The Baobab Foundation

Our final principle is JUSTICE. A term we hear so often in the streets as we gather in the face of oppression. JUSTICE is more than a rallying cry, for Baobab justice is the action of creating the systems we need for equity in our own communities. Resourcing racial justice means economically empowering our communities to create the infrastructures we are best-placed to make systemic change. We define justice as the disruption of oppressive systems, the protection of restorative communal healing and the creation of anti-oppressive infrastructures. Our vision is one filled with the support and empowerment of Black and Global Majority communities who continue our long legacies of carving justice away from systems designed to continue our collective suffering. Baobab’s role in our collective struggle for justice lies in our dedication to resourcing 0Black and Global Majority communities to combat the unjust economic systems that have left us under-resourced and historically immobilised. Who are your Black and Global Majority communal change-makers bringing justice? Give them their flowers by tagging them below!

UNITY is the second cornerstone of Baobab’s Principles! Among landscapes of increasing instability and racial oppression, UNITY has always been the anchor that has held Black and Global Majority communities together, enabling us to challenge the historic oppressions we continue to face. We cannot make it without one another. Baobab’s work as a community resources mobiliser focuses on empowering Black and Global Majority communal organising. We believe it is our powerful collective work that will brings us closer towards equitable infrastructures. What songs remind you of UNITY? Drop them below!

We’re in the final hours of searching for our next round of Peer Reviewes! Today is the final day to get those applications in! Deadline closes this evening at 5:00PM 💯

We’re finally wrapping up with our last event for what has been an incredible #UncharitableFestival202. To send us off, we’re taking an exciting and much-needed look into the future of philanthropy and how we can shape alternative futures to meet the demands of ever increasing societal and global inequality. Funding needs to evolve in order to meet the challenges of violent capitalist imperialism and rising fascism under the carpet; we too must rise to face it. Jermain Jackman and Martha will be joined by the incredible speakers: Jermaine Craig - philanthropist and founder of Kwanda Saint-Saëns Aşli - international community educator on gender abolition, racial justice and class justice Jovan Owusu-Nepaul - trade unionist and policy officer who stood against Nigel Farage in the general election Together we will explore what the fight for freedom and justice actually mean. How can we employ a multitude of strategies designed to build solidarity across differences? How can we build communities that are equipped in the fight against oppression? And what is the role of philanthropy in resourcing the power of communities? Join us at 5pm on the 24th October for a discussion that should leave you feeling ready build communities of resistance! EVENT LINK: https://ow.ly/yXee50TQ773

True justice isn’t about giving away excess wealth in more participatory ways; It’s about creating fair taxation systems and trade agreements that prevent, recognise and repair centuries of wealth injustice. The past couple of months I have been having lots of conversations about trust-based philanthropy, participatory grant-making and this idea of shifting power through fairer resource allocation. Whilst this is great, we need a more visible and louder dialogue connecting the dots between tax justice, debt cancellation, and progressive grant-making to ensure that the push for more participatory, trust-based approaches to giving does not become a rebranding of the status quo but instead is integrated into a broader movement for systemic justice. Here is an article I wrote for JMB Consulting #Uncharitablefestival2024. If you haven't signed up for the festival, make sure you do! The conversations are fire!

I recently read a Sufi proverb that said: 'You are entitled to nothing and entrusted with everything' I think that proverb sums up how I feel about today's session. What a beautiful discussion Raji Hunjan, Jermain Jackman, Julian Corner and I just had at Post Capitalist Philanthropy: Death, Rebirth and Transformation. There were just so many honest, real, and deep moments that we shared together this evening, it was an absolutely pleasure to hold that space. Some things that I am taking away: - how difficult it is to embrace uncertainty in a culture and sector that demands that we have all the answers - that we need to be radical, bold, creative and dream up worlds that feel impossible. Some of us must shout, to create the possibility and the safety for others to speak, or even to whisper - that being honest is an act of respect, even if people do not like what is being said, even if the honesty is admitting that we don't know what to do next - that we all have a role to play within the ecosystem, and funders need to understand what it means to be within, whilst also resourcing, ecosystems I feel such immense privilege to be entrusted to hold these conversations with the third sector. My heart feels very full tonight. Thank you to everyone who came. Tomorrow we will be asking: Is participatory grant-making enough? We will be joined by Eli Manderson Evans, CEO of The Blagrave Trust, Yoanna Okwesa Associate Director at Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) and Mohammed Afridi, Director of Organising at Civic Power Fund You can't say we haven't treated you this #BlackHistoryMonth - what a line-up! Be there tomorrow at 5pm (or on playback afterwards) 👇🏽

Catch us at our third event tomorrow in collaboration with the fabulous Uncharitable Festival for #BlackHistoryMonth! One way that foundations are trying to redistribute power in funding is through participatory grant-making, bringing people impacted by funding decisions into the fund design process. Lots of organisations claim to be engaging in participatory processes, but often their engagement with people with ‘lived experience’ is an afterthought and replicates the very power dynamics that participatory processes are designed to address. Join us on Wednesday, 23rd October at 5pm on Zoom for this brilliant event that will be sure to change your funding practice! In this event Jermain and Martha will meet funders who are rooting their participatory practice in racial justice. We will be joined by Yoanna Okwesa, Associate Director of Emerging Futures at Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), Eli Manderson Evan, CEO of The Blagrave Trust and Mohammed Afridi, Director of Organising at Civic Power Fund to explore: 🤔 How participatory grant-making works in practice 🤔 How they are embedding racial and economic justice in their participatory processes 🤔 Some of the challenges that come with participatory grant-making 🤔 Whether participatory grant-making is enough 🤔 What else funders should be doing to be part of the movement for wealth redistribution and reparations Our unflinching discussion will delve into how we can go deeper with participatory grant-making and how anti-oppression can be placed at the very core of our approaches! EVENT LINK: https://ow.ly/iYTi50TPZWe

Our second event tomorrow for #BlackHistoryMonth will be another collaborative panel series with Uncharitable. We’re looking forward to having an unflinching and deep-diving exploration into how death, rebirth and transformation are central to building a world without colonial capitalist extraction. In order to resist racism, imperialism and capitalism we have to transform ourselves and establish alternative ways of being in the world. This starts with the death of everything we thought we knew about the world, the charity sector, our work and ourselves. Jermain Jackman and Martha Awojobi will be joined by Julian Corner, CEO of The Lankellychase Foundation and Raji Hunjan, CEO of The Tudor Trust. These organisations have responded to the call to transform, with Lankelly deciding to relinquish control of their assets, and resources and redistribute them so that money can flow freely to those doing life-affirming social justice work, and Tudor trust deciding to remain open and embed racial justice and systems thinking into their strategy to create an ecosystem where money and resources flow to meet the ambitions of communities. Tickets are moving fast, be sure to secure yours! https://ow.ly/YgGv50TN0tI

Join us this evening for the first event in our series of panel events for #BlackHistoryMonth in collaboration with the wonderful Uncharitable Festival 2024! First up is our bold discussion on the landscape of funding and philanthropy. Here we will be discussing routes that go beyond navigating systems of existing philanthropy and focus on how we have actively been disrupting the outdated models that exist within the funding world. Tickets are moving fast, be sure to book your place and join an unmissable conversation. Link: https://ow.ly/FZYg50TM2OJ

We’re gearing up for next week and an unmissable series of conversations with Martha Awojobi for Uncharitable Festival! Tickets are moving quickly, be sure to grab yours and to join us in these ground-shaking conversations.