Philanthropy
Our philanthropic portfolio is inspired by our investment strategy and focuses on charitable organisations with the potential for transformational change.
We prioritise
organisations
that:
possess potential that is overlooked
and underfunded1leverage capital to drive
large-scale impact2scale across regions
and focus areas3occupy a unique position in their
sector, bridging gaps between
private and public interests4
Our approach is
data-driven
mixed with a focus on the leadership, culture and growth potential of an organisation.
This removes emotional drivers and enables us to identify well-run organisations that tackle pressing challenges at scale. Leadership teams that combine humility, resilience, and a willingness to embrace uncertainty can achieve remarkable things with the right support and encouragement.
Our aim is to be a long-term, trusted partner, offering unrestricted support that makes room for innovation, exponential thinking and the unintended. We are sector agnostic, but tend to focus on organisations that take advantage of:
Tech
We look for organisations that understand the potential of technology and that use it intelligently to scale their impact, either alone or in collaboration with other charities or private partners. This may look different depending on their audience - it's not the label we care about, but the ability to reach more people more effectively.
We back teams ready to experiment and learn from their successes and failures and those who are driving innovative approaches in the sector.
Networks
We are fascinated by organisations that achieve scale by leveraging existing networks to access new populations, such as schools, churches or prisons, both nationally and internationally.
We aim to support organisations who are using these networks to positively impact multiple stakeholders in a complex world.
Research & policy
We support organisations whose work is focused but not niche. Their insights are derived from research, data, industry & governmental partnerships, clinical practice, and relevant lived experience.
They design and provide practical policy and product proposals in collaboration and drive tangible positive outcomes for society.
We take a
proactive
approach to grantmaking.
We spend our time researching promising charities that align with our criteria and long-term blue-sky vision in a variety of ways. Sometimes we find them directly - by reading widely, attending conferences, or in conversation with peers, experts, academics and other charities. At times, indirectly - when we have a hunch or someone asks the right question and we let ourselves to be led down a rabbit hole. Our investment colleagues and AI-assisted exploration help enormously.
We evaluate good ideas using a pre-screening and scoring checklist with a mix of quantitative and qualitative criteria. This is followed by discussions with our team and external peers. As we are sector agnostic, we don't have pre-conceived ideas of what works, we consider charities for their unique contribution to their given sector.
If the organisation aligns with our criteria, we engage the leadership - the CEO(s), trustee(s) and other senior staff. After an in-person meeting, we aspire to take no longer than three weeks to make funding decisions.
The grant marks what we hope will be the beginning of a long-term encouraging partnership during which the grantees expand their impact significantly.
We support a
diverse range
of ambitious ideas that each advance society in their own way.
How do you measure the number of people that have not been trafficked? STOP THE TRAFFIK (STT), a global tech non-profit that forms strategic cross-sector partnerships to develop data-driven solutions to prevent human trafficking, is grappling with this question. STT are at a crucial moment in time as the team capitalises on developments in AI, enriches intelligence data with survivor stories, and designs highly relevant products for governments, financial, corporate and enforcement sectors alike. They are championing the ecosystem and open data approach that is necessary to prevent human trafficking at scale.
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The unpredictable evolution of nature of work is affecting regions, sectors and social classes in different ways. As nations explore how technological advances affect people and discuss and implement practical 'good work' policy and regulation across political lines, could the Institute for the Future of Work provide thoughtful leadership at a global level?
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How do we nurture civic engagement and generosity across the nation? Perhaps by inspiring a critical mass of young people through the First Give School Programmes. After 10 years of partnering with schools, First Give is innovating for scale, creating more opportunties for young people to engage with issues in their communities, to understand the impact they can have as individuals and to cultivate a habit of social responsibility and generosity.
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Every day, tens of thousands tune in to National Prison Radio from their cells across the UK. Since supporting the development of the UK’s first prison radio project in 1994, through to running the world’s first national radio station in prison, the PRA has been creating award-winning, solution-oriented radio and podcasts that help people cope with incarceration and life after release. Their expertise is in high demand and so the team is using their experience to build a mutually supportive network of prison radio stations around the world, sharing best practice with the potential to empower millions at critical moments in their lives.
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Church should be a place of belonging and inclusion, however that isn’t always the case for people living with mental health challenges. Can we positively influence church structures to create spaces free from stigma? Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries transform church cultures by opening up conversations about mental health, including mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, PTSD, eating disorders, and more. Their evidence-based, theologically-rooted materials support Christians of all denominations.
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Should we know
about you?
As a small team granting proactively across sectors, the challenge is to find compelling charities outside of our usual spheres. So, for a six month period, we are trialling an 'Expression of Interest' form that is designed to be as time efficient as possible.
If you are a charity registered in England and Wales with an annual income of £100k-£2mn and after reading the above, you think we should know about you, then follow this two step process:
- step 1
Click the button below to enter your charity number and email address. You will receive an immediate answer if you do not match our criteria.
- step 2
If you match our criteria, you will be asked to validate your email address and share further details. This second step should only take 5-10 minutes of your time.
We receive inquiries from many more charities than we can fund and we are not able to give feedback if you are not successful. To maximise your chances, please ensure that your organisation's records on the Charity Commission database are accurate and up to date.