Grant-making trust or foundation · Registered charity 200051
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation: grants and who they fund
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation published 1,075 grants to organisations from 3 Oct 2023 to 7 Oct 2026, worth £176m in total. The typical (median) grant was £120k, and UK Whole was the area funded most often.
Stated aims
What the charity says it does (Charity Commission register):
We are one of the largest independent foundations in the UK. Our primary interests are in the arts, children and young people, the environment and social change.
Charitable objects (governing document):
To further such charitable purpose or purposes as the Trustees in their absolute discretion shall think fit.
Where it operates (Charity Commission register):
- Throughout England and Wales
- Scotland
- Northern Ireland
Grant sizes
Grants to organisations from 3 Oct 2023 to 7 Oct 2026. Smallest £1,000, largest £2.7m, average £163k.
| Grant size | Grants | Share |
|---|---|---|
| £1,000 to £4,999 | 17 | 2% |
| £5,000 to £9,999 | 82 | 8% |
| £10,000 to £49,999 | 287 | 27% |
| £50,000 to £99,999 | 135 | 13% |
| £100,000 to £249,999 | 342 | 32% |
| £250,000 or more | 212 | 20% |
| Year | Grants | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 200 | £28.9m |
| 2025 | 351 | £62.1m |
| 2024 | 366 | £56.9m |
| 2023 | 158 | £27.7m |
Grant programmes
Programmes named most often in the published grants.
| Programme | Grants | Median grant |
|---|---|---|
| Main Grant | 699 | £180k |
| TASK by Trustee | 306 | £10k |
| Social Investment | 37 | £500k |
| Infrastructure and New Ideas | 30 | £79k |
| Impact Investment | 3 | £1m |
Example recipients
Registered organisations that received grants, largest first. Organisations only: grants to individuals are never shown.
| Organisation | Grants | Total | Latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Rivers Trust | 4 | £3.3m | 15 Jul 2026 |
| Civic Power Fund | 5 | £2.9m | 11 Mar 2026 |
| Museums Association | 2 | £2.7m | 19 Dec 2024 |
| Norfolk Wildlife Trust | 3 | £2m | 6 May 2026 |
| Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts | 4 | £1.9m | 16 Dec 2025 |
| Somerset Wildlife Trust | 1 | £1.9m | 29 Apr 2025 |
| Avon Wildlife Trust | 1 | £1.6m | 23 Apr 2024 |
| Micro Rainbow CIC | 1 | £1.6m | 17 Dec 2024 |
| Baobab Foundation | 1 | £1.5m | 12 Dec 2023 |
| Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust | 2 | £1.4m | 1 Jul 2025 |
| Worcestershire Wildlife Trust | 2 | £1.3m | 3 Oct 2023 |
| The Soil Association | 2 | £1.2m | 7 Jul 2026 |
| Cumbria Wildlife Trust | 3 | £1.2m | 3 Apr 2025 |
| Commonweal Housing Ltd | 1 | £1.1m | 25 Feb 2025 |
| School for Social Entrepreneurs | 1 | £1m | 22 Apr 2025 |
Areas funded
Beneficiary locations given in the grant data, by number of grants.
| Area | Grants |
|---|---|
| UK Whole | 311 |
| England | 83 |
| Scotland | 43 |
| Wales | 35 |
| London | 22 |
| Northern Ireland | 21 |
| South West | 10 |
| Greater Manchester | 8 |
| North West | 7 |
| Cumbria | 7 |
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Source: grants data published by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation through 360Giving (GrantNav data, fetched 23 Oct 2026), licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). Figures are our own summary of that data: 1,075 grants to organisations awarded 3 Oct 2023 to 7 Oct 2026 (from the most recent records published). Stated aims, charity number and areas of operation are from the Charity Commission register.
Licence: Contains public sector information from the Charity Commission for England and Wales, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open Government Licence v3.0. Grants data from Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, CC BY 4.0.
Last updated: 23 October 2026. Information only, not funding advice; check the funder's own guidance before applying. Brightbench is not connected to Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.