Choose Love

Quick Stats

• Annual Giving: £14.1 million (2022 figures)
• Success Rate: Not publicly available
• Decision Time: Fast, flexible - can respond within hours for emergency situations
• Grant Range: Variable - prioritizes unrestricted, flexible grants
• Geographic Focus: Global - 51 countries across key migration routes

Contact Details

Website: https://chooselove.org/

Email: josie@choose.love

Phone: 07932374419

Registered Office: 27 Provost St, Office 2, London N1 7NH

Overview

Choose Love (formerly Help Refugees) was founded in 2015 by radio presenter Lliana Bird, TV presenter Dawn O'Porter, and Josie Naughton (CEO) in response to the refugee crisis in Calais. What began as a social media campaign under the hashtag #HelpCalais has grown into a pioneering humanitarian organization. Since May 2024, Choose Love has operated as an independent charity (registered charity number 1177927), having previously operated under Prism the Gift Fund. Over 10 years, the organization has raised approximately $160 million, working with 600+ local partners across 51 countries to support over 8.4 million displaced people. Choose Love has transitioned to an exclusively grant-making model, with grants to partners increasing by 22% in 2023 while operational costs decreased by 47%, reflecting their commitment to channeling funds directly to frontline organizations.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Choose Love operates through a flexible, unrestricted grant-making model rather than fixed grant programs with set amounts. In 2024, they distributed at least $14 million to 200 partners working across 33 countries. In 2022, they raised a record £28.5 million (200% increase from 2021) and funded 241 partners with £14.1 million, supporting 215 organizations across 28 countries.

Grant Characteristics:

• Primarily unrestricted grants allowing maximum flexibility
• Can range from emergency rapid response funding to multi-year support
• Funding covers direct costs, operational costs, and products/services for beneficiaries
• No fixed application cycles - responsive to needs

Priority Areas

Thematic Focus:

• Support for unaccompanied children
• LGBTQ+ refugees and displaced people
• Women and young girls in vulnerable situations
• Refugee-led and community-based organizations

Types of Support:

• Search and rescue operations
• Emergency medical care and vital supplies
• Legal aid for asylum processes
• Food and water distribution
• Temporary shelter and safe spaces
• Mental health support
• Education for children
• Essential hygiene kits

Geographic Priorities:

• Key migration routes globally
• Countries experiencing conflict, persecution, climate displacement
• Recent focus areas include Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, and European refugee routes

What They Don't Fund

Not explicitly documented, but their focus is exclusively on supporting displaced people, refugees, and asylum seekers fleeing war, persecution, conflict, and climate change.

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Governance and Leadership

Chief Executive Officer: Josie Naughton (Co-founder)

Deputy Chief Executive: Position recently filled

Board of Trustees: Geoffrey Cordell (Trustee with safeguarding responsibilities, geoffrey@choose.love)

Key Personnel:

• Lliana Bird (Co-founder)
• Dawn O'Porter (Co-founder)
• Anna Lawrence (Director)

The Executive Leadership Team consists of the Chief Executive, Deputy Chief Executive, and HR Director, with overall governance provided by the Board of Trustees.

Quote from CEO Josie Naughton: “We really think of Choose Love as a brand; a business where our profit is impact. To fundraise strategically to best meet the needs of our partners, we need to think like a business so we can do the very best by the communities we support.”

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

Choose Love does not have a traditional public application process. Instead, they identify and source partners through:

1. Regional Open Calls: Choose Love has trialled regional open calls assessed by an advisory committee consisting of people with lived experience of forced displacement from that geography.

1. Network-Based Sourcing: They connect to local networks and find grassroots leaders through pre-existing relationships and referrals within the humanitarian sector.

1. Direct Outreach: The organization actively identifies organizations doing effective work on the ground in areas of need.

Getting on Their Radar

Regional Advisory Committees: Choose Love uses advisory committees made up of people with lived experience of forced displacement to assess potential partners in specific geographies. Organizations working in displacement contexts should be aware these open calls occur periodically.

Sector Networks: Choose Love is active in the UK humanitarian sector and is a member of Bond (the UK network for organizations working in international development). Participation in humanitarian sector events and networks may increase visibility.

Pre-existing Networks: During the Ukraine crisis response, Choose Love demonstrated their ability to “reach out to high-net-worth individuals for larger donations, begin to identify local partners on the ground through pre-existing networks and distribute funds quickly.” Organizations already connected to the refugee support ecosystem are more likely to be considered.

Decision Timeline

Rapid Response Capability: Choose Love is known for fast, flexible decision-making. During the Ukraine crisis, “within hours of the Russian invasion, its team was able to launch a crowdfunder and a campaign...and distribute funds quickly.”

Formalized Process: While maintaining flexibility, the organization has developed more formalized due diligence systems. They aim to “walk that tightrope and remain responsive to the needs of the grassroots network while having strong due diligence systems in place.”

Application Success Factors

1. Grassroots, Community-Led Identity: Choose Love explicitly prioritizes grassroots, community-based, and refugee-led organizations. They believe “people who experience and respond to displacement crises are the ones best placed to advocate for their solutions.”

2. Underfunded Status: “Grassroots organisations, though receiving less than 1% of the globally available funding, are filling life-saving and long-term gaps within the refugee support system.” Organizations that struggle to access traditional institutional funding are ideal partners.

3. Flexibility and Needs-Led Approach: Choose Love values partners who can be responsive to changing needs. They have “been able to prioritise what is needed by listening to the teams it works with in-country, rather than going in with its own expectations.”

4. Limited Administrative Capacity: Choose Love explicitly understands that grassroots partners have “continually shifting needs and limited administrative capacity.” Organizations don't need sophisticated grant reporting systems to work with Choose Love.

5. Local Expertise and Networks: Organizations with deep roots in their communities and established networks in key migration routes are prioritized. Choose Love seeks “local organizations doing the most effective work.”

6. Alignment with Thematic Areas: Organizations working with unaccompanied children, LGBTQ+ displaced people, or women and girls in vulnerable situations align with Choose Love's stated priorities.

7. Community Involvement in Programme Design: Choose Love “strives to connect to local networks and find grassroots leaders who can build projects, with the community involved at all stages of programme design.”

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

• This is primarily an invitation-only funder - rather than applying directly, focus on building visibility within humanitarian networks and connecting with their regional advisory processes
• Unrestricted funding is their hallmark - Choose Love explicitly raises unrestricted income and provides flexible grants, meaning organizations have genuine freedom in how they use funds
• Grassroots and refugee-led organizations are the priority - larger, institutional NGOs are not the target; small community organizations with limited capacity are ideal partners
• Speed and flexibility are core values - Choose Love can move quickly and responds to emergency situations within hours or days, not months
• Administrative simplicity matters - Choose Love understands grassroots partners have limited reporting capacity and structures funding accordingly
• Geographic focus follows displacement patterns - funding priorities shift with global displacement crises (recent examples: Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan)
• Watch for regional open calls - these periodic opportunities assessed by lived-experience advisory committees may be the most accessible entry point

Similar Funders

These funders frequently fund the same charities:

• THE A B CHARITABLE TRUST
• Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
• The Henry Smith Foundation
• BBC Children in Need
• Joseph Rowntree Foundation
• Trust for London
• JOHN LYON'S CHARITY
• The Tudor Trust
• START NETWORK
• The Tolkien Trust
• The Jerusalem Trust
• Kent Community Foundation
• The Blagrave Trust
• CHK Foundation
• The Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust
• John Swire 1989 Charitable Trust
• The Golden Bottle Trust
• Young Harrow Foundation
• Salesforce
• PRISM THE GIFT FUND

References

• Choose Love Charity Commission Registration: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5107504
• Choose Love Annual Accounts 2023: https://chooselove.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Global-Annual-Accounts-2023_GBP-Working-version.pdf
• Choose Love 2022 Annual Impact Report: https://chooselove.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Choose-Love-Annual-Impact-Report-2022.pdf
• Bond Case Study on Choose Love: https://www.bond.org.uk/resources-support/funding/can-generating-income-support-locally-led-development/choose-love/
• Choose Love Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choose_Love_(organisation)
• Smiley Movement Interview with Josie Naughton: https://smileymovement.org/news/choose-love-josie
• Choose Love Official Website: https://chooselove.org/
• Quote from Josie Naughton: Bond case study, discussing Choose Love's strategic approach to fundraising and impact
• Financial data from Charity Commission filings and Choose Love annual reports (2021-2023)