The Corcoran Foundation

Quick Stats

• Charity Number: 1174167
• Annual Giving: £1,122,251 (year ending 31 December 2024)
• Success Rate: Not publicly available
• Decision Time: Not publicly available
• Grant Range: Not publicly available
• Geographic Focus: UK-based
• Application Process: No public application process

Contact Details

Registered Address:

Withers LLP

Third Floor, 20 Old Bailey

London EC4M 7AN

Phone: 020 7597 6000

Website: No public website

Email: Not publicly available

Note: The registered address is at Withers LLP, an international law firm specializing in charities, trusts, and estates.

Overview

The Corcoran Foundation is a UK-registered charity established on 10 May 2017 as a private grant-making foundation. The foundation operates with broad charitable objectives, making grants to support a range of charitable projects as determined by the trustees' absolute discretion. With annual expenditure of £1,122,251 in the year ending December 2024 (significantly exceeding its income of £188,499), the foundation appears to be actively deploying previously accumulated reserves to support charitable causes. The foundation is governed by three trustees and operates as a non-trading company limited by guarantee. All trustees serve on a voluntary basis without remuneration.

Funding Priorities

Charitable Objects

The foundation's registered charitable objects are intentionally broad: “for such charitable purposes for the public benefit as the trustees may in their absolute discretion determine.” This provides the trustees with maximum flexibility in their grant-making decisions.

What They Fund

Specific funding priorities are not publicly disclosed. The foundation makes grants across “a range of charitable projects” at the trustees' discretion.

What They Don't Fund

No specific exclusions are publicly documented.

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Governance and Leadership

Trustees (all appointed 10 May 2017):

• Oliver Henry James Corcoran - Trustee
• Victoria Corcoran - Trustee
• James Bernard Corcoran - Trustee

All three trustees serve without remuneration and have no other recorded trusteeships on the Charity Commission register. The foundation employs no staff members with benefits exceeding £60,000.

Administrative Support:

The foundation's affairs are administered through Withers LLP, a leading international law firm with extensive experience in charity law, trusts, and philanthropy. Withers acts for over 50% of the UK's top 50 charities by income and maintains one of the largest charity client portfolios in the country.

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

This funder does not have a public application process.

The Corcoran Foundation operates as a private charitable foundation where grants are made at the absolute discretion of the trustees. There is no publicly available application portal, published guidelines, or open grant rounds. The foundation does not appear to accept unsolicited applications from organizations with which it does not have an existing relationship.

Grants are awarded based on trustees' decisions rather than through a competitive application process. Organizations are likely selected through the trustees' own networks, knowledge of the sector, or invitations to apply.

Decision Timeline

Not publicly available. As a private foundation operating on trustee discretion, decision timelines are not standardized or published.

Success Rates

Not applicable. The foundation does not operate an open application process that would generate meaningful success rate statistics.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable given the absence of a public application process.

Application Success Factors

Given the private nature of this foundation, there are no published criteria for successful applications. The following general observations apply:

Trustee Discretion: All grant-making decisions rest entirely with the three trustees, who have broad powers to support any charitable purpose they determine serves the public benefit.

Relationship-Based Giving: As with most private foundations without public application processes, the Corcoran Foundation likely supports causes and organizations known to the trustees through personal knowledge, professional networks, or specific invitations to apply.

Strategic Deployment: The significant expenditure in 2024 (£1.12 million against income of £188,000) suggests the foundation may be pursuing a strategic deployment of assets, possibly with specific time-limited objectives or focused giving in particular areas.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

• No public application process exists - this foundation is not accessible through standard grant-seeking channels
• Trustee-driven grant-making - all decisions are made at the absolute discretion of the three family trustees
• Private foundation model - operates without public-facing programs, published guidelines, or application deadlines
• Significant grant-making activity - annual expenditure of over £1 million indicates substantial charitable giving
• Professional administration - use of Withers LLP suggests sophisticated philanthropic structuring and compliance
• Limited transparency - minimal public information available beyond statutory Charity Commission filings
• Not suitable for speculative applications - organizations without existing connections to the trustees are unlikely to receive funding

References

• The Corcoran Foundation - Charity Commission Register - Accessed 27 December 2025
• The Corcoran Foundation - Trustees - Accessed 27 December 2025
• The Corcoran Foundation - Companies House - Accessed 27 December 2025
• Charity Commission financial data: Year ending 31 December 2024 - Total Income: £188,499; Total Expenditure: £1,122,251