Role: Trustee – By and For Community Funding
About Baobab
The Baobab Foundation is a Black-led, Member-driven funding organisation rooted in radical change.
We are collectively building a world in which the resistance and organising of Black and Global Majority communities working towards racial justice is sustainably resourced and empowered. We carry out this vital work to challenge existing systems within funding and heal our ongoing oppressions within orchestrated precarity, marginalisation and anti-blackness. Baobab exists to significantly scale resourcing to Black and Global Majority communities organising for racial justice within the UK.
Catalysed by the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests against historically racist infrastructures, Baobab was created out of Black struggle and resilience in the UK. We were formed within the context of disproportionate deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic and Black-led organisations being hit the hardest by lockdown measures. We understood that these contexts were deeper than emerging situations; they are the continuing effects of long-standing racial injustices our communities have faced throughout history.
Baobab exists to disrupt these long-standing oppressive systems of marginalisation through our three main principles of Unity, Justice and Freedom. Rooted in intersectional lenses that centre Disability Justice, Black Feminist philosophies and decoloniality, Baobab’s approach strives to ensure nobody is left behind in the liberated futures we seek to build together.
To date, we have allocated £6 million to over 35 ‘By and For’ Black and Global Majority communities and individuals organising for racial justice across the UK. We are a ‘By and For’ member-led grant-making organisation, which means we are led entirely by Black African/Caribbean and Global Majority people and serve these communities.
For more information about who we are and what we do, please visit our website: www.baobabfoundation.org.uk.
About the Role
Baobab Foundation operates through two closely connected Community Benefit Societies: the By and For Community Fund, which is the registered charitable entity, and the By and For Foundation, which is the non-charitable entity. Together, these two legal entities provide the structural flexibility needed to advance Baobab’s mission for radical racial justice.
Baobab is governed by a Board of Trustees, who are responsible for ensuring that the organisation operates in a way that advances racial justice, centres Black and Global Majority communities, and remains rooted in Baobab’s values of Unity, Justice and Freedom.
Trustees work in partnership with the PT (Project Team) and Baobab’s members. The PT Team leads the day-to-day coordination and delivery of Baobab’s operational activities, while trustees focus on governance and collective accountability. Together, trustees, PT team and members each play distinct but complementary roles in ensuring that Baobab remains values-led, member-centred and effective in advancing its mission for radical racial justice.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Baobab strives to model a different way of working that enables people to be accepted as their full selves. For a horizontal structure to be effective, we ask all Baobab Trustees to commit fully to the principles of Justice, Freedom and Unity and work with integrity, openness and care. We encourage those in the space to hold themselves and co-workers accountable in an equitable way, leading and making decisions within their remit, holding themselves accountable for their work and behaviour towards others and communicating transparently and openly. Maintaining a strong decolonial and horizontal organisational structure requires Trustees to commit to collective accountability within the team.
All those working for Baobab must adhere to the code of conduct and all policies, procedures and processes. in order for us to equitably realise our radical and decolonial aims of resourcing Black and Global Majority communities with integrity, cohesion and care.
Collective Accountability
- Contribute strategic insight and constructive challenge to strengthen the impact, quality and effectiveness of Baobab’s systems and ways of working.
- Review the organisation’s governance and operating structure periodically to ensure it remains aligned with our principles and continues to serve the needs of Members and the organisation.
Values Alignment
- Ensure that Disability Justice, decolonial and anti-oppressive practices are embedded across the organisation.
- Ensure open lines of communication are in place to support the interdependence of the organisation’s working collective and strategic working practices.
- Offer support and reflections that are caringly rooted in Babab’s principles of Unity, Justice and Freedom.
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We are seeking an individual who shares Baobab Foundation’s commitment to racial justice, collective liberation and shifting power to Black and Global Majority communities.
We are looking for someone who can offer strategic insight, constructive challenge and collaborative support, and who is committed to stewarding Baobab’s resources in service of long-term racial justice and collective freedom.
Required
- Strong governance experience, including legal, financial and regulatory oversight.
- Relevant professional and/or lived experience rooted in Black and Global Majority communities.
- Strategic thinking and sound judgment.
- Understanding of anti-oppressive, decolonial approaches.
- Commitment to Baobab’s values of Unity, Justice and Freedom.
Desirable
Experience in one or more of the following areas would be valuable:
- Grantmaking and philanthropy
- Fundraising and donor engagement
- Financial stewardship, treasury or endowment management
- Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL)
- Governance and constitutional matters
- Organisational strategy and development
Time Commitment
We recognise that trustees contribute their time, expertise and networks alongside other commitments. We anticipate an average commitment of approximately 10 hours per month, with some flexibility depending on current priorities and areas of involvement.
This is expected to include:
- Attendance at Board meetings;
- Preparation and review of Board papers and other key documents;
- Participation in occasional working groups; and
- Ad hoc strategic support where relevant.
WHAT WE OFFER
- The opportunity to help shape a bold, justice-rooted funding organisation that is transforming philanthropy in the UK working in a values-led, justice-rooted team committed to doing things differently.
- Space for collective learning, reflection and radical imagination.
- The opportunity to contribute your skills, experience and networks in service of Black and Global Majority communities organising for racial justice.
- A flexible, remote, working culture
- Non-hierarchical collaboration, radical imagination, and collective learning.
- Paid, relevant governance and trustee training to support your ongoing development in the role and beyond.
Remuneration
In line with its status as a charitable BenCom, By and For Community Fund trustees serve in a voluntary, unpaid capacity. Reasonable expenses incurred in fulfilling the role will be reimbursed in line with Baobab’s expenses policy, and accessibility support and reasonable adjustments will be provided to enable full participation.
HOW TO APPLY
Application Process: If this sounds like you, please send a cover letter and CV (of no more than 3 pages) with the subject title ‘ Trustee Role – Application – By and For Community Funding’ to
If you require any additional support to effectively carry out this application or have any further questions about the role, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments to ensure accessibility.
Closing Date: Wednesday 17th June 2026, 17:00 PM (BST)
