1. Emerging opportunities
and tensions in
community foundations’
development in the UK
The lens of localism
Professor Jenny Harrow

2. The rediscovery of localism

3. Community Foundations in the UK
policy context
• Geographically embedded
philanthropic organisations
with geographical
organisational identities and
an inherent focus on place
• Predestined as community
leaders?
Source: http://www.communityfoundations.org.uk/community_foundations/map/

4. Method
• Documentary analysis
• Semi-structured
interviews
• 12 CEs in England
• Chosen from spectrum of
size and age
• Thematic analysis

5. Themes from the literature
• Articulation of the strength of the CF model
• Flexibility and transferability of the model
• Optimism vs Negativity
• Role of state/private foundations
• Key roles of community leadership: leader,
intermediary and overseer

6. Growing sense of independence,
prioritised over place…
• “ (This is the) first year now that we have 75% private funding, finally feel this is
what being a community foundation is about – our focus now is on philanthropy
….have a policy for when we do and do not go for European and Government
funding – our organisational emphasis from this point onwards is philanthropy”
• “in a way we should be invisible intermediaries, (the) glory should be of the
groups we support – but the trouble with (being an) invisible intermediary as a
grant-maker is that it makes it difficult to effectively fundraise for endowment –”
• “ for 12 years, a grant-maker no endowment building – in 2009 £180,000 in
endowment (before grassroots challenge) – Grassroots challenge was lift off
moment! …achieved matched funding, now £3m plus in endowment. It generated
a completely different mindset about what a community foundation should be’ -
(we have) confidence from the endowment.”

7. …and:
• “In terms of public policy, how do you choose what to stand up for?.... needs of small groups
that will always be the case , so the continued need for grant making, but diificul to chose
areas to prioritise in a policy sense – stick with the more general issues…fairness, equity”
• “the grassroots grant fund was not linked to deprivation in any way - challenge for CFS
individually is knowing quite where to start with the 'community aspect' or the 'philanthropy
aspect' – we still have to reflect the broad range of opinions on giving and community needs
in our localities”
• “ the council have decided to prioritise children and young people – not to say that we don’t
support that area – but should we fund another area where there are cuts or should we fund
what we think local need determines?”
• With relations with local authorities particularly challenging, ranging from the CF which “has
a hot desk at the town hall”, to the CF which ““tries and stay away from local government
unless it’s strategic relevance, ……we drop in when we need to”

8. Different notions of place and
place leadership
From: Jung, Harrow and Phillips (2013),
Developing a better understanding of community foundations in the UK’s localism, Policy & Politics

9. Differentiated conceptualisations of place and
place leadership in UK community foundations
From: Jung, Harrow and Phillips (2013),
Developing a better understanding of community foundations in the UK’s localism, Policy & Politics

10. Reflections I
• Interpretations of localism
producing contrasting foci for
community foundations
• Internal, continuous and
convergent struggle
• Complex interplay between
roles

11. Reflections II
• Question of necessity/ viability of a single/
singular notion of community foundations
• Question if the English/Welsh predominance
of endowment building might be limiting and
challenging the multi-purpose nature of the
community foundation model

12. The road ahead…
• Reframing of what community
foundations are away from ‘the agile
servant’ perspective?
• Potential (positive/negative) for
increasing institutional competition?
• Schism between small community
foundations and über-foundations?
• Sense of ‘conditional localism’?