture, as learners, performers, artists and audiences.
More arts and culture activities are used as tools for learning and personal development and are engaged in social change. |
More people connect to nature, particularly through organisations which are taking action to protect the environment.
Improve research, public awareness and policy decisions which support planet, human and animal friendly farming.
Increase non-environmental organisations’ awareness and ability to act on climate change. |
Improve knowledge of the causes, potential treatments and care for people living with cancer.
Increase number and sustainability of innovative health interventions, particularly community based solutions which address the health consequences of inequalities in low-income areas. |
Improve outcomes relating to wellbeing, social connectivity, education and employment for marginalised groups.
Increase access to effective, sustainable, and caring services which tackle the root causes of inequalities as well as the effects of poverty and discrimination.
Stronger third sector organisations that are more able to challenge inequitable policies and systems. |
- Support people and organisations that we believe in and who are deeply connected to their purpose
- Make grants within clusters of particular interest and in geographical areas where we have a connection
- Provide tailored funding for each organisation
- Offer multi-year grants to promote stability and enable planning
- Identify and tackle the root causes as well as the consequences of inequalities
- Are comfortable funding activity that typically struggles to secure support
- Pay attention to impact and learning, but recognise the challenges of evaluation
- Are able to make decisions quickly and to be flexible where necessary
- Aim to create meaningful relationships with grantees; building trust and creating space for learning
- Have long standing relationships with a few organisations where there is a deep personal connection
- Offer non-financial support and share resources in response to grantees’ needs (through Funding Plus)
- Connect charities to each other and key stakeholders
- Work collaboratively with Bruntwood, convening mutually beneficial relationships between businesses and charities
- Act as a critical friend
- Engage directly with charities to enable us to learn, challenge ourselves, and reduce bias
- Support grantees to engage with issues beyond their core purpose, particularly the climate crisis, diversity and good employment
- Hold ourselves accountable and welcome critical feedback and insights from grantees