When transformation becomes the change we seek.

Written by Raji Hunjan, CEO

We are sensing a generational opportunity to be part of an ecosystem transforming towards something new: grounded in racial justice, rooted in collective care and healing, and reaching for self-determination.

I begin this blog with the indulgent confession that I wrote it whilst in Paris. I was there for an intimate gathering of leaders; brought together by a group of women I hugely admire. The curation of invitations was both eclectic and strategic – reflecting the space in which I feel most able to work through complexity and feel inspired to write.

The invitation to hold wider perspective together could not have come at a better time. Tudor is shifting from transformation to becoming, and it is important to reflect on what we have learnt and what is emerging.

Learning as the bridge between transformation to becoming

At Tudor, we are sensing a generational opportunity to be part of an ecosystem that is transforming towards something new – where systems create the conditions for communities to steward collectively.

We play a role because of our capital. This is inevitably because of our endowment and grant-making, but we are also understanding the value of our deepening learning and how we hold culture as critical to our strategy.

Tudor’s longer-term role in the ecosystem is revealing itself – the building of a practice to absorb more risk and invest in ways that resource our communities to become the change they seek. We have come to the realisation that we have a responsibility not to spend out too quickly – despite our gift of a fully expendable endowment.

Building the approach that is neither spend out or perpetuity

Earlier iterations of Tudor oversaw a strategy to steward our endowment through environmental, social and governance (ESG) screened investments and a commitment to spending portions of capital alongside income to make grants. Over the last three years, we kept the spend and investment approach, with a commitment to deeper learning relationships with our partners. However, our forecasting shows that if we continue to spend at this rate, whilst the growth of our income remains moderate, we are in effect accelerating a spend out. This would mean planning for closure within seven years. We have decided not to do that, but to plan to stay fully operational for at least another twenty years. The next steps are to redesign our strategic approach to investments and how we distribute our funding.

How transformation lays the groundwork for long-term strategy

We have got here through the lens of learning, working deeply with our partners, understanding how communities are building their resilience. As the acute and unjust concentration of wealth in the hands of the few worsens, we commit to resourcing the mechanisms for wealth redistribution. This means creating the conditions for self-determination – for communities to collectively govern and steward assets, in the right relationship with our planet, underpinned by alternative economic models. We want to share stories with future generations about communities that held power collectively, and stewarded towards a world where we all thrive in abundance, not scarcity. This is not an aspiration, but the reality of what we are working towards.

Learning out loud

There is no big announcement, but instead an ongoing commitment to sharing our learning. I am inspired by public learning from others who are further down the line. For example, the Marguerite Casey Foundation and the New York Foundation have generously shared their emerging definitions of tidal foundations as part of a series of blogs https://cep.org/blog/. They define these as foundations which are neither spend out or committed to perpetuity. They helpfully focus on topics such as the changing role of the Board where not taking risks must be justified through the lens of mission as well as through growth of endowment income. They also give clarity to why slowing down spending in some years, and accelerating when the need is greater could be strategically necessary.

Their experiences have been on my mind as I pay attention to how the relationship between philanthropy and those seeking funding is evolving in the UK context. In times of scarcity, fractures deepen in the relationships between those who are seeking funding, those who have it, and those who have the power to offer it. The narratives become binary, and we see this reflected in an increased calling out of behaviour and strategies that individually we may not agree with. For example, the exposing of foundations that choose to pause to catch their breath or try something different. Or increasing demands that funders spend with greater urgency and rescue parts of the sector that are in turmoil. These are critical calls for action and accountability, but if we continue to hold debates through a win/lose mindset, rooted in scarcity, we risk the fractures getting worse. And then we must ask ourselves – who benefits? Because someone always benefits.

Tending to the fractures and moving away from the binaries

There is so much that is wrong in the world right now, and it is critical that philanthropy acts with urgency. But at the same time, stewardship must be responsible and rooted in deep levels of change. Urgency is synonymous with reacting quickly to what is happening. Urgency can also mean working towards something new, with a commitment to resourcing communities to meet their ambitions so that they are not only fighting against what is causing harm.

This is why Tudor has held culture as one of its key pillars alongside its capital and grant-making. To navigate the inherent contradictions in growing and distributing capital, there needs to be deep layers of trust, care and challenge, rooted in behaviours and a commitment to the mission over personal preference. 

I have led Tudor for over three years through significant change, often with deep levels of uncertainty, contradictions, complexity and (if I dare admit it), fear. But today I can confidently say that transformation must hold at its core, learning, humility and collective accountability. Transformation is more than a strategy refresh.  Transformation is as practice, and becoming is moving away from what is no longer serving our imagination and commitment to a more just future. Resourcing an ecosystem is our commitment to working collectively and with care.