Centre for Social Justice sets up foundation for grassroots charities
Melanie May | 10 December 2021 | News
The new CSJ Foundation will help to promote grassroots charities, to make their case in Whitehall, and to match them with philanthropists.
Figures from the National Council of Voluntary Organisations show that some 97% of charities have an annual income of less than £1 million, with almost half of charities having an income of less than £10,000.
This has inspired the Centre for Social Justice to set up the CSJ Foundation, based on the belief that while grassroots charities across the country have a wealth of knowledge and knowhow about the best way to prevent and address poverty, they are often unheard and underfunded.
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The CSJ Foundation will also make the case for forgotten regions. Local offices have been set up in the North West and East Midlands, with plans to also open in Scotland, the North East and East Anglia.
The new foundation was launched at an event on 6 December in Westminster, attended by political figures including Nadhim Zahawi, Victoria Atkins, Alex Burghart, Robert Halfon, Robert Buckland, Matt Hancock, Stephen Timms, Carolyn Harris, and Tim Farron, and former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith who founded the CSJ.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Chairman of the Centre for Social Justice, said:
‘Back in 2003 I visited the Easterhouse Estate in Glasgow and was so inspired by the work being there that I founded the CSJ. Since when, we have looked to frontline organisations as the innovators in anti-poverty programmes with real impact. Today, we have an alliance of 400 charities and the CSJ Foundation is the next step in our work to bring real life, proven impact, often way beyond the boundaries of the Westminster bubble, into the corridors of power.”
Andy Cook, Chief Executive of the Centre for Social Justice, said:
“Small, front-line charities are the unsung heroes of the pandemic, where some of the most effective poverty interventions are invented, but they have also been the hardest hit. Our aim is to bring their brilliance to the attention of Westminster policy makers, and along the way, provide a platform for philanthropists to identify and support their work.”
The CSJ also runs the annual CSJ Awards, which support organisations fighting poverty on the frontline. Winners receive £10,000 along with help raising their profile, and other support.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.