The Rank Foundation

GAP Residential, May – Nayaab Yaseen Review

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On arrival in Cumbria I was greeted by staff and other Gappers, which meant we were able to bond as a group from the onset. The residential was 3 days long and was packed with loads of activities ensuring that we got the most of our time in the Lakes; this made it particularly enjoyable. Out of all the activities the Via-Ferrata was the most memorable for a number of reasons; firstly I was hanging mid air at one point! The Via-Ferrata was made up of vertical climbing and a lot of mountain edge exposure; it was a very terrifying yet thrilling experience. What made the experience particularly memorable was the support that I got from the other Gappers. I was very nervous at the start, but the whole way through the Via-Ferrata I had constant words of encouragement. It’s hard not to bond with someone when you’re clinging on to them mid air! Over the few days we developed really good friendships and we are still in contact with each other; in fact we’re in a group chat.

All in all, the experience was absolutely fantastic and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I benefited in a number of ways including pushing myself to do something I didn’t think I could do. The rest of the group told me they could hear my shenanigans from the other side of the mountain so I was really proud that I persevered. I am really looking forward to the next residential and being reunited with my fellow Gappers.

Nayaab Yaseen – Lindley Educational Trust

CAP 2016 – My Experience: Centre 63

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One of our Leadership Award Holders, Connie Lumsdon, is just finishing her second and final year with us by revisiting her original Community Action Placement at Centre 63 in Kirkby. We have asked Connie to give us a review of her two week placement, and we are delighted to hear what a fantastic time she had.

“Once again, I’ve had a wonderful time with the staff of Centre 63, a fantastic youth centre in Kirkby which serves the young people of the community incredibly well. I have, however, built on my experiences from last year, and feel as though I have seen a broader range of the many aspects and activities of the centre this year. Although I arrived with 2 weeks prior experience of the centre and its daily routines, I was taken aback by how much the centre has progressed and excelled in under a year, and almost had to start from scratch with my knowledge of the centre as there was so much more to learn.

Arriving on Wednesday evening, I put my suitcase in the office and dived straight into Youth Club with the junior group of 8-11 year olds. Throughout the Youth Club sessions, I had a great time with the children whilst creating emoji masks, colouring in flags of the world (and learning about many unknown countries in the process) and creating comics within the ComicsYouth project, all fuelled by healthy snacks provided free of charge by the centre. A particularly enjoyable Youth Club involved the creation of all sorts of weird and wonderful masks, followed by smoothie making and topped off with a long bike ride around the local area. Kirkby should be proud to have such wonderful, well-mannered, kind children at its schools, and I must say that I was astounded by how welcoming they were when they immediately greeted me and introduced themselves. I have been at every Youth Club since I arrived, and can confidently say that I will never forget some of those brilliant kids, especially for their range of talents; this Youth Club holds in its hands the actors, artists and philosophers of the future.

One of my designated tasks was to manage the social media accounts and website throughout my placement. Through the use of Hootsuite, a social media management application, I have been able to set up regular tweets and Facebook posts in order to further promote all the wonderful activities and clubs that are ongoing at Centre 63. Although social media is a valuable method of spreading news and advertising, the people of Kirkby already value this ever-welcoming place as an integral part of their community, and so the centre is constantly signing up more and more young people who were recommended to come here by friends or family. Many generations of families have been coming to Centre 63 for decades, and so the service provided here is not just a key building block in the local area but also in families themselves. This long-standing relationship with the community is essential to the work that the centre does, as a deep trust in the work of the centre is well established in the community.

I was, of course, warmly welcomed back to the YES Project as my desk base during the day, and have enjoyed achieving a deeper understanding of everything that the Tenancy Support Workers do for the young people of Kirkby and Knowsley. Young people between the ages of 16-25 are taken on to the project’s Tenancy Support Programme, and gain a high quality service of debt advice and financial help. Having said this, the YES Project does so much more than it says on paper. These amazing support workers are with their clients every step of the way, and help in any way they can; this includes applying for grant after grant and helping clients to fill out complicated benefit forms, as many young people who find themselves needing help struggle with illiteracy or learning disabilities. I hugely admire the work that Steph and Ann do for a living, and strongly believe that this youth work is not only having an impact on the people that they help but also affecting the community itself in a major way. During my time at the centre, I had the opportunity to go on some home visits with one of the Tenancy Support Workers. This experience was particularly poignant for me, as the majority of the girls who are on the programme are my age or younger, and are living on their own with their own children, often with little family support. I feel so much respect for these young girls, as I know that I would struggle dreadfully were I in their position.

Many young parents are unable to pursue hobbies or educational programmes, as there is a shortage of childcare providers – particularly affordable ones. Centre 63 makes every effort to ensure that young people can complete courses or partake in activities at the centre, such as free sewing classes or the Employability Programme: a 16 week course in which young people gain qualifications in English and Maths, heightening their attractiveness to potential employers. This is, once again, a clear example of how the centre is constantly looking out for the best interests of the young people of Kirkby.

The warm and friendly nature of Centre 63’s staff towards the young people makes it clear to me how this centre is such a success: everyone feels so welcome here from the very start, including me. I believe whole-heartedly in the work of Centre 63 and have absolutely no doubt that this amazing centre will only go from strength to strength in the future. I have so much gratitude for the constant support and open arms from all the staff here, but particularly from Jeane, the centre’s CEO. Not only has she made me feel as though her home is my home, but she also looks after and cares for everything and everyone in any way that she can. I have so much admiration for her, and indeed for the whole staff team at Centre 63. I wish the centre the best of luck in the future, but I can confidently say that they do not need it.”

The Rank Foundation would like to thank Centre 63, especially Jeane Lowe, for hosting such wonderful Community Action Plac

New 3 year report launches at The House of Commons, investigating building better communities through global learning

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The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and The Rank Foundation are launching their first joint report, ‘Building Better Communities through Global Learning’ at the House of Commons this evening.
In 2012 the two organisations agreed to collaborate on a research project to address some of the complex and urgent challenges facing communities in the UK.
In the 3 year period that followed, 58 Fellows were selected to undertake international, experiential research to investigate the question of how to build strong communities, exploring examples of good practice that might be relevant and transferable to the UK.

These Churchill Fellows are innovators, frontline practitioners and academics, who researched a broad range of community development themes – from housing to mental health, gender based violence to enterprise, community cohesion & engagement to youth support.
The main findings include 4 consistent, recurring and interrelated themes that represent the ‘building blocks of a strong community’:
•    Engagement and cohesion
•    Health and safety
•    Empowerment and resilience
•    Enterprise and innovation
The research also identified 3 broad approaches that can help to build stronger, more effective communities:
•    Community-centred approach
•    Preventative approaches
•    Collaborative, partnership approaches

Building better communities through global learning is now available both on our website and that of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.
“Through a jointly funded Travelling Fellowship programme, which supported motivated and talented individuals from across the UK, we wanted to enable global learning that could contribute to safe, strong and empowered communities, fit for the 21st century” – Julia Weston, Chief Executive of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.


“The challenges facing our communities today are myriad, complex and constantly in the headlines. The solutions we all seek cannot lie with an individual, or even solely with government or charitable organisations; they require collaboration and a collective approach. We hope that this body of work, undertaken by people working across all sectors and at all levels, will contribute to the debate and help provide some solutions”

– David Sanderson, Chief Executive of the Rank Foundation.

The Major Grants Process

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The Rank Foundation only accepts applications for a small percentage of its grant making. The Pebble grants (formerly known as “small appeals”) equates to under 5% of the money that the Foundation spends on charitable activities. This can seem surprising to some who are keen to let the Foundation know of its work, particularly when they are aware of the Rank Foundation funding projects nearby.

Why do you not accept applications for the other funding?
The Rank Foundation operates a model of engaged philanthropy; this differs from traditional philanthropy in the level of involvement that we as a grant making body undertake. This includes social and intellectual, as well as financial capital, management support, and access to our wider network (soon to be known as RankNet).
Our experience suggests that by concentrating funding, knowledge and expertise in a very focused way, promoting stronger partnerships and increased collaboration, helps to ‘add value’ where the outcome is greater than the sum of each part. It is therefore vital that each project is chosen by our executives, not only for the good practice and performance that it singularly provides, but also for the benefit of the network as a whole. Our focus on three distinct issues (leadership, enterprise and care) means that we can leverage greater input in these discrete areas, working with grant recipients to maximise their impact and good practice.

How are the projects chosen?
The Rank Foundation follows a specific form of engaged philanthropy, which is research led by its executive directors. Each of our key areas is headed up by a director, which enables the Foundation to draw not only on their expertise, but also on the big picture view of the funded projects in the area. They are therefore uniquely placed to advise trustees and fellow executives on areas for further development, which can then be researched and brought to the Foundation’s attention. We are consequently able to invite only organisations which are a particularly good fit, and have a greater likelihood of a success, to go through the time consuming process of completing an application and the necessary due diligence.

How can I find out more?
For further information on other models of engaged philanthropy, please see the European Venture Philanthropy Association, of which the Rank Foundation is a member.

Time to Shine Review Conference – Windermere

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The Time to Shine Review Conference recently took place in Windermere, the Lake District.  This was an opportunity for all the charities involved in the programme to connect with each other and for The Rank Foundation to hear how the interns’ work had developed over the first six months.  Workshops are included for personal development, some time to reflect and relax with optional creative and leisure activities.

For the first time since the programme began we organised film training for the line managers (to their surprise, we managed to keep it quiet until arrival!).  This was initially greeted by most of the managers with the usual fear of being in front of camera but with the guidance from the fantastic VividEcho team of Alison, Keira and Toby, who then edited the films, the results are brilliant, with inspiration from a ‘Hitchcock’ style thriller to blooming flowers.  You can select the groups below which will redirect you to each video. Enjoy!

Develop & Flourish

Dave Rawding – Rank Associate
Sara Fernandez – Student Hubs
Mike Thompson – HYST
Jill Gledhill – Together Women Project
Simon James – Interlink RCT

Journey Into

Brigitta Laszlo – HANA
Will Law – Brainstrust
Maya Kumagai-Jones – St Hilda’s
James Hall – People and Work Unit
Jane Johnstone-Cree – Neuro Therapy Centre

The Doorway

Michelle Smith – Blackpool Carers
Yvonne Field – The Ubele Initiative
Jenny O’Hara Jakeway – Powys Carers
Titi Dawadu – Reaching Higher
Matt Bell – Exeter Community Initiatives

Thanksgiving for the life of Robin Cowen CBE

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‘He has achieved success who has lived well,
laughed often, and loved much;
Who has enjoyed the trust of pure women,
the respect of intelligent men
and the love of little children;
Who has filled his niche and accomplished his task;
Who has never lacked appreciation of Earth’s beauty or failed to express it;
Who has left the world better than he found it,
Whether an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul;
Who has always looked for the best in others
and given them the best he had;
Whose life was in inspiration;
Whose memory a benediction.’
– Bessie Stanley

On Monday 20th June 2016, a Service of Thanksgiving was held for the life of Robin Cowen CBE.

Many friends, associates and beneficiaries of Robin’s hard work and the Foundation gathered together at Wesley’s Chapel, a Methodist congregation near Old Street, to celebrate his life and work. Despite the drizzly start to the morning, the congregation listened to inspiring accounts of Robin’s work, including his role in the Normandy landings and the Battle of Dunkirk, which (despite the weather) brightened the day.

We would like to thank all who came to celebrate with The Rank Foundation and Robin’s family, as well as Wesley’s Chapel for leading the memorial and the Honorable Artillery Company for hosting a wonderful reception afterwards.

If you have any stories of how Robin’s work touched your organisation or you personally, please get in touch!