About us
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Founded in 1961, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation is one of the UK’s largest independent funders.
In 2023, we provided £58.4m in funding towards a wide range of work in support of our three main aims: to improve Our Natural World, secure A Fairer Future and nurture Creative, Confident Communities. This includes additional funding to organisations we fund in response to the rising cost of living. We also have a £60m allocation to social investments and a £10m allocation to impact investments. Our funds are generated by our investment portfolio.
Our values
Our organisational values will act as a guide for staff and Trustees about how we work at Esmée. Our organisational values will act as a guide for staff and Trustees about how we work at Esmée.
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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Our commitments on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as an organisation and through our work.
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Climate Change
Read about our commitment to addressing the causes and impacts of climate change.
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Our funding data
We publish all our grants and social investments on 360Giving, an initiative that aims to help UK funders share their data in an open and standard format online.
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Our investments
Our investments ensure that we can keep working to improve our natural world, secure a fairer future and strengthen the bonds in communities in the UK for decades to come.
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Strategy
Information about our strategic plan including our impact goals and the outcomes we hope to achieve by 2030. We also outline how we will work in support of our mission.
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Governance
Esmée is governed by a Board of Trustees who meet six times each year to set and oversee the delivery of the Foundation’s strategy. We also have a number of Trustee committees, which support our work throughout the year.
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Open and trusting grant-making
Learn about our commitments to open and trusting grant-making, which is part of a campaign launched by the Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR).
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Working for Esmée
Our vision is for Esmée to have a diverse team of staff and Trustees – with the skills, knowledge, experience, networks and insights required to deliver our strategic plan.
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HR policies
Information on HR policies for people working at Esmée. As well as providing guidance on employment issues including the range of benefits available to staff, they ensure that we adhere to the law with consistency and consideration.
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You might be interested in
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20 November 2024Freshwater mid-strategy review: Invitation to tender
We are looking to work with an external consultant from to carry out a short review to inform how we deliver our strategy for Freshwater.
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Pre-application Q&A Creative, Confident Communities: 14 November 2024
Watch our pre-application Q&A webinar for organisations interested in our support for Creative, Confident Communities, and hear the team talk through our updated guidance.
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Creative, Confident Communities: Update to our grant funding guidance
We have updated our grant funding guidance for support towards our funding priorities in Creative, Confident Communities.
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New Connections: 20 organisations awarded a total of £1.4m
At the end of last year, we announced New Connections, a new ringfenced fund for finding and supporting organisations who could not, or would not, usually apply to Esmée. We’re pleased now to share more about the organisations who have been awarded funding.
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