The Ethos Foundation

Charity Number: 1166697

Geographic Focus: United States, Scotland, Throughout England And Wales

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Quick Stats

  • Charity Number: 1166697
  • Founded: 2016
  • Structure: Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
  • Geographic Focus: UK (England, Wales, and Scotland)
  • Application Process: No public application process - invitation only
  • Key Focus: Child poverty prevention and early years development

Contact Details

Address: C/O Winston Hazelton & Co Ltd, 34 Arlington Road, London NW1 7HU

Website: www.ethosfoundation.org.uk

Email: ethosfoundation.uk@gmail.com

Phone: 7802208276

Overview

The Ethos Foundation is a UK-based grant-making charity established in 2016 with a mission to help build more effective child poverty prevention systems, breaking the cycles that keep children and young people suffering from poverty and its effects throughout their lives. The Foundation is time-limited with a ten-year strategy designed to maximize impact over the life of the Foundation. The charity is a member of the Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF) and Philea, demonstrating its commitment to strategic philanthropy. With one part-time staff member and a focused board of trustees, the Foundation operates with a lean structure while maintaining significant impact through strategic partnerships.

The UK has one of the highest rates of childhood poverty among developed countries, with 29% of all children living in poverty - rates that are increasing due to cuts and under-investment in prevention, a lack of child poverty strategy and policies, and a punitive welfare system, further worsened by the cost-of-living crisis. The Ethos Foundation addresses this crisis through targeted funding and research.

Funding Priorities

Grant-Making Approach

The Ethos Foundation does not accept unsolicited grant applications. Instead, it works with a select portfolio of principal charity partners that align with its strategic priorities in early years intervention and child poverty prevention.

Principal Charity Partners

The Foundation has established partnerships with:

  • The Childhood Trust - London's child poverty charity, founded with a vision to support vulnerable children living in poverty in London. The Childhood Trust funds grassroots charities running projects that support approximately 200,000 vulnerable and disadvantaged children throughout London.
  • Thrive at Five - A collective impact initiative with a vision for a society that cherishes children's development in the early years. Thrive at Five works in disadvantaged communities (including Stoke-on-Trent, Redcar & Cleveland, and Middlesbrough) to help children from pregnancy to age five develop strong foundations for life and learning.
  • The Cabrach Trust - Has a vision to regenerate the Cabrach as a thriving, sustainable community.

Priority Areas

Early Years Practice: The Foundation funds and enables holistic early years practice at community level, working in places with high levels of childhood poverty and implementing a collaborative service delivery model.

Research and Evidence Building: The Foundation conducts and supports research and analysis that builds the evidence base of what works in holistic early years practice, using this research to influence policy and advocate for local and national level systems change.

Collaboration and Convening: The Foundation places convening and coordination at the heart of its work, promoting, facilitating, and enabling collaborative working at each level of the system. They build skills and capacity to work collaboratively and holistically, joining up services to more effectively meet families' needs, and help parents and communities to participate in decision-making and service delivery.

What They Fund

  • Holistic early years services in areas with high childhood poverty
  • Collaborative service delivery models
  • Research into effective child poverty prevention
  • Policy advocacy and systems change initiatives
  • Community capacity building for early years support
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Governance and Leadership

Board of Trustees

Grant Edward Gordon OBE - Chair (appointed 28 July 2016)

Grant Gordon is a philanthropist and social entrepreneur who was awarded OBE in 2021 for services to philanthropy including during the COVID-19 response. He has founded and built up a small portfolio of charities and is the founder and chair of The Childhood Trust, chair of the Reekimlane Foundation, and a trustee of The Distillers' Charity. He also serves as a trustee of Thrive at Five. Gordon has a background in the distilling industry, having worked in his family business, William Grant & Sons.

Brigitte Gordon - Trustee (appointed 28 July 2016)

Lucy Blythe - Trustee (appointed 28 July 2016)

Luka Gakic - Trustee (appointed 28 June 2021)

The Foundation is currently recruiting additional trustees through Saxton Bampfylde to help steer its ten-year strategy and governance, ensuring alignment with its mission and values.

No trustees receive any remuneration, payments, or benefits from the charity.

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

The Ethos Foundation does not have a public application process. The Foundation will not consider unsolicited applications for funding. Instead, the Foundation proactively identifies and approaches organizations that align with its strategic priorities in early years intervention and child poverty prevention.

Grants are made to organizations through trustee discretion, with the Foundation working with a select portfolio of principal charity partners rather than operating an open grants program.

Getting on Their Radar

The Foundation identifies partners through:

Strategic Relationships: The Foundation's trustees, particularly Chair Grant Gordon OBE, have deep connections in the child poverty and early years sectors through their work with The Childhood Trust, Thrive at Five, and other initiatives. Organizations making significant impact in these areas may come to the Foundation's attention through sector networks.

Research and Evidence: As the Foundation commissions and supports research in early years practice (such as the “Closing the Gap” report published with NPC in 2024), organizations producing strong evidence of impact in holistic early years practice may be identified as potential partners.

Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF) Network: As an ACF member, the Foundation engages with the wider philanthropic community, which may provide visibility for high-performing organizations in their priority areas.

Geographic Focus on High-Poverty Areas: The Foundation targets places with high levels of childhood poverty, so organizations operating effectively in these communities are more likely to align with the Foundation's strategic interests.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • No public application process: This is not a funder you can apply to directly. The Foundation operates by identifying and approaching organizations that fit its strategic priorities.
  • Focus on strategic partnerships: Rather than making numerous small grants, the Foundation works with a select portfolio of principal charity partners for deeper, longer-term impact.
  • Early years and child poverty expertise required: Organizations need to demonstrate strong evidence of impact in holistic early years practice and child poverty prevention, particularly in high-poverty communities.
  • Research and evidence matter: The Foundation values evidence-based practice and has commissioned significant research. Organizations that contribute to the evidence base of what works may be more visible to the Foundation.
  • Collaborative approach essential: The Foundation emphasizes collaborative service delivery models, joined-up services, and capacity building - organizations working in silos are unlikely to align with their approach.
  • Time-limited foundation: With a ten-year strategy, the Foundation is focused on maximizing impact within a defined timeframe, suggesting a preference for scalable, systems-change approaches rather than ongoing service delivery.
  • Sector visibility important: Being active in ACF networks, contributing to policy debates, and building relationships with existing partner organizations (The Childhood Trust, Thrive at Five) may increase visibility to the Foundation.

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