Read our latest Annual Report, which gives an overview of our operations, funding and investments in 2020. It covers work we supported under both our old strategy and our new one launched in October 2020.
If ever there was a year for funders of all kinds to step up, 2020 was it. Many independent funders, including Esmée, have increased spending and changed their ways of working – moving towards more open and trusting grant-making to make life easier for those we fund. We welcome this and want to ensure these principles continue beyond the pandemic.
Caroline Mason, Chief Executive
Responding to COVID and a new strategy
In a year marked by a global pandemic and increasing inequality, we have been truly heartened by the response from so many to support their communities at such a difficult time for us all.
At Esmée, in addition to our main funding, we provided an additional £16.1m in grants as part of our response to COVID. We also made adjustments to how we work, which included making our funding flexible and changing reporting requirements as well as making our application process simpler.
During the year, we provided £53.5m in grant funding (this includes our emergency response to COVID and Funding Plus) and committed £4m in social investments. We also launched our new strategy, which outlines our long-term impact goals and priorities over the next five years. In the report, you can see a full breakdown of our funding, including a list of grants and investments and how they fit with our strategic aims.
