The Blue Thread

Charity Number: 1130704

Annual Expenditure: £3.2M
Throughout England And Wales

Contact Info

Website: http://www.thebluethread.org.uk/

Phone: 07879087435

Email: hannah@grabiner.com

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: Approximately £3.2 million (2024)
  • Success Rate: Not publicly disclosed (invitation-only/proactive outreach model)
  • Decision Time: 10-20 weeks (4-8 weeks for initial reply, 6-12 weeks for funding decision)
  • Grant Range: Typically around £5,000 (small grants focus)
  • Geographic Focus: UK (London-focused) and Israel

Contact Details

Note: The Blue Thread does not accept unsolicited applications and works proactively to identify potential grantees.

Overview

The Blue Thread is the Grabiner family foundation, established in 2009 (Charity Number: 1130704) with resources gained through work in the media and private equity industries. With total income of £4.0 million and expenditure of £3.2 million in 2024, the foundation operates as a trust-based, relational funder committed to unrestricted grantmaking. Hannah Hoare joined as Executive Director in early 2020 to build the family's vision into reality. The foundation is rooted in Jewish philanthropic traditions and the obligation to pursue justice (tikkun olam) by acting ethically. The Blue Thread is a signatory to IVAR's Open and Trusting Grantmakers commitments and was featured in IVAR's research on unrestricted funding and light-touch grantmaking. They have received recognition for their innovative, trust-based approach that prioritizes relationships over bureaucracy.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

  • Small Grants Programme: Typically around £5,000 per grant, unrestricted funding
  • Rolling basis with proactive outreach model
  • Grants are generally unrestricted to maximize trust and flexibility
  • Multi-year funding approach still being developed and tested with partner organisations
  • Big Ideas Fund (Pilot, 2020): Up to £3,000 plus mentoring and network support
  • Targeted at young people aged 16-25
  • Supports tikkun olam (repairing the world) and social action projects

Priority Areas

The Blue Thread focuses on three core areas:

  • Particular interest in family courts
  • Victims/survivors from minoritised communities
  • Frontline support services
  • Frontline work prioritising basic needs and destitution support
  • Led by-and-for work (organisations led by people with lived experience)
  • Support for vulnerable migrants
  • Organisations in the UK Jewish community
  • Organisations in Israel

Key Characteristics of Funded Organisations:

  • Small and local grassroots organisations
  • Led 'by and for' their communities
  • Those bringing lived experience into their work and leadership
  • Organisations not traditionally represented in mainstream funding
  • Support for 'business as usual' work, new ideas, and organisations just starting out

What They Don't Fund

The Blue Thread does not accept unsolicited applications. They work proactively to identify organisations whose mission aligns with theirs, preferring to avoid wasting organisations' time where they cannot provide funding.

Governance and Leadership

Trustees

The Grabiner family members serve as trustees:

  • Stephen Grabiner (Founder)
  • Miriam Grabiner
  • Daniel Grabiner
  • Joseph Grabiner-Wolfson
  • Sarah Grabiner
  • Amy Grabiner
  • Emily Rose Grabiner-Wolfson

Executive Leadership

Hannah Hoare, Executive Director (joined 2020)

  • Previously worked at Social Finance with grantmaking trusts and foundations through the Impact Incubator
  • Leads the foundation's trust-based, relational approach to grantmaking

Key Quotes from Leadership:

On funding philosophy:

“We build relationships with our partners so we can support them in a way which respects their knowledge, expertise, and reach.”

On risk-taking:

"We think we need to take risks to create change; if we get it 'right' all the time, we are not taking enough risks."

On their approach:

“We are seeking to create a relational process, supporting brilliant people with great ideas doing good work.”

On empowering grantees:

“We have done this almost entirely [making unrestricted grants], even when we have discussed with an organisation a particular project.”

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

IMPORTANT: The Blue Thread does not accept unsolicited applications.

Instead, they:

  • Work proactively to seek out organisations whose mission aligns with theirs
  • Reach out to mainly small community organisations
  • Ask existing grantees to suggest and recommend potential grantees
  • May invite organisations to submit an enquiry through their process

For Invited Organisations:

  • Short online enquiry form (light-touch, designed to minimize time spent by applicants)
  • Alternative formats accepted (email, post, video, or other formats upon request)
  • Once shortlisted, invited to a phone call to get to know each other
  • Calls only arranged for groups likely to be funded to minimize wasted time

Decision Timeline

  • Initial reply: 4-8 weeks after enquiry submission
  • Funding decision: Further 6-12 weeks after initial reply
  • Total timeline: Approximately 10-20 weeks from enquiry to decision

Success Rates

Success rates are not publicly disclosed. The foundation's proactive outreach model means they typically only invite applications from organisations they are likely to fund, resulting in a higher conversion rate than open application processes.

Reapplication Policy

Information on reapplication policies is not publicly available. Given their proactive outreach model and relationship-building approach, unsuccessful organisations may be reconsidered if circumstances or fit change over time.

Application Success Factors

Direct Guidance from The Blue Thread

The foundation emphasizes:

  1. Alignment over perfection: They seek organisations whose mission and values align with their priorities, not perfect proposals
  1. Trust in people: “Reducing paperwork and maximising relationships means funding great people, empowering exceptional individuals they trust to use their expertise”
  1. Lived experience: Strong preference for organisations led by people with lived experience of the issues they address
  1. Minimizing bureaucracy: They have “avoided creating forms or question lists... instead we are talking to potential partners”

What They Value

  • Unrestricted funding approach: Grantees reported using funds for basic needs items (food, clothing, bedding, period products, wifi, baby items, taxis and hotel rooms for women fleeing abusive homes) that other funders wouldn't cover
  • Relationship building: “We take a relational approach, getting to know those we work with and building over time, and hope to offer an open door so that partners feel able to share challenges and seek support”
  • Grassroots and community-led: Preference for small, local organisations with deep community connections
  • Risk-taking: Willingness to fund new ideas and organisations just starting out

Recent Funding Examples

While specific grantee names are not publicly listed, the foundation supports:

  • Frontline domestic abuse services, particularly for minoritised communities
  • Refugee and asylum seeker organisations providing basic needs support
  • Jewish community organisations in the UK and Israel
  • Youth-led social action projects (through Big Ideas Fund)

Common Success Factors

  • Strong alignment with one of their three core focus areas
  • Led by-and-for communities with lived experience
  • Grassroots, small-scale organisations
  • Clear demonstration of frontline, direct support work
  • Existing relationship or recommendation from current grantees

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  1. Unsolicited applications not accepted: Focus on building connections with their existing grantees who can make recommendations, or participate in networks where The Blue Thread is active (e.g., London Funders, IVAR community)
  1. Lived experience is paramount: Organisations led by people with direct experience of the issues they address are strongly favored
  1. Think small and grassroots: The Blue Thread explicitly focuses on small, local organisations often overlooked by larger funders
  1. Unrestricted funding philosophy: They trust grantees to use funds where most needed, including for basic operational needs
  1. Relationship over bureaucracy: Minimal reporting requirements; they prefer conversations and relationships to forms and reports
  1. Risk tolerance: Willing to fund new organisations and untested ideas; don't need to demonstrate guaranteed success
  1. Values alignment crucial: Strong alignment with Jewish values of tikkun olam (repairing the world) and pursuing justice, even if not a Jewish organisation

Similar Funders

These funders frequently fund the same charities:

References

  1. The Blue Thread Official Website - https://www.thebluethread.org.uk/ (Accessed: 2025)
  1. UK Charity Commission Register, Charity Number 1130704 - https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=1130704&subId=0 (Accessed: 2025)
  1. Hannah Hoare, “On Power,” Relationships Project, June 2020 - https://relationshipsproject.org/on-power/
  1. IVAR (Institute for Voluntary Action Research), “The Blue Thread Small Grants Enquiry Form,” Funder Resources - https://www.ivar.org.uk/publication/blue-thread-enquiry-form/ (Accessed: 2025)
  1. IVAR, “Unrestricted Funding: Where Does It Go and What Difference Does It Make?” October 2021 - https://www.ivar.org.uk/blog/unrestricted-funding-where-does-it-go-and-what-difference-does-it-make/ (Accessed: 2025)
  1. IVAR, “Open and Trusting - for Trusts and Foundations” - https://www.ivar.org.uk/open-and-trusting-for-trusts-and-foundations/ (Accessed: 2025)
  1. Giving is Great, “THE BLUE THREAD Charity Factsheet” - https://givingisgreat.org/database/charity-factsheet/?regNo=1130704 (Accessed: 2025)
  1. London Funders, “Team Associate - The Blue Thread” job posting - https://londonfunders.org.uk/latest/jobs/team-associate-blue-thread (Accessed: 2025)