Derek Bardowell

Spear’s Review

As philanthropy adviser and current co-CEO of Ten Years’ Time, Derek Bardowell believes in bridging the gap between philanthropists and the communities they wish to help.

‘The core thing that we do is reduce the proximity between financial wealth and the communities that have solutions to a number of their problems,’ Bardowell tells Spear’s. In practice, Ten Years’ Time bridges the gap between donors – charitable trusts, foundations, private philanthropists and corporate clients – and recipients, in order to assess where funds can have the most impact. This is done through educating donors on their cause area and building a giving strategy. ‘The advice we give is not simply consultancy,’ he says. ‘It’s advice with an end result.

‘What we’ve often found is that intermediaries act as a kind of gatekeeper towards some of the real issues, and so we broker relationships between wealth holders and those that are closest [to the issues]. A lot of our work is not just advisory, it’s also facilitation.’

Adviser Profile

Derek Bardowell is a philanthropy adviser and author. He is the CEO of Ten Years’ Time, helping donors to resource racial and economic justice with care and confidence. Derek supports clients to redistribute wealth directly to the most harmed communities so that they can birth and determine their dreams and realities. Previously, Derek managed portfolios for several UK funders, distributing over £150 million to good causes in 34 countries. His first book, No Win Race, explored race and racism in modern Britain through sport. It was a Sunday Times and Financial Times Book of the Year. Derek’s second book, Giving Back, reimagines philanthropy through a reparative lens. He is a Thirty Percy and Mission 44 trustee.