Croda Foundation

Charity Number: 1196455

Annual Expenditure: £1.5M
Geographic Focus: Throughout England And Wales, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia ... [31 more]

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: £1.46m (2022-23 financial year)
  • Total Committed Since 2020: £5.4m
  • Grant Range: £68,000 - £398,864 (known examples)
  • Grants Awarded: 46 grants across 23 countries
  • Geographic Focus: International (priority countries across Africa, Middle East, Asia Pacific, and Europe)
  • Lives Improved: 22.8 million (to date)

Contact Details

Address: Croda Foundation, Snaith Cowick Hall, Goole DN14 9AA

Phone: 01405 863340

Email: contact@crodafoundation.com

Website: https://www.crodafoundation.com

Note: The Foundation does not respond to unsolicited enquiries for funding.

Overview

The Croda Foundation is an independent charitable company (registered charity number 1196455) established in 2020 by FTSE 100 specialty chemicals company Croda International Plc. The Foundation is solely funded by generous donations from Croda International and led by an independent Board of Trustees. Since its launch, the Foundation has committed £5.4m in funding across 46 grants in 23 countries, sustainably improving 22.8 million lives through project partners. The Foundation's goal is to sustainably improve one million lives by 2030, creating long-term resilient communities through both short-term interventions addressing immediate needs and long-term initiatives tackling root causes. The Foundation emphasizes multi-year partnerships and requires all grants to be restricted to specific purposes with measurable impact reporting.

Funding Priorities

Strategic Focus Areas (2023-2026)

The Foundation focuses on three core priority areas aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals:

  1. Improving health and wellbeing: Health infrastructure projects, vaccination delivery and access, tackling vaccine hesitancy
  2. Reducing hunger and poverty/improving livelihoods: Agroforestry, sustainable agriculture, skills training, employment support
  3. Protecting and restoring forests and ecosystems: Rainforest restoration, traditional land management, environmental conservation

Grant Characteristics

  • Grant Type: All grants are restricted to specific purposes with impact measurement and reporting requirements
  • Partnership Duration: Multi-year partnerships (examples show 2-year grants, with commitment to long-term sustainable impact)
  • Grant Examples:
  • Foundation of Light: £398,864 over two years for employment training programme for young people in England
  • Instituto Amazonas (Agroforestry): £92,000 over 24 months for traditional agriculture revival among indigenous communities in Brazil
  • Instituto Amazonas (Skills Development): £76,000 for food and craft production skills training
  • Instituto Amazonas (Vaccine Education): £68,000 for vaccine education in six indigenous languages
  • Gavi COVAX AMC: £200,000 for COVID-19 vaccination in 11 priority regions

Priority Countries

The Foundation supports projects in trustee-identified priority countries across:

  • Africa and Middle East: Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, UAE, Zambia, and others
  • Asia and Pacific: Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and others
  • Europe: Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Wales

What They Don't Fund

  • Unrestricted grants
  • Core costs
  • Unsolicited proposals from organizations
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Governance and Leadership

Board of Trustees

Chair: Dr. Helena Ganczakowski (appointed 2024, succeeding Nigel Turner)

  • 23 years' experience at Unilever
  • Nine years as strategic consultant for global businesses
  • Non-Executive Director for Croda, Greggs, and People Against Dirty
  • On-the-ground experience from early career working on community and conservation projects in Latin America and Africa

Dr. Ganczakowski stated upon her appointment: “I am delighted and honoured to be asked to Chair the Foundation, which I have long held a strong affinity with, having been a Croda International Board member when the concept was first presented.”

Senior Risk and Financial Adviser: Hazel Whitaker (Chair of Audit, Risk and Finance Committee)

The Board of Trustees is responsible for setting the Foundation's priorities and making decisions relating to grant awards. Trustees meet three times a year to select projects. No trustees receive any remuneration, payments, or benefits from the charity.

How to Apply to Croda Foundation

How to Apply

The Croda Foundation does not have a public application process. The Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals from external organisations.

Organizations can only be considered for funding through two routes:

  1. Trustee-initiated: Foundation employees seek and identify potential organisations that meet grantmaking criteria at the request of trustees
  2. Croda employee nominations: Croda employees can nominate projects for consideration

The Foundation's Trustees have final discretion on nominations that receive support, including the amount and nature of that support.

Decision Timeline

  • Trustees meet three times a year (approximately every 4 months) to select projects
  • In 2022-23, the Foundation supported 10 grants in 13 countries with £1.46m committed
  • Multi-year partnerships are the norm, with grants typically structured over 2+ years

Employee Involvement

The Foundation is embedded in Croda's culture. Croda employees not only nominate projects but also voluntarily support project partners on a case-by-case basis by providing their expertise and know-how to maximize social impact.

Application Success Factors

While there is no public application process, the Foundation's documented priorities and funded projects reveal what they value:

1. Measurable, Sustainable Impact

The Foundation emphasizes projects that create self-sustaining change. For example, the Instituto Amazonas agroforestry project resulted in income growth ranging from £600 to £2,000 per month for indigenous communities and restoration of 3,300 hectares of rainforest—demonstrating both immediate livelihood improvement and long-term environmental sustainability.

2. Alignment with Strategic Priorities

All funded projects align clearly with one or more of the three core focus areas: health and wellbeing, reducing hunger and poverty, or protecting ecosystems. Projects that bridge multiple priorities appear particularly strong (e.g., agroforestry projects that improve livelihoods while restoring forests).

3. Geographic Relevance

Projects must be in trustee-identified priority countries. The Foundation has a truly international reach spanning 23 countries across Africa, Middle East, Asia Pacific, and Europe.

4. Demonstrable Impact Measurement

All grants require impact to be measured and reported. Successful projects provide clear metrics (e.g., “7,455 indigenous people across 11 tribes,” “22,300 personnel trained,” “3,700 vaccination centres staffed”).

5. Multi-Year Partnership Potential

The Foundation seeks to develop long-term partnerships rather than one-off grants. Projects should demonstrate potential for sustained engagement and relationship building.

6. Community-Centered Approach

Funded projects show strong community engagement, such as creating educational materials in six indigenous languages or delivering sector-based training leading to local job opportunities.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • No public application route exists – Organizations cannot apply directly to the Croda Foundation; funding opportunities arise only through Croda employee nominations or trustee identification
  • Build connections with Croda employees – Since employee nominations are one pathway to funding, organizations working in the Foundation's priority areas might benefit from connecting with Croda International employees, particularly those with relevant regional or sectoral expertise
  • Focus on the three strategic priorities – Health and wellbeing, reducing hunger/poverty, and protecting ecosystems are the clear focus areas for 2023-2026
  • Demonstrate sustainable impact – The Foundation values projects that create long-term resilient communities and self-sustaining change, not just short-term interventions
  • Be in a priority country – The Foundation has specific geographic priorities set by trustees; projects outside these regions are unlikely to be considered
  • Prepare for restricted grants – All funding is restricted to specific purposes with impact measurement requirements; core costs are not funded
  • Think multi-year – The Foundation prefers developing long-term partnerships with significant grants over 2+ years rather than small one-off awards

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References

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