Frequently asked questions

Tremayne Hall, Locality

1.1 What is Esmée Fairbairn Foundation?

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation is one of the UK’s largest independent funders. Our aim is to improve our natural world, secure a fairer future, and strengthen the bonds in communities in the UK. We do this by contributing all that we can to unlock change by people and organisations with brilliant ideas who share our goals. Read more about our aims.

In 2023, we provided £58.4m in funding towards a wide range of work in support of our aims. This includes additional funding to organisations we fund in response to the rising cost of living. We also have a £45m allocation to social investments. View our funding data.

Our funds are generated by our investment portfolio. Read more about our approach to investment.

The foundation is named for Esmée Fairbairn by our founder, Ian Fairbairn - read more about them and our history.

2.1 What do you fund?

Our grants support organisations’ core or project costs, including staff salaries and overheads. We also provide unrestricted funding for charities. We do not give grants for building or equipment costs, or individuals. See other exclusions from our funding.

We do not have minimum or maximum terms for grants – however the majority of our grants are for 3-5 years.

Our social investments start with the social need and tailor the investment to it: adapting and selecting financial instruments that are most appropriate. We invest directly into organisations and indirectly, through funds. Our social investments can support a broad range of capital costs as long as there are plans in place to generate income and support the capital investment.

We encourage organisations to apply as part of a partnership or collaboration, and welcome work which fits more than one of our impact goals or funding priorities.

You can search all our grants and social investment data on GrantNav to understand the type of work we support. Read more about our strategy and aims.

We only fund work that takes place in the UK (or where there is a clear primary benefit in the UK). We do not fund work in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.

2.2 What kinds of organisations do you support?

Most organisations we give grants to are charities, but we do fund other types of organisations (including Community Interest Companies, and companies limited by guarantee) as long as the work they are doing with our grant funding is legally charitable. The Charities Act 2006 defines this as work that falls within one of 13 descriptions of purposes and is for the public benefit.

For organisations that are not registered charities, we need to see a copy of their constitution - a document that outlines the rules that will govern the organisation - to check that: there is sufficient public benefit; there is good governance; and there is protection against private gain.

For good governance, we want to see

  • A minimum of three trustees or directors, the majority of whom should not be paid employees.
  • The salaries and benefits of employees are approved by a majority of non-executive Directors.
  • In the case of organisations that are not registered charities – an asset lock clause or other general mechanism used to cover all the provisions designed to ensure that the assets of an organisation, including profits or surpluses generated, are used for the benefit of its community or to further its activities and mission.

You may find the Charity Commission useful for information and advice on Governance and Internal Financial Controls.

By exception, when we proactively seek out a new idea to support ourselves, we might make grants to organisations which don’t meet all these governance standards provided that we are satisfied that the work is charitable, and has adequate safeguards in place. This might be through a conduit organisation, by providing a restricted grant, or by using a contractual arrangement.

For social investments, we only invest in organisations that have charitable aims and mission, but we can support more commercially based activities where it is clear that the organisation's primary purpose is social impact.

2.3 How do you make decisions?

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation is a registered charity. Our board of Trustees meet regularly and set the overall strategic direction of the Foundation. We currently have 12 Trustees, a number of which are members of the founder's family. Read more about our governance.

Trustees approve a budget each year, which is linked to the long-term performance of our investments. Currently our spend budget is approximately £40million. We also have a £45m allocation to social investments.

The Trustees work with an executive team to make decisions on how to use our resources and make funding decisions.

Decisions are made depending on the size of the funding request:

  • Grants up to £90k - Executive Team, which meets every two weeks
  • Grants up to £250k & social investment up to £500k - Executive/Trustee committee, which meets every 6 weeks
  • Grants over £250k and Social Investment over £500k - Trustee Board, which meets 5 times a year

Learn about the main reasons we turn applications down and what we consider when making decisions.

2.4 Why do the exclusions in your online application process include organisations with a turnover of less than £100,000?

The vast majority of organisations we support have a turnover of above £100,000. We appreciate how difficult and time-consuming fundraising can be, and that our funding in particular is not easy to get. We want to be realistic about who we're most likely to fund, and avoid many more organisations being disappointed when there is little prospect of success.

This does not mean we don't support early stage and smaller organisations with a turnover of less than £100,000 - we do and will continue to do so. However, in our experience, online applications are not the best mechanism for identifying them.

See the next question to learn more about our support for organisations who don't meet this criteria.

2.5 Do you support organisations with a turnover of less than £100,000, and how do I apply?

Yes. We have always and will continue to support early stage and smaller organisations who we believe may be a good partner for our strategy, but may not meet our eligibility criteria.

This is particularly the case where we want to pilot, test, disrupt, support new ideas or organisations that we think will be important in terms of meeting our strategic aims going forwards.

To do this, we are choosing to focus our resources on finding these organisations proactively – for instance: by strengthening our networks, targeted referrals and monitoring the sector to seek out organisations that are doing amazing work towards our goals.

2.6 What are you doing to support organisations led by communities experiencing racial inequity or are disability-led who have a turnover of less than £100,000?

We want to find more ways to support smaller organisations led by communities experiencing racial inequity or are disability-led who share our goals, but may not meet our eligibility criteria. As part of this, we are working on expanding and strengthening our networks as well as working proactively to seek out organisations doing amazing work towards our goals. Please note that applications are by invitation only.

We also fund in partnerships with organisations such as Imkaan, the Rosa Fund, Global Dialogue and Comic Relief who have the experience and reach to do this well and we are learning from them.

We continue to explore other ways we can improve our support for organisations led by communities experiencing racial inequity or are disability-led and very much welcome feedback. If you'd like to share your thoughts or have any questions, do get in touch by contacting communications@esmeefairbairn.org.uk.

Learn more about our commitments on diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as our progress to date and future plans.

2.7 Why is the Young People Leaving Care outcome by invitation only?

We are currently supporting a fantastic group of organisations, and are focusing on working more closely with them to achieve our desired outcomes. We may invite applications where we feel additional work is needed in one of our focus areas, and we will identify these by working with our partners in the sector.

As we do not plan to make many new grants to organisations we’re not already supporting, this priority is currently closed to applications.

See our Young People Leaving Care Learning programme to learn more about out work and support.

2.8 What if my work fits more than one priority, impact goal or aim?

We think it’s great if your work fits more than one so don’t worry too much if it does. Our application process will ask you to choose an aim and priority that is the best match for your work. You will also have the chance to select which other priorities are also a match for what you do.

We also don't have a preference in terms of projects focusing on one of our priorities and projects that work across more than one priority. We want applicants to tell us about their priorities and how they align with ours.

2.9 Do you fund work that takes place in schools?

We know that engagement with schools is a valuable way to reach children and young people. Whilst we will consider work that takes place in schools, we do not fund work that is exclusively in schools and part of the curriculum.

2.10 Do you fund cultural education? Why is it no longer a funding priority?

We updated our strategy for A Fairer Future in 2022, focusing our support for organisations that are grappling with the complexity of systemic inequity. We wanted to build on what we do well, our expertise and relationships, and work at the intersections of inequity.

By narrowing our focus to fewer areas, we believe we can use our resources more effectively and play a more active role ourselves in working towards our impact goals. This change in our approach means we are not able to fund across all the areas we have previously worked in.

Considering our limited history of funding the delivery of cultural education, we decided to move away from this as a broader area of work. We still believe arts education to be hugely important and continue to fund cultural activity with children and young people in specific ways.

We support cultural activity with children and young people in the following priorities.

2.11 Does ‘using all your resources’ mean a plan to spend down the endowment?

It doesn’t, but Trustees regularly review how much to balance need now with likely need in future, eg in 2020 we agreed to give an extra £16m from our endowment in response to COVID-19.

2.12 How will you use your voice and other tools such as convening to influence?

Any influencing we do will be with the intention of achieving our impact goals, but it will be in two main ways.

  • Firstly, backing the work we fund. Building on the kinds of facilitative actions we have taken over the past few years, we will aim to give more proactive support to the work we fund, leveraging its impact further through our own actions (making links and connections, sharing and amplifying messages from those we fund).
  • Secondly and more rarely, taking the lead. Where we’ve planned to, as part of our roadmap, we will use our voice to build the case for better support for an issue; support campaigns that are key to making progress towards our impact goals; build alliances to push for change; or join a push for better legislation, regulation or policy change.
2.13 For Funding Plus, do you have a selection of preferred consultants or does the charity find their own?

Feedback we’ve received shows organisations value being able to choose a provider that best understands their organisation’s needs. We therefore do not have a preferred supplier list, but may be able to pass on details for providers that have been recommended by organisations we fund.

2.14 Do you fund religious organisations who have the promotion of their faith as one of their charitable objectives.

We would not provide unrestricted costs funding to an organisation whose charitable mission is to promote religion, as the advancement of religion is one of our exclusions (work we do not fund). However, we recognise that many religious organisations play important roles in their communities, supporting people of all faiths and none. We would therefore consider applications for projects or restricted costs from these organisations, provided they were open to all and did not proselytise as part of the requested programme. We would explore accessibility, targeting and the role of the organisation within the community during the assessment.

3.1 How do I apply for funding?

All details of our application process can be found here, along with our funding guidance.

There are no deadlines – we assess expressions of interest, and make funding decisions, on a rolling basis so you can apply when it suits you.

The smallest grant you can apply for is £30,000. In 2021 our median grant size was £180,000 over 3 years, and we made one grant of over £1m. If you are requesting multi-year funding, we encourage you to account for inflation and increase your annual amount accordingly. Visit the Office for National Statistics for information on the current rate of inflation.

We don't accept applications for social investments of less than £100,000. In 2021 our mean social investment size was £421,000.

If you're not successful, you can apply again without needing to wait. However, unless your expression of interest is very different, it's unlikely to get a different result, as we will already have looked at your organisation details and website to judge whether your work is a potential match for our aims.

The majority of our grants support organisations' core costs, or are unrestricted, and in most cases we only make one grant to an organisation at a time. If you have an idea for an additional grant that could contribute to our impact goals, speak to your funding manager.

We will give feedback to every organisation we ask to submit a full proposal. Feedback will not be given on expressions of interest, but we will track and use our team’s assessments to amend our guidance, answer frequently asked questions, and give more general application advice on our website and twitter.

3.2 Is my organisation eligible for funding from Esmée?

You can take our short quiz to see if you meet our minimum criteria for funding. You can also find our general exclusions in what we don't support.

3.3 What evaluation criteria do you use for Expressions of Interest?

After meeting our minimum eligibility criteria, Expressions of Interest are evaluated based on best fit to our impact goals. See also the main reasons for why we turn down applications.

3.4 How will you assess an organisation's annual turnover?

In the Expression of Interest form, we’ll ask for your most recent accounting year’s annual turnover. And if invited to submit a proposal, we will ask to see a copy of your latest management accounts.

Please note that we are not considering applications from organisations with an annual turnover of less than £100,000. You can learn more about our reasons for this and what we are doing to support smaller and early stage organisations who do not meet our eligibility criteria, but may be a good partner for our strategy here.

3.5 What is the success rate of applications?

Success rates for applications in 2022 (excluding those for follow-on grants and those we have proactively invited):

  • 4.4% of eligible expressions of interest were invited to submit a proposal.
  • 70% of proposals submitted went on to be awarded a grant.

The overall success rates for ALL applications was higher:

  • 19.5% of expressions of interest were invited to submit a proposal.
  • 91% of proposals submitted went on to be awarded a grant.
3.6 What is the turnaround time for decisions after initial application?
  • After submitting an Expression of Interest, we will let you know if we will take your application further within four weeks.
  • After submitting a Proposal, we will let you know our decision within three months.

Altogether, the full process for a successful application - from submitting an Expression of Interest to being awarded a grant - can take up to 6 months. In general, requests for smaller grants can happen more quickly. See also the question on how we make decisions.

3.7 Can an organisation hold more than one grant?

Yes, but it is unusual. In general, we will accept more than one application for funding (usually, not more than two) from an organisation when:

  • There is not any duplication in terms of the programme of work being covered and we aren't being asked to fund the same costs twice
  • The organisation is acting as the lead in an application on behalf of a partnership, and the other application is for funding for that organisation in its own right and for its own needs
3.8 Can I submit more than one Expression of Interest to the Foundation at a time?

Yes, we will accept more than one application for funding (usually, not more than two) from the same organisation when:

  • There is not any duplication in terms of the programme of work being covered and we aren't being asked to fund the same costs twice
  • The organisation is acting as the lead in an application on behalf of a partnership, and the other application is for funding for that organisation in its own right and for its own needs.
3.9 Can I apply as part of a collaboration/partnership?

Yes, we encourage collaborative approaches across our aims. We can fund both existing or new collaborations.

One organisation will need to apply as the 'lead' - they will be treated as the grant-holding organisation in our system and hold responsibility for the progress of the work.

We'll need the collaboration partners to confirm their involvement. Not all partners have to be registered charities. You'll also nominate two contacts; one from the 'lead' organisation and one of the partners.

You can include anticipated costs of setting up and co-ordinating networks or partnerships in your application.

Please note: The 'lead' organisation will need to meet our minimum eligibility criteria. If you would like to discuss this further, get in touch by emailing communications@esmeefairbairn.org.uk.

3.10 Why do you turn down applications?

See why we turn down applications.

3.11 My application was unsuccessful - can I apply again?

Unfortunately, we receive far more applications than we are able to fund. We appreciate how challenging fundraising can be so whilst an organisation who has been turned down for funding can apply again, the new application should not be for the same work and costs. 

Please look at why we turn down applications before deciding to submit another application. You can also find useful links to guidance & directories for other sources of funding here.

3.12 Can I get help with an application? How can I ask a question about the process?

We don't normally offer calls before Expressions of Interest are submitted due to the capacity of the Team.

You may find the following useful:

If you're still not able to find the guidance or answers to questions you might have, do please send your question in to: info@esmeefairbairn.org.uk.

4. How do I leave feedback for Esmée

Learn about the different ways to give feedback on Esmée.

5. Where should media enquiries be directed?

If you are a journalist and have a press enquiry, you'll get the quickest response if you send details to communications@esmeefairbairn.org.uk.

6. Do you pay the Living Wage?

Esmée is a Living Wage funder and employer, accredited by the Living Wage Foundation.

  • As a Living Wage funder, we encourage our applicants to pay their staff the UK Real Living wage as a minimum.
  • As a Living Wage employer, everyone working at Esmée, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors and suppliers, receives the London Living Wage.

The Living Wage commitment means that everyone working at the Foundation, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors and suppliers receives the London Living Wage.

The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. It is calculated according to the basic cost of living using the ‘Minimum Income Standard’ for the UK. Decisions about what to include in this standard are set by the public; it is a social consensus about what people need to make ends meet.

Employers choose to pay the Living Wage on a voluntary basis. Current levels for the Living Wage and details of how it is calculated can be found on the Living Wage Foundation website.

7. How do I make a complaint about the Foundation

If you wish to make a complaint to the Foundation about the way you have been treated or some other aspect of our work, please put this in writing to: Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, 6th Floor, 210 Pentonville Road, London, N1 9JY or by e-mail: info@esmeefairbairn.org.uk.

The Chief Operating Officer will deal with the complaint at the first stage. If this cannot be dealt with satisfactorily, then it may be taken to the Chair of the Board of Trustees. While the individual identity of complainants will be kept confidential, the lessons emerging from these are reviewed by the Senior Management Team to see if any lessons can learned or practice improved, and these are reported to the Board of Trustees. See our complaints policy to learn more about the procedure for complaints.

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation is regulated by the Charity Commission for England and Wales. See the Charity Commission's guidance on making a complaint about a charity:

8. Do you have a whistleblowing policy?

Yes, we do. We aim to encourage a free and open culture in dealings between Trustees, employees and all those with whom the Foundation engages. In particular, we recognise that effective and honest communication is essential if concerns about breaches or failures are to be dealt with effectively. Our Whistleblowing Policy is designed to provide guidance to all those who work with or within the Foundation who may feel they need to raise concerns relating to the Foundation with someone in confidence.

This may include circumstances such as:

  • A criminal offence has been committed, is being committed or is likely to be committed
  • A person has failed, is failing or is likely to fail to comply with any legal obligation to which he or she is subject
  • A miscarriage of justice has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur
  • The health and safety of any individual has been, is being or is likely to be endangered
  • The Foundation is in breach of health and safety or environmental law
  • Information tending to show any matter falling within any one of the preceding points has been, is being or is likely to be deliberately concealed.

If you wish to raise an issue, you should put the details in writing to the Chief Executive or Chief Operating Officer at: Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, 6th Floor, 210 Pentonville Road, London, N1 9JY; or by email to james.wragg@esmeefairbairn.org.uk.

If the issue is one you feel you cannot share with the management of the Foundation, then we encourage you to contact: Protect (formerly Public Concern at Work) or you may wish to contact the Charity Commission for England and Wales.

All whistleblowing reports will also be shared with the Chair of the Board of Trustees.