How should the Covenant Fund navigate its teenage years?

Our Chair Hans Pung and CEO, Anna Wright put their brains together to ask: How should the Covenant Fund navigate its teenage years?

A great read from two of the people who’ve helped to steer the fund through its first decade, as they look ahead to the next..

We’re immensely proud of the Covenant Fund’s impact in supporting the Armed Forces community over its first decade. As we look ahead, our excitement and ambition only grow. One of our greatest sources of pride is the significant learning we’ve gained about what truly works.

Like a growing child, the fund has experimented with different approaches to solving problems and reducing their impact. It has remained endlessly curious, always asking “Why?” to better understand both challenges and solutions. The fund has learned from more experienced ‘older children’—other funders who have built crucial insights in service of the Covenant promise: that serving personnel, veterans, and their families should not be disadvantaged, and that special consideration should be given to those who have sacrificed the most. Now, as the fund reaches this milestone, it is ready to double down on what it has learned, while continuing to ask “why?” and keep learning.

We’ve discovered that large portfolio grants managed by dynamic organizations—those that prioritize collaboration and shared goals—can be incredibly impactful. When organizations work well together, there are economies of scale, peer support, and peer learning. Most importantly, there is a holistic approach to supporting the Armed Forces community, resulting in more people being helped, and that help being more effective. This approach has powerfully improved veterans’ mental health, and we look forward to seeing it transform support for the military bereaved community through co-production and coordinated efforts. 

Just as we want every young person to dream big and reach their potential, the fund is no exception. As it enters its second decade, the fund continues to push boundaries by sponsoring more ‘transformational’ projects that tackle the ‘wicked’ problems facing our community. For example, the Female Veterans’ Transformational project aims to reduce barriers for female veterans accessing services and significantly improve outcomes in mental and physical health, employment, housing, and financial stability. Another example is the Scarfree Foundation’s project, in partnership with the CASEVAC Club of wounded veterans, which seeks to understand and alleviate the impact of conflict-related genital scarring and loss of function. These highly focused projects have the potential to transform lives, and the fund is determined to pursue even more of this kind of work—injecting funding where others don’t or can’t. 

Like all teenagers, the fund is broadening its horizons. We look forward to collaborating with other funders so the fund can become even more strategic and complementary in the types of funding it offers. We want to use research to address gaps in support and reach ‘hidden’ cohorts. Ultimately, our goal is to leverage this vital resource to its fullest and improve the lives of those who serve, have served, and their families. 

For the fund’s sponsor, the MOD, the fund remains a key tool in growing the impact of the Armed Forces Covenant. Happy tenth birthday to the Covenant Fund: you’ve achieved so much and have the potential to deliver even more in the decade ahead.