Latest news
Graeae Theatre
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03 August 2026What do people think about Esmée Fairbairn Foundation 2026
Read the key findings from a 2026 survey of successful and unsuccessful applicants on their experiences of working with Esmée, alongside what we plan to do in response.
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People can’t build for the future while they're fighting fires
In Gina Crane’s final project for Esmée, she has been working with Oliver French to pull together six years of learning about Esmée’s strategy for Trustees. In this blog, Gina shares the challenges organisations we fund are facing and shares three things she'd like funders to do.
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Pre-application Q&A webinar: 28 September 2026
We're hosting a pre-application Q&A webinar on 28 September at 2pm for organisations interested in applying to Esmée for support who have questions about our application process or guidance.
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Annual Report and Accounts 2025
Our 2025 Annual Report and Accounts gives an overview of our funding, investments and operations during the year.
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Dame Caroline Mason to step down as Chief Executive of Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
After 13 years leading the Foundation as our Chief Executive, Dame Caroline Mason will be stepping down from her role in early 2027. Caroline has developed and strengthened the Foundation’s work in lasting ways and her influence has spread far beyond Esmée.
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Supporting wellbeing across funded organisations
This year, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation is committing an additional £200k in Funding Plus support to help prevent burnout and improve wellbeing for the people we fund.
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Pre-application Q&A webinar: 3 June 2026
Watch a pre-application Q&A webinar we held on 3 June for organisations interested in applying to Esmée for support who have questions about our application process or guidance.
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New Connections – challenging the way we fund
New Connections is supporting 20 organisations working for racial or migrant justice in the UK arts, community, environment and social justice sectors. As the learning Network comes to a close, we are sharing useful insights for funders who want to support grassroots and founder-led organisations, and for organisations that need their support but are frustrated with the funding system.
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Our work towards Racial Justice: actions in 2025
Following a review of our approach to racial justice by Chrisann Jarrett published last year, we wanted to provide an update on the five actions we committed to, and to share our next steps.
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Funding Plus: Capacity building support needs of organisations we fund
Our latest Funding Plus report shares findings about the capacity building support needs and experiences of organisations we fund.
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