The Alan Sugar Foundation

Charity Number: 294880

Annual Expenditure: £1.0M

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: £1,015,000 (year ending April 2024)
  • Success Rate: Not published (highly selective - 6 grants awarded over 2 years)
  • Decision Time: Not specified
  • Grant Range: £5,000 - £1,000,000
  • Geographic Focus: England and Wales, with strong preference for Essex/North East London

Contact Details

Address:

The Alan Sugar Foundation

Amshold House

Goldings Hill

Loughton

Essex

IG10 2RW

Phone: 020 3225 5560

Email: colin@amsprop.com

Website: None

Overview

The Alan Sugar Foundation is a family-based grant-making trust established in 1986 by Lord Alan Sugar, the business entrepreneur and star of The Apprentice. The foundation is primarily funded by Lord Sugar and his family members, who also serve as trustees. With total income of £349,624 and expenditure of £1,020,004 in the year ending April 2024, the foundation makes substantial grants to a highly selective number of organizations. Lord Sugar is described as “very private about who the foundation supports,” and the foundation operates with discretion, making large strategic grants rather than numerous small awards. Over the past two years, the foundation distributed £1,936,000 to just six charities, with individual grants ranging from £5,000 to £1,000,000. The foundation's formal charitable objects are broad: “such charities and/or charitable purposes as the Trustees shall decide.”

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The foundation operates on a rolling application basis with no fixed deadlines or formal grant programs. Applications are accepted in writing at any time.

Recent grant activity demonstrates a preference for substantial, transformational funding:

  • Large capital projects: £900,000 - £1,000,000
  • Medium grants: £10,000 - £11,000
  • Small grants: £5,000

Priority Areas

The foundation explicitly favours:

  • Children and young people - including children's hospitals and welfare organizations
  • The elderly - particularly care facilities and services
  • Disadvantaged communities - supporting those facing hardship
  • Jewish causes - strong preference for Jewish community organizations, synagogues, and care facilities
  • Frontline UK charities - preference for organizations providing direct services

What They Don't Fund

While not explicitly stated, the foundation's grant history suggests:

  • International causes (focus is England and Wales)
  • Small, incremental grants to multiple organizations (they prefer fewer, larger strategic grants)
  • Organizations without clear outcomes for vulnerable populations
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Governance and Leadership

Trustees

  • LORD SUGAR (Chair) - Business entrepreneur, founder of Amstrad, and star of The Apprentice
  • DANIEL PAUL SUGAR - Lord Sugar's son, manages Amsprop property investment arm
  • SIMON SUGAR - Lord Sugar's eldest son, runs Amscreen
  • LOUISE JANE BARON - Lord Sugar's daughter
  • COLIN TORQUIL SANDY CTA - Professional advisor (contact person)

The foundation is entirely family-run, with Lord Sugar's three children serving as trustees alongside their father. No trustees receive remuneration from the charity. The foundation has robust governance policies including complaints procedures, financial controls, risk management, safeguarding, and serious incident reporting.

Leadership Approach

According to Third Sector magazine, Lord Sugar is “very private about who the foundation supports,” operating the foundation as “an enabling charity supporting a number of good causes working in fields as diverse as education and the elderly.” Despite his private approach to philanthropy, Lord Sugar has publicly supported causes close to his family, particularly Jewish community organizations in Essex and North East London where he has long-standing personal connections.

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

Applications may be made at any time in writing (postal mail). There is no application form, online portal, or specific deadline.

Address applications to:

Lord Sugar, Chair

The Alan Sugar Foundation

Amshold House

Goldings Hill

Loughton

Essex

IG10 2RW

Email queries to: colin@amsprop.com (Colin Sandy, Trustee)

The foundation does not have a website or published application guidelines.

Decision Timeline

Decision timelines are not published. Given the foundation makes grants to only 3 organizations per year on average, trustees likely make funding decisions on a case-by-case basis throughout the year rather than in formal rounds.

Success Rates

The foundation is highly selective. Recent data shows:

  • 6 grants awarded over 2 years (average of 3 per year)
  • Total grant-making: £1,936,000 over 2 years
  • Average grant size: £323,000

The extremely low number of grants awarded annually suggests success rates are very low for unsolicited applications.

Reapplication Policy

No reapplication policy is published.

Application Success Factors

Given the foundation's highly selective approach and family governance, success appears closely tied to:

1. Personal connections and relationships

Recent major grants have gone to organizations with documented connections to Lord Sugar and his family:

  • Chigwell Synagogue (£900,000): Lord Sugar is a member of this synagogue, which renamed its hall “The Lord and Lady Sugar Community Hall” after the grant
  • Jewish Care Redbridge Project (£1,000,000): The Sugar family are described as “long-standing supporters” with “unwavering commitment over many decades”

2. Transformational capital projects

The foundation favours large grants that create lasting impact:

  • Chigwell Synagogue refurbishment created “The Sugar Community Campus”
  • Jewish Care campus development will be completed in 2026
  • These are major building and infrastructure projects, not operational funding

3. Jewish community causes in Essex/North East London

Four of the six grants (£1,915,000 of £1,936,000) went to Jewish organizations, with strong geographic focus on the Chigwell, Redbridge, and Essex areas where Lord Sugar has lived and worked.

4. Nationally recognized children's charities

Great Ormond Street Hospital (£11,000) represents the foundation's support for well-established children's causes.

5. Strategic, high-impact proposals

The foundation makes fewer, larger grants rather than spreading funding across many organizations. Proposals need to demonstrate significant, measurable impact.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Extremely competitive: With only 3 grants per year on average, this is one of the most selective funders you'll encounter. Do not rely on this as a likely funding source.
  • Relationship-driven: Recent grants show clear personal connections between recipients and the Sugar family. Without existing relationships or connections to Lord Sugar's interests, success is unlikely.
  • Jewish causes strongly favoured: 97% of recent grant funding went to Jewish organizations. If your organization doesn't serve the Jewish community, your chances are minimal.
  • Think big: Average grant size is £323,000. The foundation appears uninterested in small grants below £10,000 except in rare cases.
  • Geographic preference: Essex and North East London organizations, particularly in the Chigwell/Redbridge area, align with the family's base.
  • Capital projects over operational costs: Recent grants funded buildings, refurbishments, and campus developments rather than day-to-day operations.
  • No website or formal process: The informal, relationship-based approach means standard grant applications may not receive responses. Consider this funder only if you have genuine connections or your project aligns perfectly with their demonstrated interests.

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References