Today 13 UK citizens will be awarded prestigious Churchill Fellowships to research the world’s best ideas, innovations and practices in enterprise and charities. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity funds inspiring individuals to travel the world and bring back new ideas that can be actioned in the UK.
These 13 Churchill Fellows will explore a range of issues including:
- Enterprise for social impact.
- Disaster grant-making after Grenfell.
- The shift to a cashless society.
- How Foundations can reach the most marginalised communities.
- Encouraging diverse workforces.
- Building social infrastructure and community through food markets.
Together, they will travel to 20 countries across 5 continents. The 2020 Churchill Fellowships exploring enterprise for social impact are jointly funded through a partnership with The Rank Foundation. They are among 141 Churchill Fellows awarded this year across a range of vital topics.
Julia Weston, Chief Executive of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust said: “This year we have awarded Churchill Fellowships to 141 inspiring people from all areas of UK society, who will travel the world in search of the best solutions for the UK’s most pressing problems. They will explore innovations in a wide range of fields and bring back new ideas to strengthen their communities and professions across the UK. This is a crucial bridge of people and ideas between the UK and the world.”
We can offer interviews, quotes and photos with the new Fellows or with existing Fellows who have already made an impact in their sector or community.
Fellows’ projects include:
Enterprise for social impact
According to the Deloitte Human Capital Trends 2018 survey , entitled “The Rise of the Social Enterprise”, “Citizenship and social impact” were rated critical or important by 77% of companies surveyed. A number of Churchill Fellows are exploring how their enterprises can have a social impact.
- Director of The Advantage Foundation, (which supports young offenders into employment), Gerry Ford will explore the effectiveness of social enterprise as a means to reduce reoffending rates. He will visit Japan, Norway, Singapore and South Korea. Gerry’s Fellowship is jointly funded by The Rank Foundation.
- Co-founder of a social enterprise supporting women from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds Daisy Jacobs will visit Jordan, Turkey and Germany to research the role of social enterprises in supporting asylum seekers as they wait for their claims to be processed. Daisy’s Fellowship is jointly funded by The Rank Foundation.
- CEO of an education charity Jeane Lowe will be exploring ways of educating young people to recycle waste by visiting projects which have done this in South Africa and The Gambia. Jeane’s Fellowship is jointly funded by The Rank Foundation.
Disaster grant-making after Grenfell
The Grenfell disaster revealed a lack of preparedness in how the local and national voluntary sector should respond through grant-making and how grant-making can be used most effectively in supporting those affected by disaster.
- Director of Kensington & Chelsea Foundation Susan Dolton, who was involved in the Grenfell Tower disaster as a fundraiser and grant-maker, will research best practice in disaster grant-making to both individuals and community organisations. She will visit communities and projects in the USA and New Zealand which have been affected by shootings and by earthquake.
The shift to a cashless society
With the increasing move to a cashless society, Britain’s 1.2 million people in the UK who don’t have a bank account will be hit the hardest.
- Vicky Major, who works at the Big Issue Foundation, will research how the shift towards a cashless economy in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, countries with some of the lowest cash use, has impacted people living in poverty, and how the UK can ensure nobody gets left behind. Vicky’s Fellowship is jointly funded by The Rank Foundation.
- She said: “I have worked with Big Issue vendors who are financially excluded, ‘unbanked’, have no savings and rely on expensive credit for essentials. While it is not undesirable to become cashless and digital, it is important we plan for it properly to avoid millions getting left behind.” – Vicky Major
How Foundations can reach the most marginalised communities
Addressing inequality is the most critical issue for charitable foundations in the UK. The sector distributes over £4.5 billion a year and yet there is no systematic process for understanding whether and how this funding reaches the most marginalised communities.
- CEO of Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation, Fozia Irfan, will visit the USA to research the development and implementation of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) frameworks in the Foundation sector and how these might work in the UK in order to reach the most marginalised communities.
- She said: “I am passionate about addressing systemic inequality and acknowledge the power and privilege the Foundation sector hold, in being able to influence where funding is distributed and which marginalised communities are helped. I do not come from a privileged background and recognise that there are inbuilt exclusionary mechanisms in the way that we work which alienate and isolate those that need our funding the most. My objective is to transform how the Foundation sector works to make it more diverse, inclusive and equitable.” – Fozia Irfan
For a full list of projects within this sector, please see the Notes to Editors.
Everyone can apply for a Churchill Fellowship, regardless of age, background or qualifications, so long as they are a UK citizen aged 18 or over. The next chance to apply for a Fellowship opens on 30 April 2020 for travel in 2021, at www.wcmt.org.uk . Applicants within the field of enterprise and charities are invited to apply with a particular focus this year on “Enterprise for Social Impact” .
