Shaw Trust Foundation
Driving innovation so everyone can access good work
What we do
Our Foundation exists to increase Shaw Trust’s impact on employment and wellbeing.
We use charitable funding to test new ideas, learn quickly and scale up what works nationally to improve lives and transform how services are delivered. We are funded by contributions from Shaw Trust and donations from the public, businesses and like-minded funders. This year, our Board has committed an annual budget of £2m to the Shaw Trust Foundation. As Shaw Trust grows, so will this funding and our overall impact.
How we create change:
Testing bold ideas to help people into work
We work with Shaw Trust experts and partners to design new ways of supporting people. Funded through philanthropy and donations, these trials generate evidence to improve practice nationally.
Turning evidence into action
We research and share lessons from across Shaw Trust – for example, our report Individual Placement and Support – Impact beyond jobs. This evidence helps us target where the Foundation can make the biggest difference and influence wider policy and practice.
We also lead impact reporting for Shaw Trust. See our latest report here.
Investing in communities
Our grants are community and issue-led. We partner with those most affected to decide where funding goes, ensuring lived experience shapes decisions.
We’re also launching our social investment programme so that we financially back organisations tackling today’s employment challenges.
How we decide what to fund or research
We invest in projects that:
1
Align with our mission – helping more people into good work through faster, fairer, more effective ways of driving change and shaping policy.
2
Respond to real need – reaching people and places too often left out, where our networks and expertise can make the biggest difference.
3
Add value – working with partners to stretch funding, share knowledge and multiply impact.
4
Measure impact – trialling innovative approaches and using data to demonstrate real change.
Our work in action
Why we’re different:
Unlike other foundations, our Innovation and Impact Team works directly with our operations experts who have deep experience providing services to solve the problems we care about. We don’t just fund projects, we use our expertise to innovate and change systems.
- Frontline delivery – As the UK’s largest not-for-profit employment support provider, we know first-hand what works and what doesn’t.
- Lived experience – We co-design solutions with the people we support.
- Evidence-led – We share what we learn, good and bad, to strengthen the whole sector.
- Impact-first – Our not-for-profit model means every pound goes further for people and communities.
Partner with us
Partnerships are at the heart of how we scale, learn and deliver change. To explore opportunities, contact us at foundation@shaw-trust.org.uk.
National and local government
We work with commissioners through innovation funding, social value models and strategic partnerships.
Businesses
We work with employers to support more young people into work and training through volunteering, donations and creating new opportunities.
Philanthropic organisations and social investors
We welcome like-minded funders to grow impact, especially for young people, care leavers and disabled people.
Learning and research partners
We collaborate with think tanks and researchers to shape employment support, improve wellbeing and evaluate impact.
Looking for funding?
Our grants are community-based. We’re currently working in Northampton and Somerset with local commissioners and will update this page as new schemes open.
