The Henry Smith Charity

We're proud of the #research project our partner, Social Finance is conducting and the 15 incredible support #services we are funding through this project to assess the impact of #advocacy #support services for people with #learning #disabilities and #autistic people. Check out their post to learn more and read the interim project report 👇🏽👇🏿👇 #AdvocacyAwarenessWeek

🚀 In 2023, The Henry Smith Charity launched a #DEI (#Diversity, #Equity and #Inclusion) working group to refocus our efforts on DEI, both within the organisation and in our external grant making activities. 📣 As a #social #impact funder, we must live our values. Our DEI working group is the driving force behind efforts to ensure that staff, trustees, and volunteers feel empowered to embed DEI principles in their work. 📰 Read our latest #blog to find out how we are developing DEI in our work 👉🏿👉👉🏽 https://lnkd.in/e89P3kmD 📸 Luke Webb, Pexels

How can meaningful values can increase #impact? 📆 Since 2023, we have been undergoing a #strategy redevelopment project to align our work with the complex social challenges faced by #communities across the UK. 📈 We identified a need to establish a new working #culture and #values to shape and support our mission: empowering economically and socially excluded people, and supporting those in adversity to #thrive. 🤔 But how do the culture and values of a social impact organisation uphold and support its work? And how should values be agreed? 💡We spoke to Nicola Taylor, our Strategy Change Manager, and Nicola Pye, our Leadership & Culture Consultant, about the adventures, challenges and opportunities that lie in shaping a new organisational culture and values. Read the blog 👉🏽👉👉🏿https://lnkd.in/eDu_RF3j 📸 Javier Allegue Barros for Unsplash

🍞 “[The Breadwinners Programme] helped me to set goals, and I’ve achieved most of them!” - Bemnet, Breadwinners participant, 2024 🎉 Bemnet, a recent graduate of the Breadwinners programme talked to us about building skills, achieving goals and learning to enjoy the present more fully. 📸 We ran a two-day photographic storytelling workshop with PhotoVoice to help the Breadwinners participants tell their stories. Read Bemnet's story on our latest blog 👉🏿👉🏽👉 https://lnkd.in/e5UXweyp Photo © Bemnet, 2024

“It’s all about community, fun and creating a safe space” – Martha Solloway, Breadwinners programme lead. As part of our continued commitment to amplifying the voices of our grant holders and those they support, we spoke to Breadwinners, a London-based social enterprise supporting young asylum seekers and refugees, at a photographic storytelling workshop we ran with PhotoVoice earlier this year. We spoke to Martha and Josie, two key Breadwinners staff, about how they support young refugees and asylum seekers to develop stronger skill sets, more confidence and a safe, welcoming community. Read the blog 👉🏿👉🏽👉https://lnkd.in/eQ7m7XUu Image credit: Copyright © Tom Elkins 2024.

📸 As part of our ongoing commitment to amplifying the voices of our grant holders, we launched a pilot project in collaboration with PhotoVoice, a social enterprise specialising in photographic storytelling. 🎇 We ran a two-day workshop where the staff and young people supported by one of our grant holders, Breadwinners, learned digital storytelling techniques and had the chance to tell their own stories through photography, in their own way. 🍞 Breadwinners is a London-based charity supporting young refugees and asylum seekers to access new skills, develop confidence and secure work opportunities through training programmes and weekly markets, where young people sell bread, make new connections and build community. We spoke to Awet, one of the participants, about his experiences, goals and reflections on arriving in the UK. Read the blog 👉🏿👉🏽👉 https://lnkd.in/ebWf5-bs Image © Josie K. 2024

Our response to the rioting and violence The violent riots we have seen across the country in recent days have been shocking. We stand in solidarity with all people who have been impacted, particularly those from migrant and minoritised communities. No one should have to experience racism, Islamophobia and terror on our streets. There is no excuse for these actions. The Henry Smith Charity supports a range of local community organisations across the UK. These include charities supporting racially minoritised communities, refugees and asylum seekers. As a funder we see so much positive work that is happening in local communities and to support people arriving in this country. We will continue to stand alongside our grant holders and provide funding in these areas. Many charities will be starting to think about the massive challenge of repairing the harm caused by this violence and we wholeheartedly support these organisations in their work.  Our communities are so much stronger than the small, hateful group trying to divide us.

💸 Now that our Strengthening Communities and Improving Lives #grant programmes have closed, we're looking back on some of the key statistics demonstrating the distribution of our #funding since the programmes first opened in 2018. 📈 Whilst some grants from these programmes are still ongoing, we wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on the impact both our funding and grant holders have achieved. 📩 We'll be releasing more insights via our newsletter and on LinkedIn once programmes have finished. For now, let's take a look at the stats... #funding #grants #impact

💡 We're working in partnership with the VCSE Observatory and The Social Investment Consultancy (TSIC) along with funders City Bridge Foundation, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Paul Hamlyn Foundation to commission new research to assess the equitability of the UK funding landscape through understanding #DEI data, assess if and how funding practices impact #equitable funding, and understand funders and funded organisations’ perceptions of #funding #equity in the UK. Are you a funder or funded organisation? Have your say and contribute to a better understanding of #Diversity, #Equity and #Inclusion within UK funding 👉 https://lnkd.in/e5Uy_xUr

💸 💟We are delighted to provide five years of funding for St. Luke’s programme of Pastoral Supervision for #clergy #wellbeing. 💟 💸 With the £1.9 million of funding, St Luke’s for Clergy Wellbeing will deliver a five-year evaluated programme of pastoral supervision and reflective practice for Church of England clergy. 830 clergy will benefit directly from this funding by the end of the programme. The parish priest is considered a vital, visible presence in the #community, setting up youth activities, running food banks, visiting schools, hospitals, care homes and prisons - many are being stretched beyond capacity. The aim of this funding is to change the culture of the Church of England and Church in Wales to support clergy wellbeing through pastoral supervision and reflective practice, at all stages of their ministry. Read the article in the Church Times : https://lnkd.in/gy6SUrGX #funding #grants #programme