The EQ Foundation is a registered charitable institution that receives funding from the EQ Investors Group and other related parties.
Grant making approach
We make a small number of multi-year grants to institutions which meet the following criteria:
- They should be of a size whereby our grant will have a meaningful impact but will not exceed 10% of the annual budget.
- Quality of leadership is paramount and we will also expect a high standard of governance via the board.
- The programmes must be able to demonstrate that they are achieving positive outcomes and that they deliver long lasting benefits.
- We are particularly interested in programmes that improve social mobility and early intervention.
We are also interested in investment opportunities in social enterprises.
Childhood Obesity & Poverty
The obesity crisis is gravely concerning, with one in four adults in the UK now classed as obese. Although this is a problem that is felt across the whole of society, it disproportionately affects the most disadvantaged. For example, the poorest 20% of children are nearly three times more likely to be obese than the richest 20%.
EQ has funded Off the Scales, a report by the Centre for Social Justice to understand the issues and recommend solutions.The report recommends a coherent approach by Government across all relevant policy areas and highlights the impressive results delivered by the Amsterdam Health Weight Programme.
One Donation – Twice the Impact
Big Give has been a pioneer in attracting matched funding to charities. The 2017 Xmas Capaign – the UK’s biggest online match funding campaign – raised over £11 million. The EQ Foundation was delighted to support the following charities:
Improving Social Mobility
The Sutton Trust was founded by Sir Peter Lampl in 1997. It is a foundation which improves social mobility in the UK through evidence-based programmes, research and policy advocacy.
From early years’ through school, college and university to the workplace, Sutton works to combat educational inequality and prevent the subsequent waste of talent. They are concerned with breaking the link between educational opportunities and family background, so that young people are given the chance to fulfil their potential, regardless of their family background, school or where they live.
Helping deprived children
West London Zone is a highly innovative organisation creating a partnership of local organisations all working towards the same goal: that children and young people grow up safe, happy and healthy.
They do this by helping charities, local authorities, schools and children’s centres deliver the best possible support to those children and young people who need it most. Over the next 10 years WLZ aims to have an impact on 13,000 children and young people across three square miles of inner West London, and change the life chances of the children in that zone for good.
The EQ Foundation is supporting a programme at Kensington Aldridge Academy.
Helping young people into work
Spear is a programme operated by Resurgo. It provides pre-employment training for young unemployed people, mainly in London, initially via a six week intensive course.
- The course equips young people with the hard skills they need to find a job, including CV writing and interview training
- It also tackles the attitudinal and behavioural issues that employers cite as major barriers to long-term success in their young recruits
- Each Spear attendee leaves with increased confidence, skills to find work and a City & Guilds Level 1 Qualification in Customer Service.
EQ has been delighted to employ a number of Spear graduates and encourages other employers to do the same.
Sports days for disabled kids
The Panathlon Challenge provides sporting opportunities to over 7,500 disabled young people every year. Since 1999, they have run over 500 ‘mini Paralympic’ multi-sport competitions for secondary or primary school children, along with dedicated football, boccia and swimming programmes. Panathlon has also trained over 3,000 young leaders, aged 14-19, who act as sports officials for Panathlon competitions.
Helping under-privileged high flyers into university
The Access Project provides one on one tutoring via a group of volunteers to help highly able children achieve entry to Russell Group universities. In addition a dedicated member of The Access Project staff is based in school to deliver university support and enrichment activities, which equip students with the skills and information they need to win places at top universities. The results are impressive: more than 63% of Access Project students obtain places at leading universities compared with only 18% on average from the state sector and 48% from independent schools.
The EQ Foundation is funding programmes at Oasis Enfield Academy and Kensington Aldridge Academy.
Education for prisoners and prison staff
The African Prisons Project (APP) was created by Alexander McLean, who comments:
Alexander is an extraordinarily inspirational leader as you can see from one of his TED talks
