About us
Founded in 1977...
The Clothworkers’ Foundation has awarded capital grants in excess of £185 million since it was founded as the primary vehicle of charitable giving for The Clothworkers’ Company (opens in a new tab). Following its initial endowment gift, The Company has continued to provide funds to The Foundation, allowing our giving to grow over the decades.
The Clothworkers' Company is one of the Great XII Livery Companies in the City of London. Civic responsibility and charity is part of its 500-year-old history, and one of its original purposes was to provide charitable support to members in need. In the 1500s, The Company paid pensions to members in financial difficulty and, by 1540, it managed alms houses in the City of London and Islington.
Through bequests and gifts from members, The Company expanded its charitable activities, including bursaries and grants to support education and skills development, and establishing trusts focused on improving the lives of blind and visually impaired people. As The Company’s wealth increased, so did its charitable giving, but it was not until 1977 that The Company created The Clothworkers’ Foundation to more effectively direct the majority of its philanthropic activities.
Current strategy
Our mission is to support charities and social businesses that work with marginalised and disadvantaged people and communities, and those working towards a more equitable society.
Our vision is of an equitable society where all can participate and thrive.
Our strategy explains how we are using our grantmaking and social investment to meet our mission and achieve our vision. We review our strategy every five years.
Living our values
Our strategy aims to make our values apparent in everything we do. This includes expanding our reach and accessibility to all communities, particularly those that are more likely to be disadvantaged in securing funding.
Equitable
We work to promote equity in our grantmaking and organisation, and
to identify and manage bias. We strive to increase participation and representation at all levels of our organisation to advance better decision-making.
Adaptive
We strive to be responsive to the needs of our grantees and to listen to them as experts. We learn from them, from our peers and from our own experience, to drive improvements in our work. We adapt to external change when necessary.
Enabling
We strive to provide funding and support that enables our grantees to be more impactful and sustainable, and which minimises burdens on them. We aim to empower our own team through flexible and trust-based ways of working.
Collaborative
We seek to work with other funders, research organisations, and networks. We do this to serve grantees more effectively, to learn, and to share our learning with others to maximise our joint impact.
Goals for strategy
In addition, we are aiming to achieve the following with our current five-year strategy:
Improve and share our knowledge of how core and capital funding supports organisations, and demonstrate the impact our funding has had.
Make collaborative working the norm – improving our funding partnerships and active participation in networks, but also nurturing more equal and generative relationships with grantees.
Work more transparently, including through sharing our funding data, explaining our decision-making, and publishing what we learn.
Develop our approach to managing our resources in a way that secures our grantmaking future and aligns with our mission.
Trustees
The Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees. At least two thirds of the Board must be members of The Clothworkers’ Company. 50% of these must be drawn from The Company’s governing body (The ‘Court’). At least two Trustees must be recruited from beyond The Company’s membership.
Susanna is a property solicitor having worked at both Allen & Overy (where she trained) and Farrer & Co...
Susanna O'Leary
Susanna is a property solicitor having worked at both Allen & Overy (where she trained) and Farrer & Co. She is a member of The Clothworkers’ Company Court of Assistants and became a trustee of The Foundation in 2018, now serving as Chair. She is currently Chair of the Small Grants Committee and also sits on the Proactive Grants Committee. She has a particular interest in the Care Leavers and Better Futures Proactive Initiatives and is excited by what these have managed to achieve. Susanna is very keen to make sure that smaller grass-roots charities are able to access grants from The Foundation. She is also a volunteer with Coram Beanstalk, which encourages young children at primary school to read.
Committees
- Finance, Investments & General Purposes
- Budget
- Risk & Audit
- Nominations
- Proactive Programmes
- Grants
Ola is an accomplished senior manager with more than 21 years’ experience within the charity sector...
Ola Opoosun
Ola is an accomplished senior manager with more than 21 years’ experience within the charity sector, specialising in managing programmes, service delivery, grant management, and partnership service development. She is the interim Project/Grant Lead for The London Community Foundation. Ola was formerly the Head of Services and Grants at the Bank Workers Charity and spent more than a decade at the Terrence Higgins Trust, first as a casework supervisor, then Head of Advice Services and finally Head of the Hardship Fund. She was previously a trustee for Hackney CVS.
Committees
- Proactive Programmes
- Nominations
After a degree in Economics in the early 1980s, Denis spent most of his working career as a fund manager investing in Japanese equities...
Denis Clough
After a degree in Economics in the early 1980s, Denis spent most of his working career as a fund manager investing in Japanese equities, and most of that time working at Schroders (which included a few years in Tokyo). He is passionate about wine; as a result, after leaving Schroders, he spent a couple of years working in a small local wine business based in Suffolk. This was very enjoyable and improved his wine knowledge significantly, but was not a great business success. In 2010, he moved back to working as a Japanese equity fund manager at a small firm called Morant Wright. Denis is married with three grown children – and now has time to indulge his enthusiasm for sports. His wife might call him obsessed with tennis. He is also involved with local societies and charities in Hertfordshire where he lives, including a church restoration fund and, of course, the local tennis club.
Committees
- Finance, Investments & General Purposes
- Risk & Audit
Tom started his career in the military, joining 1st Battalion Scots Guards in Hong Kong; he also served in London District. He founded...
Tom Ingham Clark
Tom started his career in the military, joining 1st Battalion Scots Guards in Hong Kong; he also served in London District. He founded a small business, running it for two years, and then moved into wealth management, latterly working at Coutts & Co and EFG Private Bank until 2021, when he left to follow other interests.
In addition to serving as a trustee for The Clothworkers' Foundation, Tom is a former Master of The Clothworkers' Company, and is the Chair of The Company's Superintendence Committee. Additionally, he is the Finance Trustee for Food4Heroes, the Finance and Governance Trustee for The Vavengers, and an advisor to Mission Motorsport.
Committees:
- Finance, Investments & General Purposes
- Nominations
- Regular Grants
Peter has been involved in equities sales and trading, specialising in North American stocks, for more than 25 years...
Peter Jonas
Peter has been involved in equities sales and trading, specialising in North American stocks, for more than 25 years and working for companies in both London and New York. He has been with William Blair and Co since 2014. In 2017, Peter became a trustee at Hands On London (responsible for the annual Wrap Up London campaign) and Chair of the Board since January 2020. He serves, as Chair, on the Finance and Investment Committee, Risk and Audit and Budget Sub-Committees (among others) for both The Clothworkers' Company and The Clothworkers' Foundation.
He lives in London with his wife Tanya, and two children. Outside of other commitments, he enjoys theatre, golf, cooking, and music of most genres, especially the re-emergence of some of the bands he listened to in his youth.
Committees
- Finance, Investments & General Purposes
- Budget
- Risk & Audit
- Social Investment
Meredith is an experienced charity leader who is passionate about strengthening civil society organisations...
Meredith Niles
Meredith is an experienced charity leader who is passionate about strengthening civil society organisations. Professionally, she has served as an Executive Director in the investment banking division at Goldman Sachs, as an Investment Director at Impetus Trust, and as Executive Director of Fundraising and Engagement at Marie Curie. In addition to her service to The Clothworkers’ Foundation, Meredith gives her time as Deputy Chair of Plan International and as a Trustee of Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) and the Trust for London.
Committees
Grants
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Neel has 15 years’ experience in the Finance industry having worked at the leading investment banks, RBS, Nomura, MUFG and...
Neel Patani
Neel studied at Berkhamsted School, followed by the University of Exeter, where he obtained both a BA in Economics and an MSc in Finance & Investment.
Neel has 15 years’ experience in the Finance industry having worked at the leading investment banks, RBS, Nomura, MUFG and Barclays. He has been involved with various charitable, academic and diversity initiatives in leadership and fundraising roles.
Neel enjoys playing squash, exploring Hertfordshire on his bicycle and taking his son to swimming lessons.
Committees
- Finance, Investments & General Purposes
- Budget
- Grants
Dhruv is a Livery Member of The Clothworkers' Company. He is a businessman with interests in Property, Retail Pharmacy...
Dhruv Patel
Dhruv is a Livery Member of The Clothworkers' Company. He is a businessman with interests in Property, Retail Pharmacy and Insurance. Other roles he has held within the Charity Sector include: Trustee of The Lord Mayor's 800th Anniversary Awards Trust (2015-2019), Council Member of The Heart of the City (2019-2021), Chairman of the City Bridge Trust (2019-2021) and Deputy Chairman of Bridge House Estates (2021). Dhruv was awarded an OBE for voluntary service to the British Hindu community and to Social Cohesion in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2018. He became President of the United Wards Club of the City of London in March 2024.
Committees
- Social Investment
Amir currently works at Macmillan on its pilot fund to invest into health-tech start-ups around cancer care and is advising Daring Capital...
Amir Rizwan
Amir currently works at Macmillan on its pilot fund to invest into health-tech start-ups around cancer care and is advising Daring Capital which has been setup to connect investors to social ventures that are unable to take on investment capital from traditional commercial sources.
He is Big Society Capital's Investor Relations Director, leading on relationships with trusts and foundations, supporting them in their work around mission-led investments as well as how impact can play a role within their endowment investments. He also leads the organisation's work around partnerships and innovation, focusing on the development of early-stage impact funds to tackle UK social issues.
Amir has been working in the social investment sector for nine years and recently was at Big Society Capital as an Investor Relations Director, leading on relationships with trusts and foundations, supporting them in their work around mission-led investments as well as how impact can play a role within their endowment investments. Prior to this he led on Comic Relief’s social investment strategy. Prior to that, he managed a community housing investment fund for CAF Venturesome, as well as a portfolio of social investments for a range of social purpose organisations. Through his role at Big Society Capital, Amir is a member of the Social Impact Investing Group (SIIG). He also sits on the Impact Advisory Board for the Growth Impact Fund. Prior to joining the social investment sector, Amir worked in the financial services sector in a variety of roles for BNP Paribas and Royal Bank of Scotland. Amir is currently the co-chair of the Diversity Forum (set up to improve diversity, equality and inclusion within the social investment sector) and a Governor at the Cripplegate Foundation in Islington.
Committees
- Finance, Investments & General Purposes
- Social Investment
After a degree in History. Hugo initially qualified as a Chartered Accountant, before moving into...
Hugo Robinson
After a degree in History. Hugo initially qualified as a Chartered Accountant, before moving into investment banking and, since 2017, private equity. He is also a member of The Clothworkers’ Company Court of Assistants. As well as being a trustee of The Clothworkers’ Foundation, he is also a trustee of another grant giving charity supporting education and of a charity providing surgical training.
Committees
- Finance, Investments & General Purposes
- Social Investments
- Clothworker Members' Fund
Niki has a has more than 20 year’s experience working internationally in financial services and luxury retail sectors...
Niki Scordi
Niki has a has more than 20 year’s experience working internationally in financial services and luxury retail sectors, as finance and operations director and chief executive. She has also worked with women’s charities nationally for more than 20 years. She is currently the chair of a mental health charity for survivors of domestic abuse and was recently the chief executive of a specialist national women’s charity.
Niki has championed partnership working and intersectional approaches to tackle systemic inequalities and influence system changes for social impact. She has led the development of innovative community-based services for women and young people. She has also published practice-based reports to influence policy and service design, on women and girls affected by abuse and trauma.
Committees
- Grants
- Regular Grants
Hugo has worked in international aid since 1983, moving between operational agencies and universities...
Hugo Slim
Hugo has worked in international aid since 1983, moving between operational agencies and universities with a particular focus on the ethics of war and humanitarian aid. Hugo has worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, the United Nations and Save the Children, and been a trustee of Oxfam GB and the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD). As an academic, he has held teaching and research positions at the University of Oxford, Oxford Brookes University, Tsinghua University, the University of Oregon and Geneva University. He is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Las Casas Institute for Social Justice at Blackfriars Hall at the University of Oxford, where is researching climate emergencies.
Committees
- Regular Grants
- Proactive Programmes
Tom became a Qualified Chartered Surveyor in 2003. He worked for Cluttons, GVA Saxon Law and Hanover Private Office...
Tom Stoddart-Scott
Tom became a Qualified Chartered Surveyor in 2003. He worked for Cluttons, GVA Saxon Law and Hanover Private Office specialising in UK and Central London commercial property investment and development. In 2012, he became the property director for Armila Capital and London Resort Company Holdings for Middle Eastern shareholders. Since 2013, Tom has served as a trustee of the Harrow Club, a charity that operates six youth clubs in West London and delivers youth work and other specialist interventions to 500 young people each week. Tom holds a BSc in Land Management from Reading University.
Committees
- Grants
- Regular Grants
Grants team
Foundation staff are employed by Ramteazle Limited and, together with staff of The Clothworkers' Company, are engaged under a service agreement. Several members of The Clothworkers’ Company (opens in a new tab) staff team provide support across both organisations, working together with the grants team to support the mission of The Clothworkers' Foundation. We are proud to be an accredited Living Wage Employer (opens in a new tab).
Jenny was previously with the Dartington Service Design Lab, where she was Deputy CEO...
Jenny North
Jenny joined The Clothworkers’ Foundation from Dartington Service Design Lab, where she was Deputy CEO. She has also worked at the venture philanthropist Impetus, as well as Relate, the Maternity Alliance, and the Home Office.
Jenny is a Non-Executive Director at Youth Futures Foundation and the Social Investment Business. In 2024, she was elected Chair of London Funders. She lives in Streatham, and has two sons.
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Hamesh is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants...
Hamesh Patel
Hamesh is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and trained with a medium-sized accountancy practice based in the City, with a significant number of clients in the not-for-profit sector. Having qualified as a Chartered Accountant, he worked for UK-listed property companies for 13 years, the last 10 of which were as Group Financial Controller. His responsibilities covered all areas of the finance function and also included some overseas operations.
Hamesh lives in Bickley, Kent, with his wife and two young children, daughter Amalia and son Ishan. In his spare time, he enjoys watching football and cricket and tries to spend some time in the gym.
Jack joined The Clothworkers' Foundation in November 2020 and now manages the Open Grants Programme...
Jack Abbotts
Jack joined The Foundation in November 2020 and now manages the Open Grants Programme, as well as leading on outreach work.The key responsibilities of his role include developing the grant makingstrategy, assessing grant applications and delivering outreach sessions. In his spare time, Jack enjoys playing football, running and going to the gym.
Letizia joined The Clothworkers' Foundation in September 2022 as a Grants Officer...
Letizia Gambacorta
Letizia joined The Clothworkers' Foundation in September 2022 as a Grants Officer. From 2018-2022, she held similar roles at Campden Charities and then in the Community Development Team of a London Local Authority. Her commitment and passion for the charity sector grew whilst doing her master’s degree in education at the University of Perugia, when she set up a new service in partnership with the local council to support vulnerable people into employment, as well as volunteering with people in rehab and living with HIV.
Seeking a new challenge, Letizia went back to study at the University La Sapienza in Rome, for a master’s in International Cooperation and Development, and worked for an NGO as a Project Manager supporting female-led projects.
Letizia moved to the UK in 2010 and developed a career in the employability sector, working as an employment adviser and job coach for people with learning disabilities, and as a Project Manager for the European Social Fund project, Working for Carers.
Letizia is qualified in Information Advice and Guidance and as a BASE Supported Employment Practitioner.
She is part of a Refugee Sponsorship Group in her local community and loves visiting museums, art galleries and flea markets.
Cate has been at The Clothworkers' Foundation since 2020, and has a passion for population health...
Cate Godack
Cate graduated with a BA in Psychology and is originally from Baltimore, Maryland, USA. She moved to the UK in 2016 with her husband and has worked in the charity sector since. Cate has been at The Clothworkers’ Foundation since 2020 and has a passion for population health and community. In her spare time, she likes exploring the UK countryside with her dog.
Nelly joined The Clothworkers’ Foundation in 2020. Initially involved with the Covid Emergency Response Programme...
Nelly Koko-Konan
Nelly joined The Clothworkers’ Foundation in 2020. Initially involved with The Foundation’s Covid Emergency Response Programme, Nelly managed the Large Grants Programme until the end of 2022.
Currently, Nelly's role focuses on the Clothworker Members’ Fund, the Regular Grants Programme and the Equity Programmes. Alongside her work at The Clothworkers’ Foundation, Nelly co-chairs the Funders for Race Equality Alliance Steering Group.
Nelly’s career is eclectic; she once was a teacher and, for many years, a shop manager both in London and New York. Nelly made her debut in grantmaking in the US nearly a decade ago, partnering with homelessness-related projects based in New York, Boston, Chicago and Washington.
Nelly has lived, studied and worked in France: She holds an MA in French Modern Literature. An avid reader and learner, Nelly also studied in the UK and holds diplomas in Social Care & Mental Health as well as Sports Psychology. In 2022, she obtained an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: DEI Strategies for Business Impact certificate with Cambridge Judge Business School.
After 10 years working for an international charity supporting homeless organisations, Giovanna joined...
Giovanna Pasini
After 10 years working for an international charity supporting homeless organisations, Giovanna joined The Clothworkers’ Foundation in March 2023; she is now the Grants Team Coordinator.
While providing administrative support towards grantmaking and governance, she is also the first point of contact for The Foundation correspondence and enquiries.
Outside of work, she enjoys running and reading historical mystery novels. Never missing from her routine is drinking strong coffee in the trendiest coffee houses. Giovanna lives in North London with her partner, Mekki, and their cat, Eddie.
Rosy joined The Clothworkers’ Foundation in April 2023 as the team’s Learning and Development Manager...
Rosy Phillips
Rosy joined The Clothworkers’ Foundation in April 2023 as the team’s Learning and Development Manager, leading on its monitoring, learning, and improvement activities. She joined The Foundation from The Mercers’ Company, where for five years, she was the Philanthropy Team’s Operations and Evaluation Manager. Prior to joining the grantmaking world, Rosy held fundraising posts at the V&A, the BFI and Kew Gardens for more than 15 years.
Outside of work, Rosy enjoys long walks on Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park with her family and dog, as well as yoga, a spot of paddleboarding on the Thames and is attempting to learn to play the piano (again)!
Laura joined The Foundation in 2013 as Grants Assistant, her first role in grantmaking following three years...
Laura Street
Laura joined The Foundation in 2013 as Grants Assistant, her first role in grantmaking following three years working for Prospectus, the charity recruitment agency.
She became a Grants Officer in 2015, managing the Small Grants Programme until she went on sabbatical to Italy in 2018, where she taught English for 16 months. Upon her return, she took over management of the Main Grants Programme until October 2020.
Laura is now Head of The Foundation’s Open Grants Programme, overseeing the delivery of both the Large and Small Grants.
Ayesha leads The Foundation’s extremely busy Small Grants Programme with support from Grants Officer Cate...
Ayesha Tariq
Ayesha hops between West and North London, don’t ask which she prefers! She leads The Foundation’s extremely busy Small Grants Programme with support from Grants Officer Cate.
Ayesha set up a second-tier charity called All Ways Network (AWN) in 2017, supporting grassroots charities working with the Muslim communities to become more institutionally fundable. AWN has grown since its inception, with five volunteers from the grantmaking and charity sector, and three part-time staff members.
Ayesha was recently appointed on the Board of NCVO, championing and supporting the charity sector and volunteering nationally. In her spare time, she enjoys a chillout session wherever that may be and getting stuck into a challenging jigsaw puzzle!
Diversity at The Clothworkers' Foundation
As a grantmaker, we want to know whether we reflect the communities we serve, and to know which experiences and perspectives are represented in our decision-making. The figures below are a profile of our Trustees and Staff.
| Age | Trustees | Staff |
| 25 and under | 0% | 0% |
| 26-34 | 0% | 20% |
| 35-44 | 25% | 40% |
| 45-54 | 33% | 30% |
| 55-64 | 42% | 10% |
| 65 and over | 0% | 0% |
| Gender | Trustees | Staff |
| Female | 33% | 80% |
| Male | 67% | 20% |
| Ethnicity | Trustees | Staff |
| Asian or Asian British | 17% | 20% |
| Black, Black British, African or Caribbean | 8% | 0% |
| Mixed or multiple ethnic groups | 0% | 10% |
| White | 67% | 70% |
| Another ethnic group | 8% | 0% |
| Disability | Trustees | Staff |
| Consider yourself to have a disability | 17% | 0% |
| Do not have a disability | 83% | 100% |
| Gender | Trustees | Staff |
| Gay/Lesbian | 8% | 0% |
| Heterosexual/Straight | 92% | 100% |
| Other | 0% | 0% |
| Were you born in the UK | Trustees | Staff |
| Yes | 75% | 60% |
| No | 25% | 40% |
| Occupation of main household earner when age 14 | Trustees | Staff |
| Clerical | 0% | 10% |
| Long-term unemployed | 8% | 0% |
| Professional | 50% | 50% |
| Manual/service | 0% | 10% |
| Manager/administrator | 25% | 10% |
| Small business owner | 17% | 20% |
| School attended between ages 11-16 | Trustees | Staff |
| Fee-paying school | 67% | 20% |
| Fee-paying school (with bursary*) | 8% | 0% |
| State-run or state-funded school | 17% | 50% |
| School outside the UK | 8% | 30% |
| *Needs-based, covering 90% of costs |
| Eligible for free school meals | Trustees | Staff |
| Yes | 8% | 0% |
| No | 58% | 60% |
| Not applicable | 25% | 30% |
| I don't know | 8% | 10% |
A closer look at our grantmaking
Explore Our Annual Reviews and grant history with 360 Giving.
Finances (2024)
Our income for grantmaking and social investment is provided by our endowments, which are invested in stocks, property, and private equity. We aim to preserve the real value of the endowment over time. At the same time, we aim to give away in grants 3% of the trailing market value, over 12 quarters, of our listed and unlisted portfolio.
We also receive donations from The Clothworkers’ Company, which are either directed to our endowments or made available for grantmaking. Our investment managers are currently BlackRock, and our investment advisors are Cambridge Associates.
Our income and expenditure for last year can be seen below, and further financial information can be found in our Annual Review; our full accounts are submitted to the Charity Commission each year.
Donations & Gifts (principally from The Clothworkers' Company) ≈ £2.64 million (20%)
Investments & Rental Income ≈ £10.41 million (80%)
Grants (excluding recommitted funds) ≈ £10.65 million (85%)
Costs of Generating Income ≈ £0.28 million (2%)
Charitable Support Costs ≈ £1.68 million (13%)