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About us

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Founded in 1961, Esmée Â鶹´«Ã½ is one of the UK’s largest independent funders.

In 2023, we provided £58.4m in funding towards a wide range of work in support of our three main aims: to improve Our Natural World, secure A Fairer Â鶹´«Ã½ and nurture Creative, Confident Communities. This includes additional funding to organisations we fund in response to the rising cost of living. We also have a £60m allocation to social investments and a £10m allocation to impact investments. Our funds are generated by our investment portfolio.

Learn more about our strategy

Celebrating 60 years of Esmée

In 2021, Esmée Â鶹´«Ã½ turned 60. We wanted to take some time to reflect over the last 60 years, and to celebrate the breadth of our work and all that we have achieved working with so many brilliant people and partners.

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Meet our people

Who's who at Esmée Â鶹´«Ã½. Meet our staff and trustees.

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Our values

Our organisational values will act as a guide for staff and Trustees about how we work at Esmée. Our organisational values will act as a guide for staff and Trustees about how we work at Esmée.

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    Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

    Our commitments on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as an organisation and through our work.

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    Climate Change

    Read about our commitment to addressing the causes and impacts of climate change.

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    Our funding data

    We publish all our grants and social investments on 360Giving, an initiative that aims to help UK funders share their data in an open and standard format online.

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    Our investments

    Our investments ensure that we can keep working to improve our natural world, secure a fairer future and strengthen the bonds in communities in the UK for decades to come.

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    Strategy

    Information about our strategic plan including our impact goals and the outcomes we hope to achieve by 2030. We also outline how we will work in support of our mission.

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    Governance

    Esmée is governed by a Board of Trustees who meet six times each year to set and oversee the delivery of the Foundation’s strategy. We also have a number of Trustee committees, which support our work throughout the year.

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    Open and trusting grant-making

    Learn about our commitments to open and trusting grant-making, which is part of a campaign launched by the Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR).

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    Working for Esmée

    Our vision is for Esmée to have a diverse team of staff and Trustees – with the skills, knowledge, experience, networks and insights required to deliver our strategic plan.

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    HR policies

    Information on HR policies for people working at Esmée. As well as providing guidance on employment issues including the range of benefits available to staff, they ensure that we adhere to the law with consistency and consideration.

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  • Community organisers

    Pre-application Q&A Webinar: 3 February 2025

    Watch a pre-application Q&A webinar we held on 3 February 2025 for organisations interested in applying to Esmée for support who have questions about our application process or guidance.

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  • Commuity mointoring Credit Seawilding

    Supporting marine restoration and communities to take action

    In a second blog about our work for healthy seas, Esmée’s Funding Manager, Morven Robertson, highlights some of the projects we’re supporting through our space for nature priority – from large scale marine and coastal restoration and attracting the finance needed for it, to coastal communities taking action, and improving the diversity of the marine sector.

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  • Seagrass seed collection

    Fishing in Tandem with Nature: Our work so far

    Esmée’s Funding Manager, Morven Robertson, shares the first of two blogs exploring our work and plans to support healthy seas. She highlights some of the projects we’ve supported towards our fishing in tandem with nature priority, from reducing overfishing to protecting marine habitats, and supporting more equitable fisheries.

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