“We would be grateful if you could provide us with a statement which assures us that your company is year 2000-compatible.”
So wrote a grantee to the SFCT office in late 1999, in response to concerns that the ‘Millennium Bug’ would impact computer systems. More broadly, SFCT - and the world - was becoming 2000-compatible in other ways, entering an ambitious era of 21st century grantmaking.
Against the great shocks of the decade – 9/11, the financial crash, increasing environmental damage and global natural disasters – there was a rise of social enterprise, volunteering and climate action. Despite the challenges, an optimism around the potential for social change prevailed.
Within UK grantmaking, there were moves to examine transparency and best practice, as well as more considered impact measurement – both of donations and investments. Frameworks like ESG – which encouraged environmentally and socially conscious investing – became increasingly prominent.
The early 2000s at SFCT saw the founding of The True Colours Trust and Ashden Climate Solutions, the sister charity to the then-Ashden Trust. The staff team once again outgrew their office, moving across London to Allington House in 2002 – with Alan Bookbinder taking over as Director in 2006.
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