This section of our guidance has information about what we won't fund and what we're looking to support. We also share more about how we make decisions.
It is difficult to get grant support from Esmée. The majority of people who apply for our funding are not supported. Before committing to lots of research on what we support, or putting in a proposal, please check your eligibility by taking this short quiz. It will also help you to decide whether this would be a good use of your time.
From 2020, we are aiming to support fewer organisations for longer, and to provide more support. The organisations we support will be doing truly exceptional work, which we think could have a ripple effect, i.e: an influence that reaches beyond direct results and is taken up by others, with the potential for long-term change.
About Esmee
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation aims to improve our natural world, secure a fairer future and strengthen the bonds in communities in the UK. We support people and organisations with brilliant ideas who are doing everything they can to bring about the change they want to see.
Under this strategy we are changing our approach. In addition to funding organisations with longer grants, we will take a more active role ourselves. Working in collaboration with others, we will use all our tools to unlock change - not just grants and investments - but our influence, endowment, and our ability to broker alliances and remove barriers.
Our funding
- Grants
Our grants support organisations’ core or project costs, including staff salaries and overheads. We also provide unrestricted funding for charities. We do not fund building or equipment costs, or individuals.
The minimum amount we offer is £30,000 and we have no maximum amount. We also do not have minimum or maximum terms for grants – however the majority of our grants are for three to five years.
We are choosing to focus our grant funding on work that we believe will deliver the greatest long-term impact and create change for the future. This means we will be making more longer-term grants to organisations that will have a lasting and significant contribution to our impact goals, and fewer short-term or small-scale grants.
- Social Investments
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. If you’re interested in applying for social investment, we have separate guidance.
- Applying for both a grant and social investment
For requests for both grant funding and social investment:
- If the funding is for the same project, please submit an Expression of Interest for social investment in the first instance.
- If the funding is for different or unrelated projects, please submit separate Expressions of Interest for each type of funding.
What we don't support
- Organisations with an annual turnover of less than £100,000 (see our FAQs on how we assess turnover).[1]
- Organisations with fewer than three trustees or directors, the majority of whom should not be paid employees.
- Organisations that are not registered charities or do not have an asset lock or other way to make sure that the assets of an organisation, including profits or surpluses generated, can only be used for the benefit of its community or to further its activities and mission. This exclusion applies to grants; for social investments, we only invest in organisations with charitable aims and mission. See our FAQs for information about the kinds of organisations we support in terms of governance.
- Work that is not legally charitable - by this, we mean work that does not fall within one of 13 descriptions of charitable purposes. See our FAQs for more information about the kinds of organisations we support.
- Work that does not have a direct benefit in the UK.
- Grants for less than £30,000.
- Grants to individuals.
- Capital costs including building work, renovations, and equipment (this exclusion applies to grants; we may make social investments for these).
- Academic research – unless it can demonstrate real potential for practical outcomes.
- Healthcare with a clinical basis, including medical research, hospices, counselling and therapy, arts therapy, education about and treatment for drug and alcohol misuse.
- Independent education – by this, we mean work which takes place or is delivered by fee-paying schools.
- Work that is primarily the responsibility of statutory authorities to provide using public funds (for example: social services for children and older people).
- The advancement of religion.
What we're looking for
Across all our aims, applicants will need to show that:
- Their organisation is leading the way itself, or as part of a collaborative movement or partnership.
- Their work is driving change for the future by breaking new ground, or by using tried and tested models to push things forward.
- Their work aims to make a lasting difference, reaching beyond those directly engaged to influence the policy, practice, or behaviour of others.
We are looking to support:
- Unusual collaborations and ambitious partnerships. These could be regional or national, and involve charity, public sector or corporate partners.
- Work which makes connections across our aims: Our Natural World, A Fairer Future and Creative, Confident Communities.
- Work that is driven by communities or the people most affected by an issue.
- Work which uses a preventative approach.
- Work that has practical plans to achieve and sustain change over the long-term.
Learn more about the reasons we turn applications down.
When making decisions, we consider:
- Track record: we look at successes, but also what was learned when things didn’t go to plan.
- Connections: how this could link to and complement other work we support, and increase the combined impact.
- Broader context: the opportunities and barriers, allies and collaborators, for the work; and what influence or leverage the work aims to have.
- The difference our support could make: the value our funding, and extra support, could add to this work; along with the contribution the work could make to our impact goals.
Image: LEAP Confronting Conflict
Other sources of funding help
Information on other funding sources including a comprehensive guide to fundraising for small organisations.
Footnotes
-
[1]
↩We will be working with partners to identify new ideas we could support which are at an earlier stage and might not get through our applicant quiz. We will contact organisations proactively to apply for this support.