The Leathersellers' Foundation

Charity Number: 278072

Annual Expenditure: £3.2M

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: £3,196,000 (2023)
  • Success Rate: 3-13% (varies by programme)
  • Decision Time: 8 weeks (Small Grants); 6-9 months (Main Grants)
  • Grant Range: £250 - £25,000 per annum
  • Geographic Focus: UK-wide (all four nations)

Contact Details

Address: 7 St Helen's Place, London EC3A 6AB

Website: www.leathersellers.co.uk / www.leathersellers.org

Email: clerk@leathersellers.co.uk / charityapp@leathersellers.org

Phone: 020 7330 1444

Key Personnel:

  • Natalia Rymaszewska, Head of Grants
  • Stacey Lamb, Head of Charity Grants
  • Lynne Smith, Grants Manager

Overview

The Leathersellers' Foundation (Charity No. 278072), established in 1979, is a grant-making trust that enables individuals and communities, fosters opportunity, and supports the UK leather trade. Operating from its historic London base, the Foundation awarded £3.2 million in grants during 2023 across its three core areas: charity, education, and leather. The trustees maintain a consistent payout rate of around 5% of their investment assets annually. The Foundation has achieved notable recognition as a 360Giving publisher, IVAR Flexible Funder, and Living Wage Employer. Their flagship programme focuses on preventing and tackling Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), with a particular interest in supporting under-represented communities and creative, nature-based, and sports-based interventions.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Small Grants Programme (Rolling)

  • Amount: Up to £5,000
  • One-off grants for small charities
  • Eight application windows per year (40 applications per window)
  • For charities with annual expenditure under £200,000
  • Success rate: 12-13%
  • Decision time: Within 8 weeks
  • Application method: Online form (opens on specified dates)

ACEs Main Charity Grants Programme (Annual)

  • Amount: £20,000-£25,000 per annum
  • Duration: Up to four years (unrestricted core funding)
  • For charities with income between £200,000-£2 million
  • Success rate: 3% (498 expressions of interest → 17 grants in 2024-25)
  • Two-stage process: Expression of Interest, then invitation to full application
  • Application method: Annual round with fixed deadlines

Student Grants Programme

  • Amount: Up to £5,000 per annum (average £4,100)
  • Duration: Up to four years
  • For care-experienced students or students from Leathersellers' Federation of Schools/Colfe's School
  • Success rate: 26%
  • Application method: Rolling basis

Leather Trade Support

  • Support for leather education institutions in the UK
  • Grants for conservation skills and leather crafts (accessories, saddlery, furniture, bookbinding, sculpture, shoe-making)

City of London Grants

  • Support for cultural, educational, and charitable organisations in the City of London

Priority Areas

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) - Main Strategic Focus

The Foundation prioritises preventing and mitigating ACEs, including:

  • Physical, sexual, and emotional abuse
  • Neglect (physical and emotional)
  • Domestic abuse
  • Substance misuse by family members
  • Mental illness in family
  • Parental imprisonment
  • Parental separation

Preferred Intervention Approaches:

  • Creative arts programmes
  • Nature-based interventions
  • Sports-based activities
  • Trauma-informed approaches
  • Evidence-based interventions
  • Service user voices informing design and delivery

Geographic Priority: Particular interest in applications from Northern Ireland

Service Areas: Child sexual exploitation, county lines, gangs, homelessness, substance misuse, human trafficking

Small Grants Focus: Vulnerable community members in local communities across the UK

What They Don't Fund

Small Grants Programme Exclusions:

  • Community Interest Companies (CICs) - only registered charities and CIOs eligible
  • Capital projects
  • Hospices
  • Medical research
  • Services that charge participants
  • Organisations with more than 6 months' unrestricted reserves (unless specific financial need demonstrated)

Main Grants Programme Exclusions:

  • Organisations without ACEs as their core focus
  • Insufficient evidence of high ACEs prevalence across service users
  • Inadequate safeguarding policies
  • Organisations with income under £200,000 or over £2 million

Education Exclusions:

  • One-year professional conversion courses
  • Postgraduate studies (under undergraduate programme)
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Governance and Leadership

Trustees:

  • The Leathersellers' Company (acting through its Court of Assistants)
  • Matthew Lawrence, Chief Executive and Clerk to the Company
  • Martin Dove, Master

Grants Team:

  • Natalia Rymaszewska, Head of Grants
  • Stacey Lamb, Head of Charity Grants
  • Lynne Smith, Grants Manager
  • Sophie Bowen, Grants Operations and Data Officer

The Foundation operates under a Declaration of Trust dated 7 February 1979 (amended 22 June 2022). Grants are awarded by trustees on recommendation of Charity, Education, and Leather Trade Committees. The Foundation emphasises five core principles: transparency, efficiency, approachability, accountability, and collaboration.

Key Philosophy: The Foundation states: “If your requested sum is larger than the Committee consider appropriate, they may grant a smaller amount. Your funding request is not an all or nothing consideration and we encourage applicants to ask for what they need. A smaller request does not increase chances of success.”

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

Small Grants Programme:

  1. Check eligibility criteria carefully
  2. Prepare application using offline Word version
  3. Submit online when application window opens (10am on specified dates)
  4. Window closes when 40 applications received
  5. Must have comprehensive, publicly available Safeguarding Policy
  6. Must have publicly accessible website

Main Charity Grants Programme:

  1. Expression of Interest (March-April)
  2. Shortlisted organisations invited to full application (June)
  3. Full application submission (July)
  4. Charity visits (October-February)
  5. Decisions communicated

Student Grants:

  1. Submit online application
  2. If awarded, complete acceptance form and provide bank details
  3. Provide proof of enrolment
  4. First payment processed around September
  5. Annual review required

Decision Timeline

Small Grants: Within 8 weeks of submission; grant payment 3-4 weeks after acceptance form completion

Main Grants: 6-9 months from Expression of Interest to decision; charity visits conducted October-February

Student Grants: First payment around September after proof of enrolment received

Success Rates

Small Grants Programme (2024-25): 13% (45 funded from 448 applications)

Main Charity Grants Programme (2024-25):

  • 10% invited from Expression of Interest to full application (50 from 498)
  • 3% overall success rate (17 grants awarded from 498 expressions of interest)

Student Grants (2024-25): 26% (21 funded from 81 applications)

Reapplication Policy

Small Grants: Must wait 12 months from decision date if declined; 12 months from payment date if previously successful

Main Grants: If declined, welcome to reapply in next annual round. If previously awarded a grant, must wait a period equal to the length of that grant (e.g., four-year grant = four-year wait)

Feedback: The Foundation has a small team and cannot provide feedback on unsuccessful applications, except for Main Grants applicants invited to full application stage.

Application Success Factors

Direct Advice from the Foundation

For All Applicants:

  • “All funders need a full understanding of your financial situation and most assessments are made on trust. Please answer all the questions honestly, explain where needed and never leave requested information unanswered.”
  • Ask someone to proofread your application to resolve typos and misunderstandings - “A fresh pair of eyes can make all the difference”
  • Double check figures as “typos are common and confusing”
  • Prepare answers offline using the Word version before submitting online

For Small Grants:

On reading your application, the Committee should understand:

  • What need you are aiming to address in your local community
  • What difference you make in people's lives and how you do it
  • How you know you are making a difference (evidenced outcomes)

Required Evidence:

  • Deliver activities to meet an identified need for vulnerable community members
  • Provide evidence of effective impact/difference made (e.g., testimonials from feedback and questionnaires)
  • Demonstrate financial need
  • Have comprehensive safeguarding policies publicly available

For Main Grants:

Common reasons for unsuccessful Expression of Interest:

  • ACEs not as core focus of the organisation
  • Cannot evidence high prevalence of ACEs across service users
  • Insufficient safeguarding policies

Language and Terminology: Use ACEs terminology, demonstrate trauma-informed approach, emphasise evidence-based interventions, highlight how service user voices inform programme design

Recent Funded Projects

The Foundation supports charities working across:

  • Child sexual exploitation prevention
  • County lines intervention
  • Gang prevention programmes
  • Homelessness services
  • Substance misuse support
  • Human trafficking support
  • Leathersellers' Federation of Schools (unrestricted funding helping pupils learn, thrive, and achieve)

Standing Out

  1. Be specific about ACEs: Clearly articulate which ACEs your service users experience and provide evidence of prevalence
  2. Demonstrate trauma-informed practice: Show how your approach recognises and responds to trauma
  3. Evidence-based interventions: Reference research or evaluation supporting your approach
  4. Service user voice: Demonstrate how beneficiaries inform programme design and delivery
  5. Creative approaches: The Foundation particularly values creative arts, nature-based, and sports-based interventions
  6. Geographic diversity: Northern Ireland applications especially encouraged
  7. Ask for what you need: Don't reduce your request thinking it will increase chances - the Committee may fund partial amounts
  8. Financial transparency: Be completely honest about your financial position and needs

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  1. Understand the odds: Main Grants Programme is highly competitive (3% success rate); Small Grants slightly better (12-13%). Apply strategically and don't be discouraged.
  1. ACEs must be core: For Main Grants, ACEs cannot be peripheral - they must be central to your organisation's mission and evidenced across your service user population.
  1. Safeguarding is non-negotiable: Comprehensive, publicly available safeguarding policies are essential. Applications without them will not progress.
  1. Honesty and clarity win: The Foundation values transparent, honest applications. Proofread carefully and have others review before submission.
  1. Small team means limited feedback: Don't expect detailed feedback on unsuccessful applications. Use published criteria to self-assess before applying.
  1. Timing is critical for Small Grants: Applications close when 40 are received - be ready to submit when the window opens at 10am.
  1. Multi-year unrestricted funding is rare: Main Grants offering 4 years of unrestricted core funding is exceptional - this is worth the competitive process for eligible organisations.
  1. They support the whole organisation: The Foundation offers alumni networks, mentoring, and an Added Value Programme - building relationships extends beyond the grant.

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