Remembering John Taylor
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of John Taylor, after a brave battle with cancer. John was a titan of the voluntary, community and public sectors in the West Midlands for over twenty years, and will be fondly remembered by his family, his friends and former colleagues.
John was Regional Head of the Big Lottery Fund, now The National Lottery Community Fund, in the West Midlands between 2005 and 2013. He was also a long-standing trustee of Heart of England Community Foundation for fifteen years, and held non-executive positions with Healthwatch in Sandwell and Walsall and with Black Country Together.
At Big Lottery Fund, John was responsible for the delivery of £60 million-per-year of funding for charities and voluntary organisations in the West Midlands. He also led on regional policy, communications and outreach to local groups, helping to widen access to Lottery funding. In addition, he spearheaded the £100 million ‘Talent Match’ programme, supporting thousands of young people into work and played a key role in delivering the ‘myplace’ programme helping to transform local youth facilities to the tune of £270 million.
At the Community Foundation, John was instrumental in supporting and mentoring his friend and colleague, Tina Costello to become the Chief Executive. In his role as trustee he helped support her leadership of the charity, which has transformed from a small, Coventry-based funder, into a regional, high-profile foundation, supporting thousands of initiatives in the West Midlands each-year.
John’s long public service record extended in recent years as he became a Magistrate in Coventry, a role he thoroughly enjoyed, and helped to engage hundreds of young people through the Magistrate Associations school initiatives. He also served as Interim Director for Bristol & Avon Law Centre and led the review of voluntary sector infrastructure in Walsall which helped to create One Walsall. In addition to his many roles, he consulted widely, helping many well known local and regional organisations in various positions after leaving the Big Lottery Fund.
We would like to take this opportunity to celebrate his enormous contribution to public life in our region and our condolences at this very sad and difficult time are with John’s partner Jamie, his family and his many friends and former colleagues.
Funeral Details
John’s funeral will take place on Wednesday 22nd June at 3.15pm at Canley Crematorium, 180 Cannon Hill Rd, Coventry CV4 7DF
In line with John’s wishes, donations can be made to Heart of England Community Foundation, to donate please follow the link here:
https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/20884#!/DonationDetails
