Pathway Fund Announces Lord Dr Michael Hastings CBE as New Chair
Pathway Fund is delighted to be able to announce that we have appointed Lord Michael Hastings CBE as our new – and first – Chair.
Eminent social justice campaigner, Lord Hastings, will Chair Pathway Fund, the UK’s first impact investment wholesaler dedicated to catalysing opportunities for Black and Ethnically Minoritised communities.
·In his first act as Chair, Lord Hastings has called on the Government to use the Dormant Assets Scheme to support Black and Ethnically Minoritised charities and social enterprises – helping unlock £3 billion for UK’s economy and £1 billion for Treasury.
£240 million of the Scheme could be available for ‘good causes’ – causes like Pathway’s, which are working to turbo-charge Black and Ethnically Minoritised-led social enterprise.
The announcement comes following recent Pathway polling, showing over 60% of Brits support the Scheme’s expansion - and ahead of the announcement of Pathway’s board, which Lord Hastings, as inaugural Chair, will be leading.
1. About Lord Michael
Lord Michael brings a wealth of experience to our organisation and will lead us as we continue in our mission to revolutionise the social investment sector – helping us to unlock game-changing investments for Black and Ethnically minoritised communities.
There’s no better person in this space to lead the charge.
He’s someone who is as widely respected in philanthropic and social investment circles as he is, political, commercial, educational, and legal. A Crossbench member of the House of Lords, he’s Chair of SOAS University, London and recent Chair of London Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Black Business Association.
He is Professor of Leadership at the Stephen R Covey Leadership Centre, Huntsman Business School, USA.
On top of all of this, he received a CBE in 2003 for services to crime reduction and community safety. He was conferred a Life Peerage in the House of Lords in 2005, making him Lord Michael Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE.
Lord Hastings was a Trustee of the Vodafone Group Foundation for 11 years and a member of its Global Development Committee and is now a Governor of the Safaricom / Vodafone MPESA Academy in Nairobi.
He remains a Vice President of UNICEF UK and President of UKCF – the UK’s Charitable Foundations network. In 2014, Lord Hastings was conferred with a Doctorate in Civil Law from the University of Kent, Canterbury in recognition for his work in international development and corporate responsibility.
He is the co-founder of a unique voluntary prisoner engagement and reverse mentoring programme called My Brother’s Keeper – a cause he holds as most dear and most important.
2. Lord Michael, the Dormant Assets Scheme, and How We Must Use It
In his first act as Chair, Lord Michael has called on the new Labour government to go further than its predecessor in championing Black and Ethnically Minoritised charities and social enterprises – by ensuring that the possible £240 million in funding – as estimated by the Financial Conduct Authority – coming from the Dormant Assets Scheme, is channelled to those economy-driving organisations.
Lord Hastings brings a wealth of experience and a revolutionary vision to Pathway – one which will see the social investment sector forever transformed for Black and Ethnically minoritised communities. Key to the realising of this vision, he believes, is the deployment of the Dormant Assets Scheme’s capital to Pathway, as an impact investment wholesaler, which works to channel funding and provide to the Black and Ethnically Minoritised organisations that are transforming their communities – and can power the UK’s economy.
If harnessed – with a substantive social investment allocation being offered by the Government, as part of this Scheme – he has said that this capital can play a part in seeing the UK’s economy grow by some £3 billion, the Treasury benefit by some £1 billion, and engender, the growth of some further 800 Black and Ethnically Minoritised charities and social enterprises.
This comes following recent research undertaken by Pathway Fund, which has found that over 750 Black and Ethnically Minoritised charities and social enterprises believe that they have been refused funding because of their race or ethnicity, therefore limiting the extent to which they can benefit the communities in which they operate.
Following on from the above, Lord Hastings makes this call, having spent much of his life working to harness the power of corporate citizenship. He has spent time with organisations like KPMG as their Global Head of Citizenship aligning business potential with community development– and has led world thought, as a regular contributor to and speaker at the World Economic Forum – calling on governments and companies, alike, around the world to do more to harness the power of private capital – and put it in the hands of those who have the potential to transform economies.
Lord Hastings supported the passage of the Dormant Assets Act, in Parliament, and looks forward to harnessing the expertise of the soon to be announced Pathway board, to ensure that the associated Scheme lives up to its full potential.
Commenting on his appointment, Pathway Chair, Lord Michael Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE, said: “As the UK’s first impact investment wholesaler dedicated to catalysing opportunities for Black and Ethnically Minoritised communities, I’m delighted to have been appointed as the Chair of Pathway Fund.
Pathway’s an organisation committed to revolutionising the social investment space, to ultimately provide access to finance to the many high-growth potential Black and Ethnically minoritised social enterprises, across the UK. We know that these enterprises can all make a major contribution to UK plc and the new government’s inclusive growth agenda, so it’s high time that we make best use of them.
It’s essential that we use the Dormant Assets Scheme, which could release some £240 million, for good causes – like Pathway’s – to fund them. As someone who has spent a lifetime working to harness the potential of private capital, for the benefit of organisations doing good jn society – and as someone who supported the Dormant Assets Act, as it moved through Parliament – this is an area in which I firmly want to see change brokered. And progress made. I look forward to working with Pathway, its funds, and the Government, as we work to see that happen.”
Pathway Co-founder, Kunle Oluolde MBE, said: “It’s fantastic to welcome Lord Hastings to Pathway – his extensive expertise will be absolutely invaluable in ensuring that Pathway is able to achieve its mission of revolutionising the impact investment sector, by channelling finance to Black and Ethnically minoritised organisations. We strongly believe that Michael will make Pathway ever more successful in its empowering of ever more communities and social enterprises.
Lord Michael’s track record in facilitating the efficient allocation of capital will be essential as we work to distribute the Fund and place it in the hands of the organisations that have long had the capacity to turbo-charge our economy. Fundamentally, we are pleased to be able to appoint someone of Michael’s stature in this space, given that we are now in the process of finalising our board of directors; an announcement which we will be making shortly, too. This is a hugely exciting time for Pathway – and for Black and Ethnically Minoritised social enterprise, more broadly.”
Pathway Project Director, Dilys Winterkorn, said: “It’s a heartening endorsement to have Lord Michael join Pathway Fund’s mission. His knowledge of the spaces that Pathway operates, and in delivering impactful initiatives, at scale, will be essential to Pathway’s mission.
Lord Michael’s deep understanding of both the business world and government will be crucial as Pathway demonstrates to the new government the benefits of the Dormant Assets Scheme. As things stand, the UK can harness some £3 billion if it takes seriously Schemes like that of the Dormant Assets.
Lord Michael’s endorsement underscores the powerful impact the economy could have on minoritised businesses, communities, and the overall UK economy.”