Read our 2021 Annual Report, which gives an overview of our operations, funding and investments during 2021.
2021 was the first full year of putting our new strategy into action. We set out to play a more active role ourselves - using all our tools to effect broader change. Beyond our funding work, this includes using our ability to connect, convene, to influence decision-makers, and to commission research to understand the bigger picture and see what's on the horizon. You can see a breakdown of our spending towards our range of tools in the report.
It was one of our biggest years of grant spend: a total of £51.6m, which includes £3.9m as part of our ongoing response to COVID. For this, we chose to target our support to organisations in our portfolio working in the performing arts, as well as organisations led by and for communities experiencing racial inequity. We also commited £4.6m in social investment to 11 organisations.
Our endowment performed very well during the year, rising by 31.1% to £1.5bn. We're proud to be part of a movement of funders thinking about and taking action to use our endowments to create positive change. In 2021, this included the creation of a £10m allocation for testing the use of impact investing. We also commited to ensuring our investment portfolio will be net zero by 2040 at the latest.
We hope you find the report interesting. If you'd like to share feedback or have any questions about it, we'd love to hear from you. You can get in touch by email: communications@esmeefairbairn.org.uk.
