2020 Shortlist | Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation
Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation
Shortlist – Managing Turnaround
Who they are
Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation (BLCF) is the leading local grantmaker in the county, distributing nearly £9 million locally and establishing a national reputation for its innovative, community-focussed and strategic approach. Its aim is to be a catalyst for positive social change in the county by connecting people, ideas, resources and needs to make a lasting difference. The charity strongly believes that there should be opportunity for all and the lives of the most disadvantaged should be transformed through innovative, community-based solutions. The foundation is passionate about improving the lives of people in Bedfordshire and Luton and known for its ground-breaking initiatives, for its investment in supporting local charities and for its deep relationships with grassroots groups in the local area. The charity’s work has been recognised nationally for the impact it has made, but it remains firmly rooted in its communities.
What they’ve achieved
In 2017, BLCF was in a precarious situation. One of the smallest community foundations in the UK, it was perceived as a passive grants administrator with a low profile and no visible identity. Additionally, the charity was put in a difficult situation when serious illness reduced its staff team of four to just one. BLCF was responsible for distributing more than £1.2 million in grants, raised from local funders, and the future of the charity was uncertain. As a community foundation, BLCF was a place-based funder, raising and distributing funds mainly in the form of small grants to many of the most marginalised communities in the area. These communities relied on these small but vital grants to continue their grassroots work.
Galvanised by crisis, but motivated by opportunity, the board started by recruiting an inspiring CEO as well as other team members. Recognising the need to transform their own governance to support the charity, the board undertook a comprehensive review of its role, and recruited trustees to fill the skills gap and increase diversity, becoming more representative of the communities the charity served. Strategically, the board sought a better understanding of and closer partnership with its local communities to help it identify the issues that most concerned those BLCF hoped to support. Poverty/inequality and mental health became key priorities.
The board led the charity to embrace its role as a convener, setting up networks for both funders and small charities in the county to foster collaboration and understanding. Today, BLCF is recognised as one of the leading foundations in the UK, pioneering community-led social change as well as changing the sector as a whole. The foundation’s ground-breaking national Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Coalition (spearheaded by the new CEO), have earned BLCF a reputation as a leading expert in this area (the organisation has taught 15 major foundations, such as the National Lottery and Comic Relief, how to work more equitably). BLCF has been cited in national press in relation to DEI and the CEO was named as one of the 25 most influential people in the Charity Sector. The foundation’s income has also increased fourfold (to over £5m), elevating it to the fourth-largest community foundation in the UK.
Why they were shortlisted
The board completely reinvented itself and the foundation. Focusing on community and collaboration, trustees developed principles to guide their work, a practical strategy to achieve their mission, and worked with their CEO to develop local partnerships and and achieve meaningful change not just in their local community but across the charity sector.
