£100 Million Is “Insufficient”: Advisers Tell the Church of England to Build a £1 Billion Fund for Slavery Repair

• An advisory report said the Church of England should raise its slavery fund tenfold, to £1 billion
• The Church Commissioners manage an investment fund of more than £10 billion
• They will now commit the first £100 million within five years instead of nine
• They hope co-investors and investment returns will help the fund grow

The Church of England has promised to step up its response to its historical links with slavery, after an advisory report said its financial commitment should rise tenfold, AFP reported in a story carried by the Jamaica Observer.

In January 2023 the Church Commissioners, the body that funds the church’s work, pledged £100 million (US$127 million) over nine years to support communities affected by slavery. That followed their admission that the fund had originally been built on investments in an 18th-century company involved in the African slave trade. The experts advising the church concluded that the commitment was “insufficient” for “true justice, reparation, and healing”, and recommended a target of £1 billion.

The Commissioners manage an investment fund of more than £10 billion. They agreed to put the £100 million to work within five years rather than nine, backing projects for disadvantaged Black communities as well as entrepreneurs, researchers, doctors and teachers. “Our hope is that others will join us and invest alongside us… through our investment, through co-investment from others, and through the investment funds growing from returns,” said chief executive Gareth Mostyn. “We hope that the fund will grow, hopefully to a billion and more, and create a lasting positive legacy.”

Bishop of Croydon Rosemarie Mallett said the church recognised its duty “to do what we can do” and hoped others would follow. Former Digicel chairman Denis O’Brien, founder of The Repair Campaign, welcomed the recommendations. “We call on all other UK institutions with historic links to enslavement, including the royal family, successor corporate entities, universities, families, and the UK Government to finally do the right thing and apologise,” he said.

Mostyn described the fund as a vehicle for investment and co-investment, not a one-off gift. That shows how large church endowments work: the capital is invested, and the returns pay for the programme. For Jamaica and the wider Caribbean, the practical questions are where the money is invested and who gets it, whether as business finance, community projects or education. Entrepreneurs, community organisations and churches should follow the fund’s criteria closely. A £1 billion vehicle aimed at communities affected by slavery would be a large new source of capital for the region, but only groups ready with proper projects will be able to use it.

Follow Jamaica Homes on Youtube @jamaicahomes and Instagram @jamaica_homes and on Facebook @jamaicahomesnews Send us a message or email us at onlinefeedback@jamaica-homes.com or editor@jamaica-homes.com