John Ellerman Foundation

Quick Stats

• Annual Giving: £6.5 million
• Success Rate: 14% overall (varies by focus area)
• Decision Time: 12-16 weeks
• Grant Range: £10,000 - £180,000 (up to £60,000 per year)
• Geographic Focus: UK-wide/National (with limited UK Overseas Territories environmental work)

Contact Details

Website: www.ellerman.org.uk

Email: enquiries@ellerman.org.uk

Phone: 020 7930 8566

Application Support: beth@ellerman.org.uk or 020 7451 1471

Overview

The John Ellerman Foundation was established in 1971 as a generalist grantmaking trust following the death of Sir John Reeves Ellerman, 2nd Baronet. Operating from its endowment of over £100 million, the Foundation distributed £6.471 million in charitable expenditure in 2023/24. Under Director Sufina Ahmad MBE (appointed 2019), the Foundation has undergone significant strategic evolution, moving away from traditional funding categories (Arts, Environment, Social Action) to a more integrated approach focused on systemic change. In 2025, the Foundation committed to funding in perpetuity after previously operating on a 25-30 year time horizon. The Foundation prioritizes nationally significant UK charities with annual incomes between £100,000 and £10 million, offering flexible multi-year core funding to support organizational sustainability and impact.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Core Funding Grants (2025-2030 Strategy)

• Amount: Up to £180,000 over maximum 5 years (up to £60,000 per year)
• Application Method: Rolling basis via online portal year-round
• Type: Multi-year core funding (unrestricted or restricted core costs)
• Eligible Costs: Staff salaries, training, expenses, running costs, ICT, communications, monitoring and evaluation

Priority Areas (2025-2030 Strategy)

The Foundation funds organizations committed to ensuring the rights of people, society, and the natural world. Applications must address at least one of these four interconnected priorities:

• Mitigating climate impacts
• Reducing pollution
• Protecting and restoring nature

• Reducing polarization within society
• Increasing participation in political processes
• Strengthening democratic engagement

• Economic systems that support people and planet
• Reducing wealth inequalities
• Challenging extractive economic practices

• Supporting marginalized communities
• Addressing systemic discrimination
• Promoting social justice

What They Don't Fund

Organizational Types:

• Individuals
• Hospitals, hospices, or schools
• Universities (rare exceptions for specialist units with £100k-£10m budgets)
• Organizations with income below £100,000 or above £10 million
• Non-UK registered charities (except limited UK Overseas Territories environmental work)

Types of Work:

• Capital developments or building refurbishment
• Individual items of equipment
• One-off events
• Single medical conditions or diseases
• Animal welfare, captive breeding, or rescue centres
• Work benefiting only one location
• Individual student grants or bursaries
• Promotion of religion
• Work that removes rights of one group to advance another
• Onward grant distribution (except approved funder collaborations)
• Organizations reapplying within 12 months of unsuccessful application

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Governance and Leadership

Director: Sufina Ahmad MBE

Sufina joined as Director in 2019 and was awarded an MBE for charitable services in 2020. She is an honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, having chaired their Expert Panel on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. Ahmad has developed two ambitious strategies (2022-2025 and 2025-2030), taking a total assets approach using grantmaking, investing, and operations to advance wellbeing.

Key Quote: “Instead, we are narrowing our focus and trying to avoid setting up arbitrary restrictions through funding categories.”

Chair of Finance and Investment Committee: Keith Shepherd

Qualified accountant with extensive investment management experience, including roles as Investment Strategist with BP Pension Fund and Chief Investment Officer with Railways Industry Pension Schemes.

Trustees:

• Lily Tomson (appointed 2022): Works across responsible investment, social and environmental action
• Annika Small (appointed 2018): Co-founder of CAST, building a more resilient social sector using digital technology

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

Stage 1 (Rolling basis):

• Previous year's financial accounts
• Current year management accounts
• Basic application form with contact details
• DEI Data Standard information

Stage 2 (By invitation only):

• Full application requested if invited to proceed
• More detailed proposal and supporting materials

Decision Timeline

• Eligibility Assessment: 4-6 weeks after Stage 1 submission
• Stage 1 Decision: 8-10 weeks after submission
• Stage 2 Decision: 4-8 weeks after Stage 2 submission
• Total Timeline: Approximately 12-16 weeks from initial application to final decision

Applicants can normally expect to hear the outcome around 12 weeks after submitting Stage 2 application. The Foundation makes decisions regularly throughout the year with no specific application deadlines.

Success Rates

2024/25 Statistics:

• 500 first-stage applications received
• 153 (33%) did not meet criteria
• 309 (67%) presented for trustee review
• 45 applications advanced to Stage 2
• 43 grants awarded from Stage 2 (96% Stage 2 success rate)
• Overall success rate: approximately 14% (varies by focus area)

Grant Distribution:

• 50% to previous grant-holders
• 19% to first-time applicants
• 31% to organizations that previously applied unsuccessfully

Average Grant Size: £106,000 (2023/24)

Reapplication Policy

• Unsuccessful applicants: Must wait 12 months from unsuccessful application date before reapplying
• Previous grantees: Can request new funding after submission of Final Report (no waiting period required)

Application Success Factors

What the Foundation Looks For

Organizational Characteristics:

• “Changemaking organizations that understand their role within existing and/or new systems and have a clear strategy for how and why they intend to make change”
• Track record of effectiveness and impact
• Strong governance and management with “diverse and representative organisation with well-qualified and engaged board”
• “Strong and inspiring leadership”
• “Effective financial management: understanding and oversight of finances across the Board and leadership team”
• Collaborative and cross-sectoral approach

Active Involvement of Those with Lived Experience:

The Foundation prioritizes organizations that “actively involve those with personal experience of the issue tackled – reflecting the belief that those with direct personal experience understand them best and should have agency and support to use their expertise.”

National Significance:

“The Foundation wants funds to make a difference, with as wide an impact as possible, which may involve creating art of the highest quality; working across a wide geographical area; or sharing and expanding successful initiatives.”

Recent Grant Examples

2024 Museum & Gallery Grants (before program closure):

• Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art: £97,800 for curator positions developing photographic collecting expertise
• Glasgow Life: £101,544 for collections curator position
• Manchester Museum: £98,484 for Ubuntu project focusing on African collections
• Royal Botanic Gardens Kew: £150,000 for UK conservation projects officer

Common Reasons for Rejection

“The main reason why applications are rejected is that they do not provide a sufficiently strong fit with the individual criteria of the relevant funding category.”

“If you are a local organisation making a difference locally only, without having any influence nationally or at a UK level, then your application will not be successful.”

Foundation Preferences

• Preferred: Core funding (restricted or unrestricted)
• Considered but less experienced: Project funding
• Application timing: No “good” or “bad” time to apply – rolling basis throughout year

Getting Help

The Foundation is “happy to offer advice on applications via phone, video call, or email” and will “make reasonable adjustments” for accessibility needs, including alternative application formats.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

• Core funding focus: The Foundation strongly prefers multi-year core funding applications over project funding, recognizing this provides greatest organizational sustainability
• National impact is essential: Local-only organizations will not succeed; demonstrate how your work influences or scales nationally across the UK
• Income sweet spot: Must be between £100k-£10m annual income – this is strictly enforced with rare exceptions
• Two-stage process favors prepared applicants: Only 14% overall success rate, but 96% at Stage 2, meaning initial 2-page proposal is critical screening point
• Lived experience matters: Explicitly demonstrate how those with personal experience of issues lead and shape your work, not just participate
• Strategic systemic change: Frame your work in terms of systems change and how you contribute to broader transformation, not just service delivery
• Reapplication is possible: 31% of grants go to previously unsuccessful applicants, showing persistence and incorporating feedback pays off after 12-month waiting period
• New strategy means new opportunities: The 2025-2030 strategy removes previous categorical restrictions, creating more flexibility if you address core priorities

Similar Funders

These funders frequently fund the same charities:

• The Arts Council of England
• National Lottery Heritage Fund
• Garfield Weston Foundation
• National Highways
• Ecological Restoration Fund
• The Charities Aid Foundation
• VAUGHAN WILLIAMS FOUNDATION
• The London Community Foundation
• THE HEADLEY TRUST
• The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
• THE BOLTINI TRUST
• National Lottery
• THE RIVERS TRUST
• Environment Agency
• People’s Postcode Lottery
• THE FOYLE FOUNDATION
• The Crown Estate
• HENOCQ LAW TRUST
• THE THISTLE TRUST
• People's Postcode Lottery

References

1. John Ellerman Foundation official website - https://ellerman.org.uk/
2. John Ellerman Foundation Application Process - https://ellerman.org.uk/apply-for-funding/how-to-apply
3. John Ellerman Foundation Eligibility Criteria - https://ellerman.org.uk/apply-for-funding/am-i-eligible
4. Annual Funding Data - https://ellerman.org.uk/what-weve-funded/annual-funding-data
5. “Our strategy for 2025 to 2030” - John Ellerman Foundation Strategy Document (2025)
6. Charity Commission Register - John Ellerman Foundation (263207) - https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/263207
7. "'Influence is built over time': John Ellerman Foundation's Sufina Ahmad on long-term investing" - Net Zero Investor
8. “John Ellerman Foundation launches new Funding Strategy” - NICVA
9. “Meet our Director, Sufina Ahmad” - https://ellerman.org.uk/blog/meet-our-director-sufina-ahmad
10. Our Annual Report and Accounts 2023/24 - John Ellerman Foundation (2024)