Our work
At the Randal Foundation, we are dedicated to making a significant and lasting impact on the lives of individuals in the UK and communities worldwide. Our work spans several key areas to address urgent needs and create sustainable change, saving and significantly improving lives.
Values-driven, we actively make an open invitation for collaboration with those who share our values.
Our work together with partners is shaped by our five ‘pillars of giving’ – our stratified approach to grant making and charitable investment – to make a difference – today.
We aim to collaborate through shared investment – whether in funds, energy, expertise or effort and place deep value on partnership working. We know that greatest impact will be achieved through projects and programmes where we make a co-investment with aligned partners, to drive lasting, scalable change.
Success is assured, we are committed to this – so we also have plans for celebrating our achievements, recognising our partners and further growing the committed, invested community around our Foundation.
Our pillars of giving
Pillar of giving
Nature of our work
Pillar 1 - Small grants
UK only, evidence-led unrestricted funding for grass-roots organisations with turnover less than £50,000p/a, collective impact accrues against goals for lives saved and significantly improved. Usually work through partner organisations to make small grants, not by general application.
Pillar 2 - Project based grants
Evidence-led, restricted grants supporting organisations delivering life-saving / significantly improving works. Includes novel, innovative or disruptive work, for organisations operating in the UK and worldwide. Typically grantees have a turnover less than £500,000p/a. Periodic calls made via the website to invite applications only.
Pillar 3 - Impact at scale
Major support interventions, actively saving and significantly improving lives. Medium term partnerships with multi-year support. High level impact, UK and worldwide. Typically larger organisations supported - we invest at scale to achieve impact at scale. Trustees identified potential partnerships, not open for general application.
Pillar 4 - Policy shaping
Investment to catalyse and drive thought leadership and subsequent delivery, across the focus areas of our Foundation. UK only. Trustee-led investments.
Pillar 5 - Trustee passion projects
Flexible pillar for supporting projects in the UK and worldwide, which are valued by our Board and include responding to immediate need, or projects to save lives, ‘just because we must’. Trustee-led investments.
Our themes 2024 – 2027
As a family Foundation, we look forward to the future too – beyond the 3 year term of our strategy. We have committed, with clear objectives – to remain active, strongly relevant to the vision of our Founders and well resourced, in order to perpetuate our life saving work – not just in our lifetime, but far beyond.
We are excited to move forward – as we deliver our strategy enabling a life-saving and life-transforming portfolio of ambitious initiatives, led by our Foundation.
To find out more about the types of activity we help fund, please visit the support area pages in this section, which cover all of the themes detailed in the tables below.
Themes 2024-2027: UK
Notes to theme
Qualified - excludes healthcare supplementing or replacing state obligations. Includes tackling addiction
An active descriptor, inviting active interventions which sustainably change baseline poverty, excludes short term poverty amelioration
An active descriptor, focused on interventions which tackle the root cause of mental ill-health including suicide
Focused and specific community of interest for our Foundation, enabled by dedicated well defined calls for grant making, not general purposes
Focused and specific community of interest for our Foundation, enabled by dedicated well defined calls for grant making, not general purposes
Qualified - excludes general educational purposes, focus is on unlocking potential, raising aspirations and creating opportunity for children and young people
Themes 2024-2027: Global
Notes to theme
We will invest to make impact at scale which make lasting change and bring immediate benefit; excludes general healthcare and supplementing state obligations
An active descriptor, inviting active interventions which sustainably change baseline poverty, excludes short term poverty amelioration
Sharply focused on areas of greatest need / greatest opportunity for long term impact, including supporting improvements at community level.
Flexible and adaptable, proactive approaches are made by Trustees in this pillar - not open for application.
We focus on tackling systemic inequalities, releasing potential and creating opportunity for children and young people. Excludes education supplementing or replacing state obligations
UK: Healthcare for the vulnerable
We are passionate about supporting causes that are working towards the preservation and protection of good health for the most vulnerable in the UK. We won’t provide funding for services which should be or are usually provided by the state, but instead support initiatives that address gaps and bring innovative solutions forward.
In the United Kingdom, there remains a stubborn association between those living in the most deprived areas and poor health, due to economic inactivity, worklessness and poverty. We are acutely aware of the devastating impact, and cumulative adverse effects, of poor healthcare on communities and families, in many areas of the UK.
Healthcare for the vulnerable
In the UK, we work with a wide range of organisations to support vulnerable people whose health is at serious risk through no fault of their own, as well as for the protection of good health and the raising of life expectancy.
Examples of our support include providing accessible healthcare and dental services to people experiencing homelessness, funding a mobile cancer care unit so people can be treated close to home, and supporting work into raising awareness of life-threatening diseases in children.
We are also focussed on working with UK based organisations to improve the quality of people’s lives by ensuring they receive the healthcare they require.
Support has also been provided to help people suffering critical illness, people living with severe disability, and those suffering isolation and loneliness.
UK: Alleviating poverty
Alleviating poverty
Global conflicts and stubborn inflation have both contributed to the sharpest increase in absolute poverty in the United Kingdom for 30 years, Government figures show. The knock-on effect has inevitably hit the poorest and most vulnerable in society the hardest and led to the rate of absolute poverty in the UK rising to almost 20%, while globally the United Nations’ reports around 8.5% of people live in extreme poverty.
We are passionate about supporting active interventions which sustainably change baseline poverty in the UK. This includes the prevention or relief of poverty and improving the quality of life of the most vulnerable. Much of our work in the UK is around tackling severe financial hardship. We also focus on supporting good causes that provide new skills to enable people suffering severe disadvantage, no matter their age or disability, to significantly improve their quality of life and equip them with skills which will enable routes out of poverty.
More about our work…
One of our largest UK projects has seen us partner with a charity, which is growing a network of social enterprises to provide supportive employment for those with multiple barriers to work. Through significant multi-year funding, we are creating scores of sustainable jobs within a UK social enterprise that employs homeless people.
Another example of our work is multi-year support for a clothing charity to save thousands of people from clothing poverty, as well as providing sustainable employment and volunteering opportunities to those struggling to find work.
We have also directly supported homelessness organisations, which enable people to rebuild their lives, as well as providing grant funding to provide essential supplies to the poorest and most vulnerable in our society.
UK: Tackling mental ill-health
We work with partners delivering projects which tackle the root causes of mental ill-health and provide opportunities for significant, long term positive mental health improvements. We do not fund projects which offer just short term or symptomatic relief only.
Data from the NHS reports the number of children in mental health crisis in England has reached record levels. This is vividly illustrated by urgent referrals of under-18s to mental health crisis teams rising by double digit percentage points, year on year. The Office for National Statistics also highlights more than half of inactive adult workers on long-term sickness may suffer from depression or anxiety.
More about our work…
We focus on supporting causes that provide interventions tackling the root causes of mental ill-health. This includes helping people living with severe mental health difficulties to recover and then prosper, as well as providing assistance to young people, families and those who find themselves disadvantaged through no fault of their own.
We also support causes which come to the aid of those suffering loneliness and isolation. After the Covid-19 lockdowns we commissioned an inspirational video with award-winning musician Rekesh Chauhan to highlight the often-hidden challenges so many people face, as well as the wide range of help and support available.
Another key focus area is helping the most in need in-order-to prevent suicides, which claim thousands of lives each year in the UK alone. Examples of our work in this area has seen significant support for technology development of a suicide prevention app, the provision of a text service for vulnerable young people and face-to-face appointments with mental health volunteers, as well as support with service and staffing costs to enable the life-saving work of mental health and suicide prevention charities to continue.
Through our work with the CSJ’s Policy Unit and Dame Carol Black, we’ve managed to secure an additional £900m in additional funding for drug treatment services and to rebuild the treatment system, over a 10-year period. This was the biggest increase in funding for drug treatment services in 15 years.
UK: Women & girls at risk of violence or exploitation
Supporting interventions and projects which specifically deliver direct and rapid support for women and girls at immediate risk of violence or exploitation.
We also support victims of illegal activity, parentless children and women living in extreme poverty, or who find themselves forced into homelessness, as a result of violence or exploitation.
Our support has been far-reaching and has had a profound, positive impact on individuals and communities, which have fallen victim to sexual violence and exploitation. Examples include multi-year support for a women’s refuge which provides a safe place for vulnerable women, many of which have suffered domestic violence, as well as support for a rape crisis centre for survivors.
Our work often helps tackle adult and child sexual exploitation by providing high quality tailored one-to-one support to victims at serious risk of exploitation. In many cases we have ensured funding is available to support their full journey to recovery, including therapy sessions and grants to maintain the vital provision of support and outreach workers.
UK: Prisoner rehabilitation
We are committed to supporting projects and policy change which ensure maximum support and opportunities for those rebuilding their lives after prison; we won’t provide funding for services which should be or are usually provided by the state.
Research suggests that of 50,000 offenders leaving UK prisons each year, only three in ten have a job six months later. Those who struggle to find work are often at serious risk of reoffending, which perpetuates the cycle of crime that blights so many families and communities. The economic impact is estimated to be an £18 billion annual cost of reoffending, at a time when the UK is experiencing acute labour shortages in many sectors.
Prisoner rehabilitation
We work with organisations who provide support at the point of need which makes a measurable difference to those seeking to rebuild their lives and contribute once more to society. We also support projects which provide assistance to the families of prisoners who themselves often suffer significant hardship, due to circumstances out of their control.
An example of this is our work with a voluntary organisation, focused on supporting the rebuilding of family relationships, which are so crucial to a prisoner’s rehabilitation during and after release.
Our work with the CSJ, a national think tank, directly led to the publishing of a new report, calling on the UK Government to plug the UK’s labour shortages by dramatically increasing the number of prison-leavers moving into work. The report anticipates that billions of pounds of tax-payers money could be saved, and many of the more than one million job vacancies could be filled. Not to mention the positive impact of cutting crime by reducing reoffending.
UK: Education for the most disadvantaged
We’re aiming to unlock potential by creating opportunity for the most disadvantaged children and young people in the UK. We support projects which enable inclusive education for those who wouldn’t otherwise access education and learning. We won’t provide funding for services which should be or are usually provided by the state.
In the United Kingdom, the cycle of poverty perpetuates in many disadvantaged communities, which is leaving millions of children, young people and adults behind. Exposing this striking breakdown in social mobility, data from the Institute for Fiscal Studies shows children from poorer households find it harder today, than 40 years ago, to move into higher income brackets.
Ending the ‘poverty of opportunity’ through education, is one of our key areas of focus in the United Kingdom.
We support causes which help young people recognise their worth and full potential, so they are equipped to build the skills and vision for their future success and employment. This often enables children facing extreme hardship or social disadvantage, from the most deprived backgrounds, to access education.
Education for the most disadvantaged
One example of our work in this area is a landmark grant made towards the new IntoUniversity Centre in Leicester, which is providing training and education to help children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds reach university or professional careers that would otherwise not be easily available to them.
Working with youth groups and our work with voluntary organisations has allowed essential services and activities to continue.
Online safety is another interest area, and we have provided significant support to a charity which engages children and young people about the risks associated with cyber and the internet, including training sessions in a specialised, safe and interactive environment.
Supporting children living with a disability is another passion for our Trustees, and we have provided grant funding to a wide range of causes that offer specialist education services, which are tailored to their individual needs.
Global: Healthcare and nutrition for the most vulnerable
We are also passionate about supporting causes providing essential healthcare and nutrition for the most vulnerable, globally. We won’t provide funding for services which should be or are usually provided by the state.
Globally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that 4.5 billion people – more than half the world’s population – cannot access essential health services. This, despite estimates that 140 countries recognise health as a human right in their constitutions, but many do not then ensure their populations can access to health services.
We are keen to support initiatives which respond to the serious adverse impact of poor healthcare on entire communities.
Global: Alleviating Poverty
We are committed to alleviating global poverty with the help of our strategic partners to make long lasting difference, to save lives and significantly improve them .
In lower-middle income countries our focus is on supporting specific projects, which help improve communities’ standard of living.
This includes providing people with the funding, tools and training that they need to develop the necessary skills to establish sustainable businesses. The aspiration is that with a stable income they will be able to work their way out of the cycle of poverty.
Much of our work is focused on enabling sustainable employment, which often involves working with charities to provide small loans and training to assist small businesses to grow.
One of our biggest partnerships is with the Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS), where we opened a manufacturing plant for sanitary pads in Uganda, which is significantly improving the lives of up to 50,000 girls and women each year. It is also creating locally based, skilled employment opportunities for vulnerable girls and women who are being trained to make and market the pads and ensure the long-term sustainability of the facility.
Global: Clean water and sanitation for the most vulnerable
Projects we support deliver sustainable solutions for clean water and sanitation to those in greatest need and where there is greatest opportunity for long term impact, including improved economic outcomes for communities.
Across the world 2.2 billion people still live without safely managed drinking water, including 115 million who drink surface water, according to the World Health Organisation.
More than 3 billion people globally also depend on water that crosses national borders. Yet, the United Nations reports only 24 countries have cooperation agreements for all their shared water; an ever-increasing source of conflict as climate-change brings devastating droughts to some of the world’s poorest regions.
Our support is focused on areas of greatest need, which offer an opportunity for long term, sustainable, positive impact. We work at a global scale, providing investment in organisations that focus on delivering water-related initiatives to the most disadvantaged communities. These lead to significant improvements to education, health and the ability to develop a sustainable income.
Our projects
Examples of our work have seen funding provided to create a solar powered water project in one region and a borehole in another, to provide safe, clean water to thousands of people living in remote communities in Uganda.
Education is another core focus area for our Foundation and has seen us invest in projects which support the provision of safe water, sanitation and hygiene education in rural schools, as well as the installation of toilets and handwashing facilities.
Creating sustainable employment for communities is a passion for our Trustees, and our support for one project enabled the rehabilitation of 20 water points, as well as providing training for a community in western Zambia. Our charitable investment facilitated the set-up of a new manual drilling spares and repairs workshop, with the dual impact of accessible safe water and income generating opportunities for more people.
In a project in Malawi, we invested to enable clean water for 3 rural communities, plus training the communities in a range of environmental protection measures and sustainable farming techniques, to help restore degraded land and boost food production.
Outside of Africa, we were proud to partner on a ground-breaking project in Thailand, which saw the construction of a gravity-fed water system and sanitation facility. Throughout construction activities, community members were taught how to manage, maintain and repair the water system and sanitation facilities, to ensure their long-term sustainability.
Global: Emergency response
Throughout the world, crises are happening which bring devastation for communities, families and individuals. Our Trustees elect to support projects at such times of need. We choose projects to support in this theme, and do not open for applications.
Across the globe, emergencies such as natural disasters, disease, famine or conflicts, hit the poorest and most vulnerable the hardest. This is vividly highlighted by the United Nations, which estimates that by 2030 the world will face some 560 disasters per year, with back-dated figures from 1970 to 2019 showing that 91% of all deaths from weather, climate, and water hazards occurred in developing countries.
Young people often suffer the most during times of crisis and conflict. The UN reports that since 2005 over 100,000 children have been killed or maimed during conflicts, while almost 14,000 schools or hospitals have been destroyed.
Emergency response
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, which has claimed over 7 million lives world-wide, we made charitable investment which saved tens of thousands of lives – and significantly improved many more.
One of our biggest partnerships throughout the pandemic was with the British Asian Trust, where we helped directly save almost 140,000 lives by providing welfare parcels to some of the millions of migrant workers and their families, who had been forced to walk hundreds of miles to return home to their rural villages in India, without food or money, due to national lockdowns.
We also supported providing an oxygen generator to the 550 bed St Martha’s Hospital, in Bangalore, delivering a sustainable supply of hospital grade, life-saving oxygen to patients suffering severe respiratory disease.
We helped keep children in school during the pandemic lockdowns by covering the costs of the daily food expenses for students in Guatemala, as well as supported slum families in Uganda through the coronavirus pandemic.
More about our work…
In the United Kingdom our emergency response work supports charitable organisations which directly save lives. This has included supporting causes such as an air ambulance service, defibrillator provision, an out-of-hours blood and plasma supplies service delivered by volunteers on motorbikes and providing lifesaving first responder training for search and rescue volunteers covering a mountainous region in Wales.
As with our global work, a significant amount of support was provided to good causes in the UK to help the poorest and most vulnerable through the Covid-19 pandemic. Working with a number of partners, we helped launch a significant programme where small grants of up to £300 were provided in the form of essential items or vouchers to help people through the crisis. We also provided funding to food banks, homeless charities, and soup kitchens to ensure those suffering extreme hardship did not go hungry.
The rolling lockdowns led to an epidemic of loneliness and isolation, particularly amongst the elderly and vulnerable. Our partnership with Age UK Leicestershire and Rutland enabled the continuation of the charity’s crisis response work with isolated and vulnerable older people. This included care packages of emergency essentials, prescription collections, shopping trips and telephone befriending calls while they are self-isolated.
Global: Education for all
We passionately believe that no matter where they live in the world, their background, gender or ethnicity, all children and young people should have access to schooling and learning.
A focus for our Foundation is the advancement of education, in particular, addressing poverty in lower-middle income countries through the power of education.
We’re aiming to unlock potential by creating opportunity for the most disadvantaged children and young people in the UK. We support projects which enable inclusive education for those who wouldn’t otherwise access education and learning. We won’t provide funding for services which should be or are usually provided by the state.
We see education as a ladder out of poverty and a path to a promising future. Yet globally, according to the United Nations, about 244 million children and young people are out of school and 617 million cannot read or understand basic maths. In sub-Saharan Africa, the numbers are even more humbling, with less than 40% of girls completing primary education and some four million children and youth refugees out of school completely.
Enabling children to access education – particularly orphans, victims of abuse and trafficking and enabling girls to have the same opportunities as boys – are particular priorities.
Funding has been provided to a wide variety of causes, helping to build schools and enabling those within remote and isolated communities to gain access to education.
Our work is far-reaching and impactful. Examples include providing grant funding to improve education and literacy levels for girls and to train teachers on inclusive, girl friendly teaching in the Congo. We have also supported a charity which is using education to help some of Bangladesh’s most marginalised children and young people find a path to a sustainable livelihood and future.
We further provided significant funding during the Covid-19 pandemic to enable an international charitable organisation to deliver distance learning education for thousands of students during the government lockdown.