The Impact World this Week: 16 October 2026

UK: Church of England remains “committed” to £1bn slavery reparation fund despite rightwing lobbying campaign

A network of rightwing politicians, media outlets, think tanks and charities are lobbying against the Church of England’s proposed £1bn slavery reparation impact fund, an investigation published on Tuesday by The Guardian reveals. The fund, first announced in 2023, is subject to a legal challenge and has been criticised as unjustified at a time of financial hardship for many UK parishes. The legal challenge is headed by Bijan Omrani, a Daily Telegraph columnist and barrister. The Church Commissioners for England told Pioneers Post it “remains committed to the Fund for Healing, Repair and Justice”, and is working through the legal challenge in line with its duties as responsible steward of a charity, but cannot comment further on a live legal matter. 

Key critics of the fund, chiefly Conservative peer Nigel Biggar and MP Katie Lam, have been given significant media platforms by outlets owned or co-owned by hedge fund co-founder Sir Paul Marshall, including The Spectator and GB News. The Sequoia Trust, a charitable trust Marshall chairs, has funded a number of rightwing think tanks and charities Biggar is involved in, according to the Guardian. Marshall (also the co-founder of LSE's Marshall Institute) told the Guardian that while he was not funding the campaign, he “would be happy to do so”. The Church Commissioners for England, in a report last year, said it had been on the receiving end of “vitriolic and abusive” criticism because of the proposed fund, to the extent it had to take steps to protect its staff and volunteers.

• Read more: Church of England to launch £1bn impact fund in response to historic links to slave trade

Global: MacArthur Foundation increases allocation to impact investing to US$750m

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has committed to increase its total allocation to impact investing by 50% to US$750m (about 7.5% of its US$9.9bn endowment). The MacArthur Foundation is one of philanthropy’s pioneers in impact investing, committing nearly US$1bn towards 300 mission-driven organisations globally since 1983. The increase will begin in 2027. MacArthur Foundation president John Palfrey said: “Expanding our impact investing lets us make more meaningful progress against the challenges facing our world.” The foundation previously announced it would also increase its grantmaking to 6% of its endowment by 2028.

Africa: US$100m Africa Nature Impact Fund launches to support nature-based solutions on the continent

Nature finance specialist Finance Earth and partners have launched the US$100m Africa Nature Impact Fund to invest in early-stage nature and nature-based carbon projects. Backed by a US$6.6m commitment in catalytic capital from FSD Africa Investments, the investment arm of FSD Africa, a nonprofit agency funded by UK aid, the fund aims to complete a first close at US$20m in 2027. Financing will be designed to maximise both community and ecological value, with the fund only investing in projects with clear benefit-sharing agreements where a substantial share of financial benefits, like money made from selling carbon credits, is directed to communities. The fund aims to capture or avoid 100m tonnes of CO2, protect or regenerate 4.5m hectares of land and protect more than 60m animal and plant species, while generating US$450m for local communities and improving the livelihoods of 1.4m people.

• Read more: Building a market for nature: the finance innovators racing to save our ecosystems

Global: Too Good to Go expands offer beyond just food

Too Good To Go, the app which allows customers to buy surplus food from restaurants, cafes, shops and more, announced on Thursday it is expanding its services to enable retailers to redistribute surplus across five sectors: personal care, pet care, flowers and plants, nutrition and supplements, and home products. More than 8,500 stores globally are now supplying products across these areas through Too Good to Go, around one third of which were already working with the B Corp to redistribute surplus food. Since its launch in 2016, Too Good To Go has helped to save over 600m meals from going to waste, the equivalent to 1.6m tonnes of CO2e avoided. The Too Good To Go app connects 150m registered users with 200,000 businesses selling surplus goods.

Global: BII targets US$1.6bn in climate transition finance for south-east Asia

Carbon-intensive countries in south-east Asia will benefit from US$1.6bn in climate transition finance following a commitment from British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution this week. The funds are to be invested in countries including Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand to support their shift to renewable energy. BII will commit about half of the amount, with the rest mobilised from private investors, and the money will be invested over the next five years. 

• Read more: British International Investment launches £300m platform for renewables in India, as UK calls for ‘fundamental reset’ in approach to development

Australia: Pre-accelerator programme launched to support business ideas of First Nations women in New South Wales

A pre-accelerator programme designed to address the structural barriers that have historically limited First Nations women's access to business development, professional networks and investment opportunities has been launched in New South Wales. Run by Aboriginal-led social enterprise First Nations Economics, in partnership with Investment NSW, the first year of the programme will see a cohort of 21 participants explore business development, customer and market opportunities, financial foundations, concept validation and investment readiness. First Nations Economics plans to run a further six iterations of the course over the next two years, and is seeking investment to scale the programme across the rest of Australia. 

Asia: AVPN expands collaboration with World Bank Group, develops dedicated fund

AVPN, a network of social investors in Asia, is one of the strategic partners for the World Bank Group’s new Philanthropy Hub. The Hub aims to identify the best opportunities for philanthropic capital and solutions, and to coordinate knowledge sharing and partnerships. AVPN and the World Bank Group also committed to expand their collaboration across Asia in water, sustainable agribusiness and health, while expanding economic opportunities and jobs for women. Additionally, AVPN is developing a dedicated fund to finance technical assistance for Health Works, a World Bank Group initiative aiming to help 1.5bn people access quality, affordable healthcare.

• Read more: Asia's impact network tells its own billionaires to step up

UK: Olympic surfers to train at Scottish National Investment Bank-funded facility

Lost Shore, an impact-driven surf resort outside Edinburgh funded in part by a £38.8m investment from the Scottish National Investment Bank, has been named as a National Performance Centre and Olympic Training Facility by GB Surfing, ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, US. The agreement builds on Lost Shore’s existing role as the National Performance Centre for Scottish Surfing, alongside partnerships with Irish Surfing and Norwegian Surfing. Lost Shore’s efforts to deliver a positive social and environmental impact include developing wetland, woodland and grassland habitats on site open to the public, partnerships with surf therapy and inclusive surfing charities, buying 650 plant-based wetsuits to rent out, and prioritising local procurement. 

• Read more: Riding Scotland’s community wealth building wave at Lost Shore

Top image: Canterbury Cathedral, the home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Church of England's leader. Picture by Nilfanion via Wikimedia Commons.