Corston Independant Funders’ Coalition (CIFC)

On Tuesday 24th January Rosa joined Baroness Corston, fellow funders from The Corston Independent Funders’ Coalition, grantees from The Women’s Diversionary Fund, politicians and other interested parties for the launch of the CIFC evaluation. The Corston 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.

The evaluation, demonstrates the impact the CIFC has had, finding that through funder advocacy and collaboration the CIFC achieved outcomes that individual trusts and foundations could not have achieved alone.

At the launch, in the House of Lords, the CIFC announced that they are to continue their work as more needs to be done to establish a just and proportionate response to women caught up in the criminal justice system and for their children who were inadvertently punished as a result.

Maggie Baxter (Chair of Rosa) speaking about being part of the coalition said;

For Rosa it was really important to be at the table when the first funding decisions were made to ensure that women’s centres were supported to offer real alternatives to custody. Although only a small contributor to the overall pot it was good to work with other like minded trusts and foundations and to sit as equal partners with them and the Ministry of Justice – a learning process for all. But the result was the most important thing – benefiting those women who deserve alternatives to custody to ensure they don’t lose their children, their homes and any dignity and self confidence they ever had.