An Interview with Jonathan Ball, OBE: The SCiP Alliance Funders Forum

I spoke to Jonathan Ball, OBE, Grants Director of Greenwich Hospital and Chair of the SCiP Alliance Funders Forum, about the forum’s purpose, its importance for supporting Service children, and his ambitions for its future.

Q: What is the Funders Forum?

A: The Funders Forum is a platform for funders supporting Service children to collaborate and align their efforts. It meets termly and focuses on three key priorities:

Evidence-Based Funding – Using data and insights from the SCiP Alliance Community to shape funding strategies and respond to sector-wide needs effectively.
Enhanced Collaboration – Promoting cooperation among funders to reduce duplication and create a complementary, cohesive funding landscape.
Equitable Access – Ensuring Service children and those supporting them are aware of and have fair access to available funding opportunities.

By addressing these priorities, the Forum strengthens the collective ability of funders to support Service children in a consistent and impactful way.

Q: Why is the Funders Forum important to you?

A: Greenwich Hospital has been supporting the children of Naval personnel since its establishment in 1694. However, like many funders, we lack the internal expertise to fully understand and address the challenges faced by Service children today.

The Funders Forum bridges this gap by offering a space to access evidence, share best practices, and collaborate with others who share our mission. It’s a vital resource for informing how we apply our £2 million annual funding for children’s education.

For us, and for many other members, the Forum is an invaluable opportunity to debate current funding issues, share knowledge, and develop strategies that genuinely make a difference in the lives of Service children.

Q: What are the Forum’s goals for the future?

A: Over the next 18 months, the Forum has set out five key objectives:

Identify and agree optimal information sharing and enhanced networking.
Identify and agree shared priorities and areas of need within our respective communities.
Identify and agree gaps in provision, ways of improving collaboration and means of addressing duplication.
Improve equitable access to funding.
Improve capture of funding impact and quality of monitoring and evaluation.

We’re currently working on the specific actions and timelines to achieve these goals. What’s clear is the strong commitment from all members to working collaboratively for the benefit of Service children and young people.

Q: What makes the Funders Forum stand out?

A: The Forum isn’t just a meeting of minds—it’s a blueprint for how funders can work together across the military charity sector. The collaborative approach allows us to leverage each member’s strengths, address shared challenges, and ensure that funding is both impactful and equitable.

For me, the SCiP Alliance Funders Forum sets a new standard for collaborative funding. I’m excited not only about its success but also about the potential for this model to inspire similar initiatives across the wider Service community.

Q: Who are the current members of the Forum?

A: The Forum has recently expanded to ensure it represents the major funders supporting Service children across all three Services. Members include: