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Social Criteria

Trustees fund innovative Social projects that meet the foundation’s fundamental aims, where the Trust tends to be a ‘first funder’. Social grants are primarily awarded for under-funded causes, rather than those with higher profiles that gain a lot of public attention and may find it easier to attract funding. 

Applications under the Social category must be led by or in partnership with service-delivery charitable organisations. They must also emphasise imaginative and wide-ranging dissemination that reaches beneficiaries, practitioners, policy makers and / or researchers as appropriate.

The Trust welcomes proposals for catalysing Social initiatives in the UK that are either practical on-the-ground projects (development projects) or focussed on the practical impact of research findings (research projects), which attempt to:

  • Prevent and resolve conflict, promote reconciliation, encourage re-connection between family members.
  • Help people to ‘move beyond disadvantage’.
  • Help people who may be vulnerable and/or have been exploited.

The Trust also funds a small number of innovative international development projects in the above subject areas, usually within Africa. Such projects must be administered by UK-based charitable organisations, and must involve partnership with in-country staff, volunteers and beneficiaries. 

Examples of recently funded project themes include the family and social aspects of:

  • Housing policy and / or homelessness
  • Human trafficking and / or modern-day slavery
  • Child and family welfare
  • Mental health and addiction
  • Criminal Justice

In relation to development projects, Trustees normally expect:

  • Beneficiaries to be involved in the design of projects and their continuing governance.
  • A positive impact that includes and goes beyond the immediate beneficiaries of the project.
  • Sustainability plans to be in place if relevant.

In relation to research projects, Trustees expect findings to be disseminated to beneficiaries, service-delivery partners and policy makers to increase the impact of the research.