The Lankellychase Foundation

Charity Number: 1107583

Annual Expenditure: £6.0M

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: ~£6 million (historically £13 million prior to 2023)
  • Total Assets: £138 million (being redistributed by 2028)
  • Decision Time: 1-4 weeks
  • Grant Range: £10,000 - £350,000 (typical); £1,500 - £3,000 (small grants programme)
  • Geographic Focus: United Kingdom
  • Application Status: NOT CURRENTLY ACCEPTING UNSOLICITED APPLICATIONS

Contact Details

Address: The LankellyChase Foundation, Greenworks, Dog & Duck Yard, Princeton Street, London, WC1R 4BH

Phone: 020 3747 9930

Email: enquiries@lankellychase.org.uk

Website: www.lankellychase.org.uk

Note: While not currently accepting unsolicited applications, interested organizations may contact them via email, though response times may vary.

Overview

Founded over 60 years ago, The LankellyChase Foundation holds assets of approximately £138 million and has historically distributed around £6-13 million annually in grants. The foundation exists to bring about change that will transform the quality of life of people who face severe and multiple disadvantage in the UK. In July 2023, the foundation made a groundbreaking announcement: it will redistribute all its assets and close operations within five years (by 2028), acknowledging that traditional philanthropy is “a function of colonial capitalism” and unable to meet the gravity of global crises. This “Transition Pathway” represents a radical shift from traditional grant-making to a redistribution model focused on justice rather than charity. The foundation has transferred £8 million to Baobab Foundation as an initial solidarity action and is working with social justice leaders to model alternative resourcing infrastructures.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Core Grant Programme: £10,000 - £350,000

  • Grants over £330,000 require Board approval
  • Smaller grants decided by staff team or local coordination teams
  • Core costs funding available (10-18% core cost recovery considered reasonable)
  • Application method: Invited partnerships only; mixture of open call-outs, targeted commissions, and devolved funding to specific places

Small Grants Programme: £1,500 - £3,000

  • For individuals to lead new conversations about severe and multiple disadvantage
  • Limited availability during transition period

Priority Areas

LankellyChase funds people, organizations, and networks taking action to:

  • Reveal, question and dismantle systems that create injustice and oppression
  • Heal, reimagine and transform systems that result in mental distress, violence and destitution experienced by marginalized people in the UK
  • Systems change work addressing severe and multiple disadvantage (intersection of homelessness, offending, substance misuse, mental health issues, and poverty)
  • Place-based approaches in specific communities including Barking & Dagenham, Gateshead, Greater Manchester, Oxford, and York
  • Work that unites diverse perspectives from people with lived experience, policymakers, frontline workers, journalists, and activists
  • Research and knowledge building on systemic issues affecting marginalized communities
  • Networks and collaboration promoting collectivism and mutual learning

What They Don't Fund

  • Unlikely to fund the same project twice
  • Not interested in traditional service delivery without systemic change component
  • Not accepting unsolicited applications during transition period (post-July 2023)
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Governance and Leadership

Chief Executive

Julian Corner (CEO since 2011)

  • Former Head of Crime Strategy Unit at the Home Office
  • Also serves as Chair of Toynbee Hall
  • Leadership role with Derbyshire Integrated Care Board
  • Led the foundation's strategic shift toward systemic change and the radical decision to redistribute assets

Julian Corner stated: “Most funding organisations keep people stuck in business as usual.” He wrote: "Two years ago we acknowledged publicly that we didn't know what effective governance at Lankelly Chase should look like."

Board of Trustees

  • Asif Afridi - Chair of Trustee Board (appointed 2020)
  • Baljeet Sandhu - Trustee (appointed 2020)
  • Darren Murinas - Trustee (appointed 2015)
  • Myron Rogers - Trustee (appointed 2017)
  • Amanda Hailes - Trustee
  • Marai Larasi - Trustee (appointed 2020)

The foundation has undertaken a “Governance Action Inquiry” to reimagine governance structures aligned with their commitment to justice and equity.

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

Current Status: The foundation is NOT currently seeking new funding relationships or accepting unsolicited applications.

When Applications Were Open, the process included:

  • No standard application form required
  • Applications accepted via written word (Word, PowerPoint), audio, or video
  • Normally begins with one or two conversations
  • Applicants invited to share proposals after initial dialogue
  • Foundation may co-create proposals through conversation
  • Support available for those with literacy challenges - the foundation will draft applications if needed

Funding Approach:

  • Mixture of open call-outs, targeted commissions, and devolved funding to specific places
  • Join their mailing list for updates about future funding opportunities
  • Email enquiries@lankellychase.org.uk (response times may vary)

Decision Timeline

  • From formal proposal to decision: 1-4 weeks
  • Board approval required for grants over £330,000
  • Staff team or local coordination teams decide on smaller grants
  • Foundation strives for transparency and will provide feedback on applications upon request

Success Rates

Specific success rate data is not publicly available. However, the foundation has made 947 grants totaling £70,891,427 to organizations between April 2014 and March 2024, funding 257 different organizations during one period.

Reapplication Policy

  • Receiving funding does not rule out applying again
  • Unlikely to fund the same project twice
  • Focus on ongoing relationships rather than one-off grants
  • Each partnership is bespoke and dictated by different stages of work

Application Success Factors

What LankellyChase Values

Focus on “How” and “Who” Rather Than “What”

  • The foundation states: “We are less interested in what our partners want to do but rather on how they want to do it – their behaviours, relationships, processes and mindsets – and who they will involve.”

Key Success Factors:

  • Demonstrate commitment to systemic change, not just service delivery
  • Show how work will reveal, question, dismantle, heal, reimagine, or transform unjust systems
  • Engage diverse stakeholders including people with lived experience
  • Commitment to mutual learning and adaptation
  • Willingness to take experimental, risk-taking approaches
  • Focus on “just processes” that lead to “just outcomes”

Specific Advice from the Funder:

  • "Applicants won't be pitted against other applicants" - each application is assessed on its own merits
  • “Your ability to write a good application will never act as a barrier”
  • “What happens during the partnership is more important to us than an initial proposal”
  • The foundation aims to pay core costs wherever possible
  • No single person has the complete answer for changing systems - collaboration is essential

Example Funded Projects

  • Domestic Violence Intervention Project and Cranstoun Drug Services: Working with men with serious substance misuse problems on their use of violence
  • Leeds GATE: Partnership focusing on solidarity and identity
  • LGBT Foundation: Exploring LGBT experiences of severe and multiple disadvantage
  • Expert Link: National organization to represent those with severe and multiple disadvantage
  • Synergi Collaborative Centre: Partnership between Queen Mary University of London and University of Manchester
  • Hard Edges research: Drew together datasets from homelessness, offending, substance misuse, mental health, and poverty systems

Language and Terminology

The foundation uses specific language that applicants should understand:

  • “Severe and multiple disadvantage”
  • “Systems change” not “service delivery”
  • “Justice, not charity”
  • “Reveal, question, dismantle” and “heal, reimagine, transform”
  • “Colonial capitalism”
  • “Mutuality and collectivism”
  • “Just processes” and “just outcomes”

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  1. Application Status Critical: LankellyChase is NOT currently accepting unsolicited applications and is in a five-year transition to redistribute all assets and close by 2028. Monitor their website and mailing list for any future opportunities.
  1. Systems Change is Essential: This is not a funder for traditional service delivery. Applications must demonstrate how work will fundamentally change systems that create injustice, not just address symptoms.
  1. Emphasize Process Over Product: Focus your proposal on HOW you will work (behaviors, relationships, mindsets, who you involve) rather than just WHAT you will do.
  1. Lived Experience Matters: Demonstrate meaningful involvement of people with direct experience of severe and multiple disadvantage, not tokenistic consultation.
  1. Flexibility in Application Format: When accepting applications, they allowed written, audio, or video submissions and offered support for those with literacy challenges - authenticity matters more than polish.
  1. Core Costs Welcome: Unlike many funders, LankellyChase actively encourages core cost funding and considers 10-18% entirely reasonable.
  1. Relationship-Based Funding: Success comes through building relationships over time rather than transactional one-off grants. Be prepared for ongoing mutual learning and adaptation throughout the partnership.

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