2 minute read
Chair’s Statement
In my first statement as Chair I want to reflect on all that has been achieved in a demanding year by the Charities and other partners which Esmée Fairbairn Foundation has been privileged to support. I am heartened by their unwavering dedication to creating long-lasting change whilst navigating existing and emerging challenges.
As well as being a funder, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation is an investor. It is with pride that I think about how this aspect of the Foundation’s role has evolved over recent years. A great deal of work has gone into reviewing our investment strategy and developing a sustainable investment model. I am grateful to everyone who has been involved in this ongoing transition.
In December 2022, we were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Baroness Veronica Linklater, who served as Trustee from 1990 to 2013. She played a critical role in shaping our work across a number of areas. Her contribution included chairing the Foundation’s £4.0m Rethinking Crime and Punishment programme, which funded 57 projects over its life and whose work continues to have lessons for prison reform today.
I would like to pay tribute to my predecessor, Sir Jonathan Philips, who took on the role of Chair during an especially difficult period for the Foundation, steering us through with great empathy and leadership. I feel privileged to be following in his footsteps and I am grateful to all my fellow Trustees for their ongoing guidance. I also want to thank the Executive team for their commitment to implementing our new strategy and their thoughtfulness around the ways Esmée Fairbairn Foundation continually strives to be a better funder.
I want to give special thanks to Sharon Shea and Laurence Scott, who are both leaving after over 20 years’ service. They have made a remarkable contribution to the Foundation’s work and will be hugely missed.
Over the coming year, alongside our partners, we will review the ambitious goals that we have set in our new strategy and approach. This will provide a valuable opportunity to reflect on the progress made, the challenges we have encountered, and the lessons we have learned.
