Hello and welcome to our summer newsletter. This year marks our 11th year running Foundation for Change—a feat in itself given today’s challenging climate.

Foundation for Change was born from the belief that people of all backgrounds and circumstances deserve to live with dignity where they don’t only have to survive – but can thrive.

We developed a unique approach to learning and recovery that could give those often pushed to the margins of our society, exactly what they needed: the chance to see just how extraordinary they are to have survived such adversity, and how a foundation of self-esteem allows people to exit services and build more solid futures for themselves and their families.

That belief—that everyone deserves better and the dignity to live a life they choose—still drives everything we do. But we can’t do it alone.

We’re proud to share what we’ve been up to these past few months, along with ways you can support our work.

WE CELEBRATED OUR 11TH BIRTHDAY

This year we celebrated turning 11 in an incredible space, kindly donated to us by Art’Otel, as part of a blossoming partnership we began earlier this year.

While marking another year is always a proud moment, our birthday events are really about celebrating the extraordinary people who take part in our courses—and the profound life changes they go on to make.

We heard from two of our graduates, Glenda, and Allison, who each shared the profound impacts of completing Feminism and Psychology for Change, and how living what they had learnt, had helped, and was helping to change their lives.

COURSES AND COMMUNITY

Alongside carefully navigating a difficult climate, we have worked in depth with two groups of incredible people so far this year, with a completion rate of 84%. We’ve also held several community events, bringing graduates together, for further connection and support.

We are looking forward to welcoming two more new groups to our upcoming Psychology and Feminism for Change courses.

One of the things we value most about our courses is the closed group format. Beginning and ending the journey with the same group of people creates a safe, supportive space where trust can grow and meaningful connections can develop.

A few pictures of our community activities

INVESTING IN THE TEAM AND THE FFC APPROACH

We’re proud to share another major step towards growing Foundation for Change’s reach and impact. After more than 20 years of frontline practice, we’ve distilled our learning into The FfC Approach—a clear, practical framework that runs through everything we do and will guide how we take our work outward.

Building on this, we completed our first-ever train the trainer pilot. It’s been a rich experience, bringing together experienced team members and our three newest volunteers to share expertise and learn how to embed FfC principles into every aspect of course delivery and frontline work.

This investment lays the foundation for expanding our training team, and moving forwards with our social franchising and external training offers to take FfC thinking out into other services and sectors.

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT

The need for our work, and your support, has never been greater.

We keep our courses free, so they remain accessible to anyone who needs them, and we receive no government funding to make that possible. Instead, we rely on the generosity of individuals alongside grants from trusts and foundations.

In today’s climate, competition for those grants has never been more intense, leaving the work of many small charities, including ours, under real threat. Your support helps keep our transformative space open.

As far as we know—and we’ve researched extensively—no other organisation approaches recovery through the systemic lens we do, or harnesses education in the way we do to achieve it.

We build foundations centred around transformation and change through experiential learning, with a person realising they can learn and are worthy of making changes, being the starting point. Demand for our courses is growing, but funding limitations have forced us to close referrals. Your support can change that.

Every donation—no matter the size—directly impacts our ability to continue this work, and sharing our mission with your networks helps us reach those who can ensure we can keep these life-changing spaces open.