Esmée Fairbairn Foundation aims to improve the quality of life for people and communities throughout the UK both now and in the future. They do this by funding the charitable work of organisations with the ideas and ability to achieve positive change.
The Foundation is one of the largest independent grant-makers in the UK. They make grants in the region of £37 million annually towards a wide range of work within the arts, children and young people, the environment and social change. They also make up to £35 million in social investments in organisations that aim to deliver both a financial return and a social benefit.
History
In 1961 Ian Fairbairn, a leading City figure, decided to endow a charitable foundation with the bulk of his holdings in the company he had joined some 30 years before, M&G.
M&G was a pioneer of the unit trust industry in the UK. It grew out of Ian Fairbairn’s determination that investments in equities, previously the preserve of the affluent, should be available to all – giving everyone the potential to own a stake in the nation’s economy.
His purpose in establishing the Foundation was two-fold. In the interests of wider prosperity, he aimed to promote a greater understanding of economic and financial issues through education. He also wanted to establish a memorial to his wife, Esmée, who had played a prominent role in developing the Women’s Royal Voluntary Service and the Citizens Advice Bureau. She was killed in an air raid during the Second World War.
Esmée Fairbairn’s sons, Paul and Oliver Stobart, also contributed generously to the Foundation established in their mother’s memory.
In 1999 the Foundation sold its holding in M&G as part of the company’s takeover by Prudential Corporation PLC. As a result of this sale, the Foundation’s endowment grew significantly in value. So did the size and scope of the grants it was able to make.
Today, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation is one of the largest independent grant-making organisations in the UK.
They recognise the importance of responsible investment, and have made a number of significant steps to support the development and implementation of sustainable, long-term investment policies. They use their grant-making to fund organisations advocating for systemic change, including ShareAction, ClientEarth and Global Justice Now; they are actively investing in new, innovative and alternative social and environmental models, such as community energy and land purchase initiatives, through their social investments ; and they are a signatory to the United Nations' Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI).
The UNPRI Initiative has quickly become the leading global network for investors to publicly demonstrate their commitment to responsible investment, to collaborate and learn with their peers about the financial and investment implications of Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") issues, and to incorporate these factors into their investment decision-making and ownership practices. To date, they have contacted all their managers to better understand how they consider ESG factors when making investments and they have worked with their advisers to make a consideration of ESG factors a standard part of their selection process when appointing managers. They now also monitor and rank their managers on an ongoing basis.
They are currently in the process of reviewing how best to implement these Principles across all of their investment activities. Divestment from fossil fuels remains an option but is not currently a commitment. At present, their managers divest from fossil fuel holdings on a case by case basis if they believe there is a financial reason to do so.
UNPRI brings together an international network of investors who are committed to putting six key principles into action. As signatories they will:
