Independent Evaluation of the Corston Independent Funders Coalition Launched: 24 January 2012
The Corston Independent Funders’ Coalition is a group of 21 charitable trusts, foundations and individual philanthropists which includes the Pilgrim Trust and was established to sustain a shift from imprisonment to community sentencing for vulnerable women offenders, through advocacy, funding and critical partnership with charities and government. The 2007 Corston Report made the case for a completely new approach to women’s offending – one which ’ holistic, woman-centred [and] integrated.” The report cited several projects run by charities which demonstrated how women offenders could be supported to deal with their problems, complete community sentences and cease offending. In June 2008, a group of independent foundations, led by Teresa Elwes of the Bromley Trust, wrote a letter to Jack Straw MP as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice calling for the recommendations of the Corston Report to be implemented. Many of the foundations which signed the letter held a series of meetings to agree how they could take action to directly bring about change in response to the Corston Report. As a result, they agreed to collectively develop a post and fund a worker (for 18 months) to work with independent funders and Government with an aim to implement the recommendations from the report.
The Corston Independent Funders’ Coalition (CIFC) has just published an external evaluation on the work it has undertaken since 2008. The report shows that its unique approach to funding advocacy has ensured the crucial issue of women in prison remains a priority for the government and UK public.
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