The first four years of the 2020s have transformed SFCT, the UK – and the world.
The Covid-19 pandemic and global lockdowns have changed the way we live and work, and have prompted wake-up calls around systemic racial injustice and climate change.
At SFCT, grantmaking shifted almost overnight as staff worked from home, Trustees met online, and emergency funding was given to charities facing crisis. By the time staff returned to the office, many of these changes remained – hybrid working, virtual meetings, and in some cases, a continuation of the streamlined application and reporting processes that many grantees had so appreciated over the pandemic.
Across the third sector, the early 2020s have prompted a re-evaluation. Welcome shifts are taking place towards more inclusive and transparent practices. There is an increasing focus on thought leadership and data for grantmaking, helping funders, grantees and partners work better together for change.
SFCT’s team has completely transformed from its beginnings in the 1970s – with now close to 300 staff in offices in London, Manchester, Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. Just four years into the decade, the stories – of grassroots refugee groups, inspiring climate innovators and creative apprentices – reflect an impressive start to the 2020s, and an optimism for the decades of change to come.
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