Impact Trust

Charity Number: 1167011

Annual Expenditure: £0.1M

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: £62,274 (expenditure 2024)
  • Annual Income: £140,105 (2024)
  • Success Rate: Not publicly available
  • Decision Time: Not publicly available
  • Grant Range: Not publicly specified
  • Geographic Focus: England, Wales, and South Africa (particularly townships)
  • Application Method: No public application process

Contact Details

Website: https://impacttrust.org/

Email: tamzin@impacttrust.org.uk

Phone: 07444382270

Overview

Impact Trust is a UK-registered charity (founded 2015, charity number 1167011) operating as a north-south public benefit organisation in the UK and South Africa. With an annual income of £140,105 and expenditure of £62,274 (2024), the Trust works to promote community resilience, sustainable development, and poverty alleviation. Founded and directed by Tamzin Ractliffe, the organisation focuses on developing “multiple literacies” to navigate societal transformation toward a more sustainable, resilient future. The Trust operates primarily through convening, collaboration, and capacity-building rather than traditional open grant-making, directing the Resilience Funders Network and partnering with international organisations including WINGS, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, and IFRC's Europe Polycrisis Think-Do Tank. Their strategic approach emphasizes building resilient systems, developing adaptive capacity, and cultivating collective wisdom across philanthropy, civil society, and humanitarian networks.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Impact Trust makes grants to both individuals and organisations, though specific grant programs are not publicly advertised. The charity's grant-making appears to operate through:

  • Direct grants to disadvantaged communities and individuals in need
  • Capital grants and equipment provision for community-based enterprises and cooperatives
  • Support to charities working on poverty prevention and relief
  • Programmatic partnerships (historically including incubation support for social ventures)

Historical examples: In 2021, the Trust incubated and supported two social ventures: Sustainability Matters (South Africa) and Ecovida Routes (UK). In 2023, Routes to Resilience merged with Activate Academy to form Five Trails Africa, to which Impact Trust gifted tested educational content and resources.

Priority Areas

  • Community capacity building in socially and economically disadvantaged communities
  • Youth development and employment through education, training, skills development, and work placements/internships
  • Urban and rural regeneration, particularly in South Africa's townships
  • Poverty prevention and relief through practical education, skills training, food security, nutrition, and healthcare projects
  • Sustainable development and promotion of sustainable economic growth
  • Resilience building across systems, organisations, and communities
  • Network convening for philanthropy and civil society collaboration

What They Don't Fund

Not explicitly stated, though the focus is clearly on:

  • Disadvantaged communities (particularly youth and unemployed)
  • South African townships and similar contexts
  • Systemic resilience and sustainability initiatives
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Governance and Leadership

Key Personnel

Tamzin Ractliffe - Founder and Director

Tamzin founded Impact Trust in 2011 and created Routes to Resilience in 2014 with Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. She also directs the Resilience Funders Network. Her background includes financial services in South Africa and the UK, founding GreaterGood/GreaterCapital group (1998), and establishing South Africa's Impact Investing Network (2011) and the world's first regulated impact investment exchange board. She holds a BSocSci (Anthropology and Psychology), Honours in Applied Psychology (University of Witwatersrand), Masters in Climate Change and Development (University of Cape Town), and is completing a PhD in resilience building strategies at the University of Surrey. Awards include GIBS Social Entrepreneur of the Year (2007), Ashoka Fellowship (2008), Thomson Reuters TrustLaw Innovation Award (2012), and Buckminster Fuller Award finalist (2009, 2010).

On the philosophy of resilience, Ractliffe emphasizes that “lasting solutions emerge from the spaces between traditional boundaries” and advocates for integrating different forms of knowledge including scientific research, lived experience, and traditional wisdom.

Trustees

  • Anthony Harold Notcutt - Chair (appointed 15 November 2015)
  • Dr Gerard Mario Salole - Trustee (appointed 20 March 2020). Former CEO of European Foundation Centre (2005-2020), specializing in international development and philanthropy. Holds a PhD from University of Manchester and studied social anthropology and African history at SOAS. Previously worked with Ford Foundation's Southern Africa office, Bernard van Leer Foundation, Save the Children, OXFAM, and UNHCR. Currently chairs the European Cultural Foundation and serves on boards of Unicredit Foundation, The Evens Foundation, and Africa Capacity Building Foundation.
  • Sean Bellamy - Trustee (appointed 30 March 2023)
  • Shaun Patrick McInerney - Trustee (appointed 30 March 2023)
  • Joan Marie Diamond - Trustee (appointed 01 January 2024)
  • Michael Lerner - Trustee (appointed 01 January 2024)
  • Dr Walter Claus Heinrich Wehrmeyer - Trustee (appointed 31 January 2024)

The charity is governed by a trust deed dated 26 November 2015 as amended on 6 January 2017. No trustees receive remuneration, payments, or benefits from the charity.

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

Impact Trust does not have a public application process. Grants appear to be made through trustee discretion, programmatic partnerships, and strategic initiatives identified by the organization. The Trust operates primarily as a convening and capacity-building organization rather than a traditional open grant-maker.

Based on their history, the organization:

  • Identifies and incubates social ventures aligned with their mission
  • Makes strategic grants to partner organisations
  • Provides grants to individuals and communities through their programs
  • Gifts resources and content to “committed partners who want to be connected to a community of practice”

Decision Timeline

Not publicly available, as there is no formal application process.

Success Rates

Not publicly available.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable given the absence of a public application process.

Application Success Factors

Given the lack of a public application process, traditional application success factors do not apply. However, the organization's work suggests they value:

Alignment with polycrisis thinking: Impact Trust and Resilience Funders Network champion “integrating a polycrisis lens” - recognizing interconnected global challenges from climate disasters and health pandemics to economic inequality and political instability. As stated in their work with WINGS: “The polycrisis necessitates a paradigm shift in philanthropy practice. It urges us to broaden our scope, to delve more deeply into the spectrum of intertwined societal and community challenges to focus on systemic change and, above all, to adopt an inclusive, transformational and collaborative approach.”

Commitment to resilience building: The organization's work focuses on three interconnected domains: building resilient systems through cross-sector collaboration, developing adaptive capacity in organizations and teams, and cultivating collective wisdom that integrates different forms of knowledge.

Demonstrated capacity for youth development and sustainability education: Historical partners like Five Trails Africa, Sustainability Matters, and Ecovida Routes suggest preference for organizations working on sustainability leadership and ecological intelligence with young people.

Collaborative approach: The Trust emphasizes working “collaboratively to research, design and advocate for programmes and strategies” and values partnerships that connect to “a community of practice.”

Geographic focus: Particular interest in South African townships and disadvantaged communities in England and Wales.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • This is not a traditional grant-maker with an open application process - Impact Trust operates primarily through strategic partnerships, convening, and capacity-building initiatives
  • Focus on systemic change over single projects - The Trust's work emphasizes interconnected challenges and collaborative infrastructure building
  • Youth development and sustainability education are demonstrated priority areas, particularly through their Routes to Resilience legacy
  • South African townships represent a key geographic priority alongside England and Wales
  • The Resilience Funders Network connection means Impact Trust may be better positioned as a collaborative partner or convener rather than a direct funder for most organizations
  • Consider their partnership model - They have historically incubated social ventures and gifted resources to committed partners rather than making traditional grants
  • Trustee expertise suggests value placed on international development, European philanthropy perspectives, and systemic resilience thinking

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