This section of our social investment guidance has information about what we won't fund and what we're looking to support.
About Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
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.
We are one of the largest independent funders in the UK. In addition to making grants, we have a £60m social investment fund to support our aims and where the financial returns are recycled for impact.
As part of our strategy, we are taking 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.
Who this guidance is for
This guidance is for organisations looking for social 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.
Our funding
- Social Investments
Our approach to social investment is ‘impact-first’, meaning we start with the social or environmental need and tailor the investment to it. We offer complete flexibility to adapt existing products, create a bespoke instrument, or use multiple products in combination.
We only invest in organisations that have charitable aims and mission, but we can support more commercially based activities where the organisation's primary purpose is social impact.
As well as making direct investments into organisations seeking to create impact towards our aims, we also invest into impact funds, which are managed by other social investors.
- Applying for both a grant and social investment
For requests for both social investment and grant funding:
- 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. See our guidance for grant applications.
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible for social investment, you must:
- Deliver or plan to deliver measurable outcomes that align closely to our aims.
- Be a charity or social enterprise or have a structure that includes a Mission Lock or be willing to add one.
- Demonstrate a suitable repayment or exit plan for the investment you are seeking.
What we're most likely to fund
- Organisations led by and for people with lived experience of the issues they are working on (we can talk to you about this if you need guidance on mission locks).
- Ideas with the potential to influence wider positive change, help attract mainstream finance into impact or disrupt broken markets (for examples, see our Investment priorities).
- Ideas, structures and interventions that meaningfully involve their communities.
- Impact that intersects across multiple Impact Aims.
- Partnerships and collaborations.
- The existing or potential ability to repay our investment.
What we don't support
- Profit-based structures without a mission lock that are not willing to add one.
- Work that does not have a direct benefit in the UK.
- 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.
- Work that is primarily the responsibility of statutory authorities.
- The promotion of religion.
Other sources of social investment
Good Finance helps charities and social enterprises navigate the world of social investment. It includes a social investor directory and tool to find out if social investment is right for your organisation.