Handling projects, events, fundraising and comms through conflict and complexity


Integrity | Quality | Impact

The original Banfield Forge, home and workplace of the Poynings Village Blacksmith, Joseph Banfield, late 1800s.


The Forge Story

I’m Joe, 26, from Brighton, England

For five generations, my ancestors were blacksmiths and shopkeepers. But my focus — shaped by the 21st century — isn’t horseshoes and iron railings. It’s the “patient stitching of impermanent peace”: the search for reconciliation, justice, and post conflict recovery.

Whether bringing people together, working through thorny issues, or getting things done in seemingly intractable situations, this digital "forge" is how I do my bit.

I work with clients who have the edge in some way, clients who really care. I bring a Swiss Army Knife approach, offering quality and versatility, no matter how great or small the challenge or opportunity.

I’m curious about the role of faith and belief in peace and conflict, which has led me to build networks in religious and traditional communities, as well as the private sector and international organisations, across MENA, East Africa, Europe, and the USA.

Learn more, and see if we can work together, below!

  • If you have a powerful vision for change, I can chart a map to deliver it — and then help you deliver it, too.

    My work for previous clients has covered event management, fundraising strategy, managing teams, delivering projects, running comms and publicity campaigns, building digital marketing suites, and handling CRMs.

    I offer both project-specific and strategic advisory services.

    I am familiar working in environments characterised by political complexity, a context of conflict, and religious depth.

  • It matters to me that you are making a genuine difference to make life better for people.

    In return I make four promises:

    1. No nonsense: I am a real human being, not an AI, guided by integrity, quality, and impact.

    2. Passionate: I bring genuine creativity, motivated by a desire to see your work reach its potential.

    3. Capable: I can deal with difficult and messy things including politics, religion, trauma, and conflict.

    4. Enabling: I encourage, uplift, and bring a positive spirit!

    If you like the sound of this, we can get a coffee and talk it out.

  • This is how I keep my connection with humanity in tact.

    Through the Forge, I can support you, and your cause that makes the world a better place, without trading in my spirit and soul.

  • I started full-time work with five years at the Rose Castle Foundation, a faith-based org with a mission to equip a generation of 'reconciling leaders' capable of crossing society's deepest divides.

    We worked with hundreds of people from around the world on summer camps, retreats, dialogues, and trainings — people who often came from fundamentally opposing worlds.

    As communications and fundraising lead I made partnerships, built websites, wrote strategies, managed projects, and raised funds. When I started we were just getting WiFi in the office. When I left we were getting ready to receive a £1.36 million grant.

    I met lots of people whose lives had been affected by wars, colonialism, and other systems of injustice and extraction, so I studied a masters in Conflict, Security and Development at King's College London, where I learned more and wrote a thesis on the role of religious groups as actors for peace in Ethiopia, working with some extraordinary changemakers.

    Alongside this, I’ve been a board member for an international development charity during its final years, helping steer through a period of CEO transition and closure.

  • For more than 160 years, Banfields was the go-to place for knowing people in the building trade in the heart of Brighton, as much a community as a business.

    From village blacksmiths to Victorian emporium, through two World Wars and becoming locksmithing specialists, discover the story of five generations of Banfields here.

Could we work together?

Are you making the world a better place? Let’s chat.

In the past, I’ve worked well with:

  • Conflict resolution and peacebuilding organisations

  • Socially-minded entrepreneurs, investors and philanthropists

  • Faith-based organisations

  • Small, ethical companies

Get in touch

joe@banfieldforge.com
+44 (0) 7879 528550