Building governance of Redbridge Giving

Summary

the challenge

The solution

what we did

the impact

Community Action Redbridge commissioned Karen Bishi and Lev Pedro of Shared Purpose to develop the governance framework of Redbridge Giving, a new community-led place-based giving scheme.

We designed a practical governance model that gives local residents meaningful decision-making power while ensuring Community Action Redbridge, as the host charity, retains the oversight and accountability required of its trustees.

Redbridge Giving aims to mobilise local philanthropy, increase community involvement in decision-making and direct resources towards the priorities that matter most to residents. A core aspect of the model is local people making the decisions on how the funding is allocated.

As the scheme moved from development towards delivery, it needed governance arrangements that could make this ambition real.

The challenge was to create a model that gave residents genuine influence over funding decisions while maintaining clear lines of accountability to Community Action Redbridge's trustees, who retain ultimate legal and fiduciary responsibility for the scheme.

Rather than reinventing the wheel, we started by learning from established place-based giving schemes in London and elsewhere. We explored how others had approached community decision-making, governance and accountability, and gathered examples of governance documentation and good practice.

We combined this learning with our expertise in charity governance and participatory decision-making to develop arrangements specifically for Redbridge Giving. A co-design workshop with members of the existing steering group enabled key stakeholders to test the emerging model and shape how it would work in practice.

We:

researched governance approaches used by established place-based giving schemes

spoke to people involved in other schemes to understand what had worked well and what they had learnt

reviewed examples of governance documentation and good practice

facilitated a co-design workshop with members of the existing steering group

designed a governance model that balanced meaningful community decision-making with clear trustee accountability

developed a practical implementation plan for moving from the existing steering group to the new arrangements

drafted a comprehensive suite of governance documentation, including terms of reference, role descriptions, recruitment processes, conflicts of interest and delegated authority arrangements

presented the new governance model to Community Action Redbridge's Board, helping trustees understand the new arrangements and their responsibilities within them.

The aim throughout was to create governance that was clear, usable and capable of being embedded in the way Redbridge Giving operates. Governance needed to be practical and sustainable, with arrangements that works in practice as the scheme develops.

Community Action Redbridge now has a comprehensive governance framework and supporting documentation to enable Redbridge Giving to develop as a genuinely community-led grantmaking scheme, while maintaining clear accountability to the host charity.

“We got everything we needed within the timeframe.”

“We really valued Shared Purpose's governance expertise and the clear advice they gave us on the technicalities and complexities of the governance arrangements. Their conversations with other schemes and the good practice they gathered were really valuable in shaping our scheme.”

Jenny Ellis, CEO, Community Action Redbridge