BFSS Annual Report 2023
We awarded £1,115,991 in new grants, our second highest year ever for new awards. We also conducted a review of our UK grant giving strategy; the first of a new series of reviews which aims to provide in-depth analysis of a specific fund or theme of grants to help us to learn and potentially adapt our future grant giving to support more young people to thrive. Although the distribution of the Displacement Education Fund was completed in 2023, its legacy continues: as a result of the clear need for funding in this area, we have incorporated Displaced Young People as one of the priority areas for our ongoing international grant giving.
We continued our drive towards shared learning among Grants Partners and Members by hosting two in-person events. Charities shared a range of inspiring projects to overcome barriers to learning at our Annual Conference in June and in the autumn the Grant Partners’ Workshop focused on the
theme of ‘How to successfully work with decision-makers’. The online BFSS Forum enjoyed a 30% increase in the number of participants.
Strategically we made some significant steps forward by selecting a new name and gaining approval from the Privy Council to adopt that new name, Educational Opportunity Foundation, and the strapline, Improving life chances worldwide since 1808.
We also publicly confirmed our commitment towards preventing further climate damage by signing up to the Funders Commitment on Climate Change. This commitment gives us a framework to track our progress against as we work towards making all BFSS activities more environmentally sustainable, whilst we also joined a network of other funders to explore ideas with and learn from.
