Maecenas

Quick Stats

• Registered Charity Number: 1132363
• Company Number: 06972470
• Annual Giving: £72,497 (FY 2024)
• Annual Income: £94,413 (FY 2024)
• Geographic Focus: International (any part of the world)
• Trustees: 2
• Application Method: No public application process

Contact Details

Registered Office: Charles Russell Speechlys LLP, 5 Fleet Place, Farringdon, London, England, EC4M 7RD

Phone: 0345 222 9222

Note: No website or email contact publicly available

Overview

MAECENAS was registered as a charitable company in England & Wales on 28 October 2009 and incorporated at Companies House on 25 July 2009. The charity operates as a private grant-making foundation that distributes funds to registered charities across multiple charitable sectors. With an annual expenditure of £72,497 in the financial year ending 31 July 2024, MAECENAS maintains a focused approach to philanthropy across environmental protection, poverty relief, education, and the arts. The charity is administered from the offices of Charles Russell Speechlys, a leading law firm with over one hundred years of experience advising on philanthropy. The foundation operates with a lean structure of two trustees and appears to make grants through trustee discretion rather than open application processes.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

MAECENAS does not operate named grant programs or advertise specific funding streams. Grants are made at the discretion of trustees to registered charities.

Priority Areas

The charity's objects specify grant-making for:

• Environmental Protection and Improvement: Advancement of environmental causes
• Poverty Relief: Prevention or relief of poverty, distress or suffering through appropriate charitable assistance
• Education: Advancement of education
• Arts, Culture and Heritage: Support for the advancement of arts, culture and heritage
• Other Charitable Purposes: Any other exclusively charitable objects and purposes in any part of the world

What They Don't Fund

As a private foundation making grants to registered charities, MAECENAS:

• Does not make grants to individuals
• Only makes grants to registered charities
• Does not accept unsolicited applications

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Governance and Leadership

Trustees

Simon Patrick Weil (Chair, appointed 2009)

• Occupation: Solicitor
• Partner at Charles Russell Speechlys
• Over 40 years of experience in capital tax planning, philanthropy and charities
• Former Chair of the European Association for Philanthropy and Giving, which merged to form Philanthropy Impact, the leading charity in the UK philanthropy sector
• Awarded 'Philanthropist Adviser of the Year' at the 2016 Spear's Wealth Management Awards
• Active in lobbying for greater philanthropic incentives in the UK
• Serves as trustee for numerous other charities including The English Concert, The Michael Tippett Musical Foundation, The Kathleen Hannay Memorial Charity, and The Handel House Trust Limited

Trustee Remuneration: One or more trustees receive payments or benefits from the charity for providing services to the charity.

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

MAECENAS does not have a public application process. This is a private grant-making foundation where grants are awarded through trustee discretion. The charity does not accept unsolicited applications and does not maintain a website or public-facing application portal.

Grants are made to registered charities as determined by the trustees, likely based on existing relationships, sector knowledge, and strategic philanthropic objectives identified by the board.

Decision Timeline

Not applicable - no public application process.

Success Rates

Not applicable - no public application process.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable - no public application process.

Application Success Factors

As MAECENAS operates on a trustee-discretion model without accepting unsolicited applications, there are no published success factors for applicants. The charity appears to identify grant recipients through the trustees' extensive networks within the charity sector.

Given Chair Simon Weil's prominent role in UK philanthropy and his work with numerous arts, music, and cultural charities, the foundation may have particular interest in supporting high-quality organizations in these sectors, alongside environmental and educational causes aligned with the charity's stated objects.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

• No public application process: MAECENAS does not accept unsolicited grant applications
• Trustee-led grant-making: Decisions are made at the discretion of two trustees with deep expertise in UK philanthropy
• Relationship-based: Grant recipients are likely identified through existing trustee connections and sector knowledge
• Broad charitable remit: While covering environment, poverty relief, education, and arts, the specific focus areas within these sectors are not publicly defined
• Professional administration: Registered office at a leading philanthropy law firm suggests sophisticated governance and due diligence processes
• Limited transparency: No public reporting on specific grant recipients or amounts awarded
• Alternative approach: Organizations seeking funding in MAECENAS's priority areas should focus on other foundations with open application processes

References

• MAECENAS Charity Commission Register -
• MAECENAS Trustees - Charity Commission -
• MAECENAS | Charity Factsheet | Giving is Great -
• MAECENAS - Companies House -
• Simon Weil | Charles Russell Speechlys -
• Simon Weil | Philanthropy Impact -
• Spear's award Partner Simon Weil with 'Philanthropist Adviser of the Year' -
• Philanthropy | Charles Russell Speechlys -