Learning Journey

Our Learning Journey is a 3-month investment or 7-8-month learning programme for donors and foundations to develop holistic, equitable and reparative approaches to philanthropy.

We accompany philanthropists and funders on an entirely bespoke journey around a cause of their choice; learning from and connecting with community innovators, frontline workers, social historians, data and policy experts, among others.

Rather than seek to go out and write a report on behalf of our clients, our model is to wokrk closely with donors and foundations to develop communal expertise. We take an educational approach through coaching and support to enable you to become experts in what you care about most. The work is intense, but the reward is transformational.

The programme comprises radical listening to communities, expert meetings, curricula, sector mapping, workshops, and deep community insights. It is tailored towards next generation high-net-worth families and established funders who are looking to invest capital into ambitious new ideas rather than following the crowd to safe ground.

If you’d like to find out more about our bespoke Learning Journeys, please contact angela@tenyearstime.com.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

‘We have loved our time with you all and will never forget it, a real gamechanger on so many levels.’

Private Family Foundation Client
‘Working with Ten Years’ Time was a genuinely fantastic experience with you all and so wonderful to have met you all, and all the amazing people you introduced us to. Unforgettable on so many levels.’

Family Foundation Trustee
‘The work Ten Years’ Time did (for my family foundation), we would have paid 5 times as much for in a commercial setting.’

Private Family Foundation Client
“Working with Ten Years’ Time was a very powerful and memorable experience. Their commitment to investing time into building relationships with us enabled valuable discussions throughout the collaboration. Ten Years’ Time understand the importance of bringing people together and they gave us the opportunity to hear a range of truly diverse perspectives. The team was committed to ensuring we had a meaningful experience and were able to translate this into practical recommendations.

The work we did together provoked deep emotional responses and contributed to our learning as individuals. It also paved the way to a new UK strategy that places the voices of children and families at the centre. Connecting with grassroots organisations gave us insights into place-based working and the importance of taking time to build relationships with partners. We are also more conscious of our use of language – both in terms of the words we use and how we talk about our work. The opportunity to hear from people with lived experience was invaluable and has highlighted the importance of recognising and valuing the strength of their contribution to achieving change.”

Save the Children
“Working with Ten Years Time is a singular, at times joyful, sometimes challenging, but always engaging experience. The team are driven by real passion, which consistently shines through. They always went above and beyond to bring together different perspectives, explore the subject matter and build the solid foundations for our giving.”

Private wealth holder
“We’ve worked in collaboration with Ten Years’ Time on two deep-dive projects since we were founded – the first to explore injustices and the extractive nature of prevailing economic systems; and in that context, the second to imagine a new vision for ‘investment’. We’ve always found the TYT team to be deeply thoughtful in their approach, all-round superb facilitators and to have an incredible network to call on to bring a range of perspectives to challenging topics. Our journeys of listening and reflecting with them have been provocative and thought provoking. Through these journeys have emerged profound changes in strategic direction for us as a foundation and refreshed clarity around wealth, the philanthropic sector, and what our role might be in bridging to a post-philanthropic or post-endowment future.”

Private wealth holder
“We’ve worked in collaboration with Ten Years’ Time on two deep-dive projects since we were founded – the first to explore injustices and the extractive nature of prevailing economic systems; and in that context, the second to imagine a new vision for ‘investment’. We’ve always found the TYT team to be deeply thoughtful in their approach, all-round superb facilitators and to have an incredible network to call on to bring a range of perspectives to challenging topics. Our journeys of listening and reflecting with them have been provocative and thought provoking. Through these journeys have emerged profound changes in strategic direction for us as a foundation and refreshed clarity around wealth, the philanthropic sector, and what our role might be in bridging to a post-philanthropic or post-endowment future.”

Thirty Percy Foundation
“Working with the TYT team was a tremendous experience for my brothers and I. We embarked on a carefully curated learning journey and were guided and challenged every step of the way. We were shown many sides of the debate and given plenty of extra reading material to help further probe and delve into our chosen field. Further to this profound learning, the process deepened our understanding of our personal responsibilities within society and shed unique light on how to make good choices to help and empower those that are in need and to find the places where that help is most needed. Philanthropy is now both a desire for us to participate in, as well as an absolute responsibility that we gladly embrace – we are truly grateful for the team’s deep understanding and expertise in navigating this pivotal moment for us.”

Private client
“Working with Ten Years’ Time has been key to the transformation of our grant making strategy across our focus geographies. Through the curation of powerful in-depth learning journeys, we connected with hundreds of community organisers, activists, civil society organisations, policy makers, government officials and researchers based in-country, as well as those working at the intersection of relevant issues. Access to such wisdom and knowledge and receiving it in an environment where the power imbalance is named and partly dismantled, so people feel free to at least in part voice their realities, enabled us to develop a funding strategy largely shaped by the communities in the countries that we work. Through a thoughtful and patient process, Ten Years’ Time also helped us to interrogate and unlearn harmful funding practices, helping us to evolve and grow as a funder.”

Chrissy Cattle, Old Dart Foundation
“Working with Ten Years’ Time was invaluable. The team guided us through a listening journey that covered a huge range of different sectors and disciplines. We learnt about issues from many perspectives and backgrounds. It helped shape our strategy and approach to our grant making and gave us much greater clarity on our purpose. We are deeply indebted for their help.”

Nicholas Ashley-Cooper, 12thEarl of Shaftesbury, Chairman Talbot Village Trust
“Working with TYT was a unique opportunity to reflect on the impact of our work and have important conversations around the future of our foundation. TYT’s staff created a space for us to speak with movement leaders and people on the ground whose work is often overlooked and underfunded, which enabled us to transform the ways in which we give. Importantly, this collaborative work with TYT was a clear “judgement-free” space which led us to ask challenging questions about the status-quo of philanthropy in general and our part within it. Poonam did an excellent job mediating those conversations and making them accessible at every level.”

Amaelle Marchal, Old Dart Foundation