Forces in Mind Trust is delighted to welcome Sara Baade as the newest member of its Grants and Commissioning Committee.

The Grants and Commissioning Committee has authority delegated from the Board of Directors to award grants for applications and work commissioned by the Trust. FiMT’s endowment funds evidence generation which the Trust then uses to influence policy makers and service deliverers in its mission of enabling ex-Service personnel and their families to make a successful and sustainable transition to civilian life.

Sara is the Chief Executive of the Army Families Federation (AFF), the independent charity improving the quality of life for Army families around the world. Before joining the AFF at the end of 2015, she focused on management and strategic policy, specialising in vocational skills growth and development having worked as a senior civil servant for the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and as a Director at charity UK Skills. She also previously worked in investment banking for Goldman Sachs.

Sara has five-year-old twins and lives in London. Her late husband, Matthew Wall, served with the 9/12th Royal Lancers.

Ray Lock CBE, Chief Executive of Forces in Mind Trust, says: “We are delighted to welcome Sara to the FiMT Grants and Commissioning Committee as a lay adviser.  This Committee is the engine room of our work, funding and monitoring projects to improve the lives and outcomes of ex-Service personnel and their families.  We look to augment the skills and experience of our Directors with that of lay advisers.  Sara’s experience both within military charities and skills development will provide an important voice on the Committee, where her position at the robustly networked Army Families Federation will also offer insights from across the Armed Forces Community.”

Sara Baade, Chief Executive of the Army Families Federation, says: “I am thrilled to be joining the FiMT’s Grants and Commissioning Committee and am eager to bring my first-hand knowledge and experience of Army family life to the committee. I am passionate about ensuring that Army families, whether they be Regular, Reserve or families who are transitioning out of the Army, have a voice and this role will further improve my understanding of the issues soldiers and their families face.”

ENDS

Media contact:
Kate Turner at The PR Office kturner@theproffice.com / 020 7284 6944.

About the Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT):

  • FiMT came about from a partnership between the Big Lottery Fund (‘the Fund’), Cobseo (The Confederation of Service Charities) and other charities and organisations.  FiMT continues the Fund’s long-standing legacy of support for veterans across the UK with an endowment of £35 million awarded in 2012.  http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/.
  • The mission of FiMT is to enable ex-Service personnel and their families make a successful and sustainable transition to civilian life, and it delivers this mission by generating an evidence base that influences and underpins policy making and service delivery.
  • FiMT awards grants (for both responsive and commissioned work) to support its change model around 6 outcomes in the following areas: Housing; Employment; Health and wellbeing; Finance; Criminal Justice System; and Relationships.
  • All work is published in open access and hosted on the Veterans’ Research Hub.  A high standard of reportage is demanded of all grant holders so as to provide a credible evidence base from which better informed decisions can be made.

Useful links

  • Website: www.fim-trust.org
  • About the Mental Health Research Programme: https://www.fim-trust.org/mental-health/research-programme/
  • Reports: fim-trust.org/reports
  • How to apply for funding: https://www.fim-trust.org/apply/
  • Those FiMT have helped: www.fim-trust.org/who-we-have-helped
  • Twitter: @FiMTrust

 About Army Families Federation (AFF):

The Army Families Federation (AFF) is the independent voice of Army families and works hard to improve the quality of life for Army families around the world – on any aspect that is affected by Army life.

AFF is independent of the Army and is often pivotal in achieving improvements for Army families such as changes to Government and military policy and changes to how things are provided for families. For more information visit aff.org.uk

AFF’s operates by four core values which are pivotal to our work. These are:

  • AFF always puts families first
  • AFF can be trusted
  • AFF is bold and determined
  • AFF is inclusive

For more information about AFF, contact AFF Director of Communications and Marketing, Sarah Bowie, commsmarketingdirector@aff.org.uk