Annual Report
Annual Report
Introduction
The Churchill Fellowship is a community of 3,800 changemakers developing new solutions for the UK’s most pressing problems. Fellows are funded to research global best practice on practical issues anywhere in the world and are then supported to use those insights to inspire change in their communities or professional sectors across the UK.
Our 2020 Annual Report outlines the Fellowship’s achievements over the past year.
Summary
In 2020 our normal programme of travelling Fellowships was paused due to the global lockdown. As Covid-19 began to grip the UK, we switched our focus towards UK projects that could mitigate the effects of the pandemic throughout society.
In March 2020 we set up a new Covid-19 Action Fund, offering grants of up to £10,000 for Covid-related projects run by Churchill Fellows. It was funded through our own resources and the generosity of our supporters. The first round of grants was awarded in June, totalling £155,000 for 21 projects. These covered a wide range of issues from healthcare to homelessness and beyond. A second round of grants was opened in September, resulting in awards of £302,000.
Initial learnings from this Fund have been gathered into a report and film which can be viewed here.
Equalities campaigner Yvonne Field is one of our Covid-19 Action Fund recipients and has been helping minoritised racial communities affected by the pandemic, setting up public health research, new grant projects and online advocacy. She said: “We need to galvanise BAME communities so that their voices and views can be heard and taken seriously. The work we have been doing has been stretching, at times exhausting, but very necessary.”
“These achievements show the Churchill Fellowship at its finest, fulfilling its mission of bringing practical solutions to the UK’s most pressing problems.” – Jeremy Soames, Chairman
The Covid-19 Action Fund is only one example of our increasing emphasis on making a practical impact on issues facing the UK. Another important example is our new Activate Fund, which made its first grants in 2020. This provides seed funding when Fellows have completed their research phase, to help them set up projects across the UK based on their global findings.
In June 2020 we awarded £101,000 in Activate grants to seven Fellows whose projects have the potential to transform the lives of people across the UK. This is the start of a three-year pilot to explore how best we can support Fellows to accelerate their UK activities, through financial and other forms of assistance.
In March 2020, just before the lockdown, we had selected our annual cohort of new Fellows. A total of 141 inspiring individuals were appointed, with a mission to discover global innovations overseas and inspire change when they return. For the time being, the international lockdown has put their travels on pause. When it is once again safe for them to travel, they will visit 51 countries in search of new ideas for key issues ranging from climate change to suicide prevention, from domestic abuse to urban design.
Fellows’ impact across society was shown in our annual survey, which asked Fellows from various years about the difference they have made as a result of their Fellowship. One respondent said: “The Fellowship gave me the courage to travel, to connect, to reach out. It gave me the courage to be curious, to take risks and dream. It gave me the confidence to build new relationships and in small waves (that have had wider ripples) to effect change.”
Highlights from the survey include:
- 98% of Fellows report a stronger and broader knowledge base.
- 93% say they now have a larger professional network.
- 86% say they are now globally connected.
- 73% feel they have the capacity to lead change.
- 58% define themselves as leaders in their sectors.
- 100% would recommend a Fellowship to others.
Our past annual reports can be viewed on the Charity Commission website.
Summary
In 2020 our normal programme of travelling Fellowships was paused due to the global lockdown. As Covid-19 began to grip the UK, we switched our focus towards UK projects that could mitigate the effects of the pandemic throughout society.
In March 2020 we set up a new Covid-19 Action Fund, offering grants of up to £10,000 for Covid-related projects run by Churchill Fellows. It was funded through our own resources and the generosity of our supporters. The first round of grants was awarded in June, totalling £155,000 for 21 projects. These covered a wide range of issues from healthcare to homelessness and beyond. A second round of grants was opened in September, resulting in awards of £302,000.
Initial learnings from this Fund have been gathered into a report and film which can be viewed here.
Equalities campaigner Yvonne Field is one of our Covid-19 Action Fund recipients and has been helping minoritised racial communities affected by the pandemic, setting up public health research, new grant projects and online advocacy. She said: “We need to galvanise BAME communities so that their voices and views can be heard and taken seriously. The work we have been doing has been stretching, at times exhausting, but very necessary.”
“These achievements show the Churchill Fellowship at its finest, fulfilling its mission of bringing practical solutions to the UK’s most pressing problems.” – Jeremy Soames, Chairman
The Covid-19 Action Fund is only one example of our increasing emphasis on making a practical impact on issues facing the UK. Another important example is our new Activate Fund, which made its first grants in 2020. This provides seed funding when Fellows have completed their research phase, to help them set up projects across the UK based on their global findings.
In June 2020 we awarded £101,000 in Activate grants to seven Fellows whose projects have the potential to transform the lives of people across the UK. This is the start of a three-year pilot to explore how best we can support Fellows to accelerate their UK activities, through financial and other forms of assistance.
In March 2020, just before the lockdown, we had selected our annual cohort of new Fellows. A total of 141 inspiring individuals were appointed, with a mission to discover global innovations overseas and inspire change when they return. For the time being, the international lockdown has put their travels on pause. When it is once again safe for them to travel, they will visit 51 countries in search of new ideas for key issues ranging from climate change to suicide prevention, from domestic abuse to urban design.
Fellows’ impact across society was shown in our annual survey, which asked Fellows from various years about the difference they have made as a result of their Fellowship. One respondent said: “The Fellowship gave me the courage to travel, to connect, to reach out. It gave me the courage to be curious, to take risks and dream. It gave me the confidence to build new relationships and in small waves (that have had wider ripples) to effect change.”
Highlights from the survey include:
- 98% of Fellows report a stronger and broader knowledge base.
- 93% say they now have a larger professional network.
- 86% say they are now globally connected.
- 73% feel they have the capacity to lead change.
- 58% define themselves as leaders in their sectors.
- 100% would recommend a Fellowship to others.
Our past annual reports can be viewed on the Charity Commission website.