Trustees Report

Plans for future periods

For the year ended 30 September 2023

Lessons learned

In considering the Foundation’s new Strategic Plan, trustees identified some key lessons from the first five years of the charity’s work:

  • The Foundation has matured from an initial focus on tactical short-term grant-based programme delivery to an increasing investment in strategic funding to deliver ‘system change’;
  • beyond its financial support, the Foundation has an increasingly influential role in hosting and incubating initiatives (such as Championing Social Care) and using its convening role (such as with the proposed Social Care Leaders Scheme;
  • the expertise provided by CareTech Ltd staff enables the Foundation to deliver significant additional value to its partners;
  • that a mix of ‘breadth versus depth’ of initiatives supported is entirely appropriate for the Foundation; and,
  • that it would be beneficial to focus on a small number of Flagship Partnerships, with a slightly smaller number of other partnerships.

Plans for the year ahead
With the new three-year strategy now in place, the Foundation’s priorities for the year ahead include:

  • To finalise our updated Theory of Change and Impact Assessment Framework, in line with the new Strategic Plan, by November 2023.
  • To begin transitioning to a portfolio of Partnership Grants that consists of 3-4 Flagship Partnerships and 10-15 other partnerships,
  • To ensure that the three small grants streams operate at full capacity and deliver maximum impact in line with their objectives.
  • To collaborate closely with CareTech Ltd to amplify staff awareness, migrate from PDF newsletters to dynamic digital platforms, and harness Salesforce for more efficient communication practices.
  • To invest in the development of the Special Education Needs initiative in Pakistan;
  • To continue to build partnerships and relationships across the social care sector, charitable sector with other funders, and beyond, including:
  • To seek out co-funding opportunities with other grant-making bodies to increase the Foundation’s scale and reach in line with the targets above.
  • To continue to support the Foundation-hosted Championing Social Care initiative effectively.
  • To maintain our commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion issues, undertaking a second review of progress against our public commitments;
  • To keep the Foundation’s investments under close review, particularly the portfolio managed by Ruffer LLP.
  • To ensure we deliver on our sustainability commitments, as agreed in 2023 by trustees in our Environmental Sustainability Policy;
  • To ensure continued high levels of compliance with the Charity Commission’s Guidance for charities associated with non-charities and with the Code of Good Governance and to undertake a fresh self assessment using the Foundations Practice framework.
  • To publish our fourth Impact Report alongside our Annual Report.
  • To effectively manage the demand for new Partnerships, ensuring that the Foundation has a pipeline of powerful and innovative opportunities.
  • To ensure that the three small grants streams operate at full capacity, enthusing CareTech staff, in the UK and overseas, to take greater advantage of the schemes, particularly in respect of the Match-Funding grants.
  • To implement the agreed investment plan for the proceeds realised from the Foundation’s shares in CareTech plc
  • To continue to implement the agreed Income Diversification Strategy
  • To keep under close review the Foundation’s long-term financial sustainability in the light of the sale of CareTech plc and wider economic volatility.
  • To continue working with PEM on the annual audit to identify opportunities to further improve the charity’s systems and operations.
  • To ensure continued high levels of compliance with the Charity Commission’s Guidance for charities associated with non-charities and with the Code of Good Governance.
  • To implement the recommendations from the Foundations Practice framework self-assessment review.