In 2024, The Henry Smith Foundation awarded £61.9 million, supported over 650 organisations and reached over 410,000 people across the UK.
In the face of rising inequality, economic pressure and broken systems, and with a tradition of backing organisations, leaders, and bold ideas by investing in their work, strengthening their voice and helping their impact grow, the Foundation's Strategy aims to go further in building brighter futures for people and pushing for fairer systems.
Anand Shukla, Chief Executive
“For nearly 400 years we’ve backed people and organisations working to tackle poverty and create a more just society. This strategy builds on that legacy but also recognises the urgent need to go further in the face of rising inequality, economic pressure, and systems that too often fall short.
“We’ve listened closely to grant holders, partners and people with experience of the issues we are funding. Their insight shaped a strategy that sharpens our focus, deepens our partnerships, and reaffirms our commitment to backing those driving change in communities across the UK.”
The Strategy reflects a broader shift in how they will work.
The Foundation is strengthening their commitment to building partnerships with the organisations they fund by offering flexible, long-term funding and making their application processes simpler and more accessible. They believe that by investing in the people and organisations driving change, they can deepen their impact and contribute to lasting progress.
Alongside funding, they will be investing in work that challenges and improves the systems that shape people’s lives, using the insights of their partners and people with direct experience to support collaboration and influence policy.
They are also developing a wider support offer to include peer learning, organisational support, and opportunities for colleagues to connect, share insight and learn together.
Diversity, equity and inclusion are at the heart of their strategy. To support this, they will look at who and how they fund and work to remove barriers in their processes, make their funding more accessible, and ensure that people with direct experience help shape their decisions.
They are also introducing a new, proactive invitation-led approach that will back organisations to take strategic risks and share learning that can drive wider change. The Opportunity Fund aims to support early-stage ideas, test bold approaches, strengthen leadership and boost inclusion across the sector.
Over the next five years, they will focus their funding on three core areas:
- Getting started – supporting families to give their young children a strong start
- Building independence – helping young people move into adulthood with confidence, skills and hope
- Safer futures – supporting people to rebuild their lives after abuse, displacement or prison.
The first three new programmes under these new funding priorities are:
Together We Begin
Getting Started
Together We Begin funds in-home, face-to-face support for families with young children. They will fund organisations that strengthen parenting, build parental confidence, and improve early child development; helping families feel connected, supported, and better able to navigate local services and opportunities.
Shout!
Building Independence
Shout! helps young people be heard when the world doesn’t listen. They will support advocacy services helping care-experienced, LGBT+, neurodivergent or learning-disabled young people speak up, make informed choices, and secure their rights.
Domestic Abuse Fund
Safer Futures
The Domestic Abuse Fund backs ‘led by and for’ organisations providing specialist domestic abuse services. They will fund deep, consistent, person-centred services designed around the needs of people from marginalised communities who’ve experienced domestic abuse.
They are hosting webinars to talk more about these programmes.
You can register on the links below:
- Shout! webinar: 22nd July, from 1-2pm
- Together We Begin webinar: 30th July from 2-3pm
- Domestic Abuse Fund webinar: 12th August, from 1-2pm
To read more about the strategy and to sign-up for their newsletters, click here.
