The ChurchWorks Summit: civil society at work

Sean Tully from Action Planning was one of the seminar speakers at the ChurchWorks Summit last month. Organised by Good Faith Partnership, it brought together senior church leaders, government ministers, public sector representatives, and charity leaders to explore how faith and public policy can work together for social good.

Sean shares some reflections from that event:

I think the last time I was in Central Hall, Westminster, I was attending a one-day conference organised by Action Planning. That would have been about 2014, and although I’ve met people in the basement café since, on this occasion I had been invited to give a short (15 minute) seminar on fundraising for churches and Christian charities, which also gave me opportunity to plug our even later this year: Faith and Fundraising.

The subject matter of the ChurchWorks Summit wasn’t unfamiliar – I had spend three years from 2018 working for the charity Cinnamon Network, whose remit is to make it as easy as possible for churches to deliver social good by replicating tried-and-tested social impact projects – think CAP, Street Pastors, Baby Basics and more. It was great to bump into some old colleagues at the Summit.

I also talk a lot with churches about their social impact in the context of their capital development projects. Any church wanting to access grant funding is going to need to demonstrate how the building delivers wider social impact beyond their own congregation, and tools such as the National Churches Trust House of Good Local is ideal for helping churches recognise and communicate the work they are likely already doing.

Hearing Professor Sir Sam Everington OBE (President of the Royal College of General Practitioners) state that churches running cafes in their communities are contributing to a reduction of psychiatric admissions by 1/3 was just one (rather startling) evidence point of the under-the-radar impact that many churches don’t even realise they are making. Successive panel discussions covered wellbeing (adults and children), tackling poverty, and the view from the perspective of grant funders who emphasised what they feel makes for a good relationship between funder and funded: trust, mutual respect, compassion and passion, transparency, credibility and communication from the perspective of those living out the mission.

All of this is in the context of the 2025 Civil Society Covenant with the Government, which offers the whole of the UK charity sector and wider civil society a hope of real involvement in policymaking, improved partnership practices, stronger transparency and accountability, more sustainable funding, support for innovation and a long‑term framework for shared social impact. It’s encouraging to see churches and Christian faith organisations working with those of all faiths and none, taking a long-term approach to improving their communities and wider society.

We were grateful for the opportunity to speak at the event, and look forward to future ways to connect with the Good Faith Partnership.\

If Action Planning can help you measure or communicate your social impact, get in touch. Also to discuss a capital appeal (whether church or otherwise).

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