Montpelier Foundation Limited

Quick Stats

• Registered Charity Number: 1139851
• Annual Grant-Making: Approximately £16 million ($20 million)
• Success Rate: Not applicable (invitation-only)
• Grant Range: £160,000 - £400,000 per organization per year
• Geographic Focus: Worldwide (particularly Africa, Asia, UK, and Latin America)
• Application Process: Proactive identification - no public application process

Contact Details

Address: Office 5, 9th Floor, 1 Knightsbridge Green, London SW1X 7QA

Phone: 020 7589 1700

Email: info@montpelierfoundation.org.uk

Website: https://montpelierfoundation.org.uk

Overview

Montpelier Foundation Limited is a UK-registered family foundation established in 2011 by Nick Cournoyer and his wife Lara. The foundation's philanthropic work began in Peru in 2000, expanded to Africa and Asia from 2013 onwards, and incorporated environmental strategy in 2020. With an annual grant-making budget of approximately $20 million, Montpelier operates with a lean structure comprising two trustees and a focused London-based programme team. The foundation's vision is “a world powered by clean energy, where natural ecosystems are protected and people thrive.” Montpelier backs scalable solutions with strong impact potential that aim to shift behaviours of governments, companies, and people, providing unrestricted core funding with little or no restrictions to carefully selected partner organizations worldwide.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The foundation operates two primary funding portfolios:

Environment Portfolio: Grants typically range from £160,000 to £400,000 per organization per year

• Focus on rapid emissions reduction, ecosystem protection and restoration
• Support for legal action, policy enforcement, and climate advocacy
• Emphasis on methane reduction and forest conservation (particularly Congo Basin)

Livelihoods Portfolio: Grants typically range from £160,000 to £400,000 per organization per year

• Rural livelihoods improvement in Africa and Asia
• Youth employment and skills development across Africa, Asia, and the UK
• Community-led economic development and financial inclusion

Priority Areas

Environment Partners focus on:

• Land Restoration & Carbon Markets: Supporting community-led land restoration, strengthening carbon standards that prioritize communities, and educating civil society on carbon markets
• Methane Reduction: Technical assistance to governments on methane reduction in oil and gas supply chains, and strategies for including methane emissions in legal action
• Legal Action & Advocacy: Using litigation to push for climate responsibility from governments and corporations
• Climate Movements: Funding portfolio of climate movements in the Global South and grassroots groups
• Communications: Expanding environmental journalism in critical regions and depolarizing climate change through local voices

Livelihood Partners focus on:

• Rural Livelihoods: Designing and distributing farmer products, community-driven economic development, and market access
• Livelihood Enablers: Legal empowerment for land and livelihood protection, footbridge construction for market access, and expanding access to eyeglasses to enhance earning potential
• Youth Employment: Skills-based education and entrepreneurship in East Africa, 21st-century skills and job placement in India
• UK Youth: Supporting disadvantaged young people into employment and off the streets

What They Don't Fund

Based on their focused approach:

• Organizations outside their identified partner network
• Projects that don't align with climate/emissions reduction or livelihoods improvement
• Work in regions outside their geographic focus
• Short-term projects without scalable, sustainable approaches
• Organizations seeking restricted project funding (they prefer unrestricted core funding)

Current Partners

Selected Environment Partners:

• Plan Vivo Foundation (carbon standards)
• Namati - Carbon Rights Learning Programme
• Plant With Purpose (land restoration in Africa)
• Tree Aid (Sahel restoration)
• Trees for the Future (Forest Garden Approach)
• Global Methane Hub
• Clean Air Task Force (methane reduction)
• Center for Climate Crime Analysis
• Client Earth (climate litigation)
• UMI Fund (climate movements)
• Global Greengrants Fund UK
• Mongabay (Congo Basin journalism)
• Our Common Home (climate communications)

Selected Livelihood Partners:

• Proximity Designs (Myanmar)
• Raising the Village (Uganda)
• Spark Microgrants (East Africa)
• Namati (legal empowerment)
• Bridges to Prosperity (footbridges in Africa)
• VisionSpring (eyeglasses access)
• Educate! (East African youth)
• The/Nudge (India youth)
• Right to Succeed (UK)
• Resurgo/Spear (UK)
• Drive Forward Foundation (UK)
• Depaul UK

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Governance and Leadership

Trustees

Nick Cournoyer - Founder and Chair

Co-founded Hampshire Foundation in the US with his sister Sabina, and later founded Montpelier Foundation in the UK with his wife Lara. He oversees the foundation's global work, including both the livelihoods and environment programmes. Based in London.

Richard Brass - Trustee

Founded Impact Ventures UK and chairs the Arts and Culture Impact Fund. Serves on various advisory councils. UK-based.

Neither trustee receives remuneration from the charity.

Programme Team (London-based)

Agathe Bourgon (joined 2013) - Supports social investments and governance, leads community-led land restoration and grassroots environmental action.

Louise Busson (joined 2014) - Built partner portfolios particularly with disadvantaged youth. Leads methane reduction initiatives and Congo Basin protection work.

Brian Doe (joined 2025) - Brings 15+ years' experience in grant-making for rural livelihoods and financial inclusion, especially in Africa and the Middle East.

Mireya Alvarez (joined 2015) - Manages social investments and grants, currently spearheading clean tech investment programme focused on energy transition.

How to Apply to Montpelier Foundation Limited

How to Apply

This funder does not have a public application process. The Montpelier Foundation operates through proactive identification and invitation of partners. They identify organizations demonstrating concrete pathways toward their environmental and livelihood goals, and invite selected organizations to work with them.

The foundation's grants are structured to:

• Reach critical issues or regions worldwide
• Cover core costs for partners with little or no restrictions
• Put a spotlight on scalable problems and solutions
• Support organizations with innovative, market-driven, sustainable approaches

Unsolicited applications are not accepted. Organizations become partners through the foundation's research and identification process, not through application submission.

Grant Structure

• Typical Grant Size: $200,000 - $500,000 (approximately £160,000 - £400,000) per organization per year
• Funding Type: Unrestricted core funding with minimal restrictions
• Duration: Multi-year partnerships (based on follow-on grants to existing partners)
• Total Annual Budget: Approximately $20 million in grant-making

Application Success Factors

Since the foundation works through proactive identification rather than open applications, the following factors characterize their partner selection approach:

Scalability and Impact Potential

The foundation explicitly seeks “scalable solutions with strong impact potential.” Their partners demonstrate concrete, replicable pathways that can shift behaviours at scale among governments, companies, and individuals.

Alignment with Strategic Focus

Partners must clearly address one or both of the foundation's core priorities:

• Environment: Rapid emissions reduction, ecosystem protection, within the “decisive decade” for climate action
• Livelihoods: Building resilience against poverty, particularly in rural Africa/Asia and for youth employment

Innovation and Market-Driven Approaches

The foundation emphasizes “innovative, market-driven, sustainable approaches to poverty alleviation” and environmental protection, rather than traditional charity models.

Geographic Priority

Work must focus on:

• High and middle-income countries (highest emissions sources)
• Low-income countries, particularly Africa (most vulnerable populations)
• Strategic regions like Congo Basin, Sahel, East Africa, South Asia

Organisational Strength for Core Funding

Since grants are unrestricted core funding with minimal restrictions, the foundation selects partners with strong governance, proven track records, and capacity to deploy flexible funding effectively.

Leverage Points

The foundation's portfolios use different action mechanisms: supporting/enforcing strong laws and policies, knowledge transfer, people empowerment, technical government assistance, data transparency, strategic communications, and research/development.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

• No open application process: This foundation identifies and invites partners proactively - unsolicited applications are not accepted
• Substantial, flexible funding: Average grants of £160,000-£400,000 per year represent significant, unrestricted core support
• Focus on the “decisive decade”: Environmental work prioritizes rapid, scalable action on climate change within critical timeframes
• Geographic specificity: Strong focus on Africa (particularly for livelihoods and ecosystem protection), Asia (particularly India for youth work), and selected UK youth programmes
• Trust-based approach: Minimal restrictions on funding reflects confidence in partner capacity and governance
• Multi-year partnerships: Evidence of “follow-on grants” suggests long-term commitments to effective partners
• Combination of grants and investments: The foundation makes both grants and Programme-Related Investments (PRIs), expanding their toolkit beyond traditional grant-making

Similar Funders

These funders have a similar focus and geographic reach:

• Lifelines International Fund For Education
• The Halpin Trust
• The Octopus Foundation
• Futures For Kids
• Tallow Chandlers Benevolent Fund No 2
• John Lyon's Charity
• Heathrow Community Trust
• Richard Reeve's Foundation
• Bates Wells Foundation
• St Giles-in-the-fields And William Shelton Educational Charity

References

• Montpelier Foundation official website: https://montpelierfoundation.org.uk
• Montpelier Foundation “Our Approach” page: https://montpelierfoundation.org.uk/our-approach/
• Montpelier Foundation “Who We Are” page: https://montpelierfoundation.org.uk/who-we-are/
• Montpelier Foundation “Our Livelihood Partners” page: https://montpelierfoundation.org.uk/livelihood-partners/
• UK Charity Commission register, charity number 1139851: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5014941
• Devex profile: https://www.devex.com/organizations/montpelier-foundation-uk-42721