City talent can help galvanise charities and transform lives

Last night saw the official launch of an exciting new project that is changing the way the City conducts philanthropy and transforming the outlook for small charities across the country. The Fore is an ambitious but simple solution to two big problems.

In the City many firms have invested in philanthropy programmes, sometimes with impressive results, but as they fight to recruit talent and keep customers, much of what they do seems to leave people cold. Having a “charity of the year” is a good start but often leads to little learning or personal development on either side.

At the same time, communities across the UK are full of small charities and social enterprises that are on the front line of change in our society but don’t have the connections to raise the money they need to grow. Too often it’s who you know rather than what you do that decides who gets that corporate sponsorship.

At The Fore we have developed and tested a new model that breaks down barriers and brings these two groups together. Some of the biggest names in the City are already on board, providing funding alongside the Big Lottery. We do the due diligence so our business partners know they and their staff are choosing from the most inspirational projects out there, while charities and social enterprises from anywhere in the country only have to go through one simple application process to access funding of up to £30,000 and ongoing support.

We want to make sure that even the smallest transformative charities can succeed. The potential is huge — when we opened our most recent application round for charities we had to close it after less than 10 minutes.

The early results have already been extraordinary. The Big House in Hackney uses theatre to make sure young people who have spent time in the care system have the chance to fulfil their potential — it now has a chair who used to be chief of staff at the London Stock Exchange. Football Beyond Borders wanted to scale up its work to excite more teenagers about learning across south London — they’re now being mentored by a former private-equity executive. It may come as a surprise but as well as money, small charities with big ambitions need financial skills, legal knowledge and strategic expertise as much as start-up businesses.

The past few years have shone a light on how disconnected our society is but there is a groundswell of people who want to make a difference. The Fore is bringing people together so we can help each other. It is a humbling experience to learn how little it takes to change lives when the right help is at hand. Join us to find out for yourself.

Rupert Harrison and Mary Rose Gunn are the chair and CEO of The Fore, a charity dedicated to funding small charities and social enterprises.