Welcome
Welcome to our Impact Report, reflecting on the difference we have made together during 2025.
The Foundation continued to experience high demand from charities, many of whom faced significant challenges in raising funds and meeting the increased need for their services. We are proud to have been able to respond by providing £5.87 million in funding to 760 organisations, helping them to continue delivering vital services to communities across the UK and beyond.
Our impact in 2025 was driven by six core levers – the distinctive ways we create change – from building trusted, long-term partnerships that strengthen charities’ capacity, to harnessing the passion and commitment of the SJP community alongside the core support and matched funds provided by St. James’s Place PLC.
The SJP community remain deeply committed to giving back through the Foundation not only through fundraising and donations, but also by referring charities for funding and volunteering. Our wonderful SJP community brought energy, skills, and heart to everything they did during the year.
Independent evaluation showed that 84% of people directly supported through our central grants experienced significant improvement or transformation in their lives – a testament to the power of collective action.
Thanks to the generosity of the SJP community and the unwavering commitment of St. James’s Place PLC, we continue to work alongside incredible charities to create positive, lasting change. Together, we look forward to building on this impact in the years ahead.
Andrew Humphries, Chair of Trustees
Lisa Cousins, Head of Foundation
Our year in numbers
Our six core levers of impact
We continue to deliver our programmes through six core levers of change which feed into learning and enable us to amplify our impact.
One of our key goals is to provide flexible funding that enables organisations to have the space to innovate and strengthen as they grow and scale their services.
“This security of funding has given the project space to innovate, including trialling a female leadership intervention and piloting work focused on preventing violence against women and girls.”
Saints Foundation
Delivering impact
Long-term trusted partnerships
The Foundation has a history of providing long-term support to smaller charities, and identifying ‘emerging stars’ who, with additional capacity strengthening, are supported to reach their full potential and deliver significant impact.
We know that flexible, multi-term funding and supportive relationships are critical to smaller charities, particularly when approx. 85% of funding available in the UK reaches only 4% of charities.
“SJP Foundation's support has allowed us to expand our staff resource offering more help to more people. This growth has created momentum and confidence to be more ambitious. In November 2025 we have opened a training cafe for our in-house catering scheme, something we have always put in the ‘aspirational’ bucket of our planning.”
PiP,Pursuing Independent Paths
Our charity partners consistently tell us they value our distinctive approach to support. Unlike many large funders, we are recognised for our flexibility and willingness to fund what truly matters – including essential but often overlooked needs such as core costs, salaries, and operational expenses. This freedom enables charities to focus on delivering their mission without unnecessary constraints. Independent evaluation has provided strong evidence that our funding not only meets immediate needs but also builds long-term sector resilience, helping organisations strengthen their capacity and remain steady through fluctuations in funding and demand. The approach we take has been part of our DNA for decades.
Improving people’s lives in a lasting way
In 2025 our funding supported 776,636 people facing disadvantage and challenging circumstances. We are delighted to report that 84% of those directly supported reported substantive improvement or transformation in their lives – a relative increase of 10% on the previous year.
The power of people is at the heart of our approach, and we rely upon the SJP community through volunteering, fundraising, and in connecting charities with us for potential grants. In turn, community members gain valuable skills, experience improved wellbeing, and feel empowered to make a difference to the causes they care about. This involvement also deepens their connection to SJP and their roles. In fact, 87% say that being part of the Foundation has made a personal difference to them – a powerful reminder that giving back benefits everyone involved.
Who we supported
In 2025 we funded charities who focused on delivering programmes that matched our four main themes of interest: disadvantaged children and young people, living well with cancer, supporting mental health, and end of life care.
Charities with an evidenced SJP community connection were able to apply for a grant with decisions being made either centrally or through Regional Foundation Committees who are deeply rooted in communities. This ensured that the process was accessible to local, regional and national charities.
Children and young people remain a key focus of our funding. We prioritise charities that deliver meaningful programmes addressing social and economic disadvantage, as well as those supporting children and young people with disabilities.
Stories
One in four people experience a mental health issue in the UK, and the number of children in contact with mental health services has tripled over the past seven years.
Our funding has empowered charities to respond to rising demand by expanding services and improving access to appropriate support.
Stories
Around 400,000 people receive a cancer diagnosis each year. Alongside NHS clinical care, charities play a vital role in offering practical information and emotional support to individuals and families.
We focus our funding on services that help people live well with cancer and give them and their loved ones the knowledge and confidence they need.
Stories
While approximately 300,000 people access hospice care annually in the UK, financial challenges have forced one in five hospices to scale back their services.
We have contributed essential funding to strengthen capacity across the hospice sector, alongside direct support for local providers.
Stories
Local Impact Grants
Our Local Impact Grants may be modest in size, but their impact is anything but. In 2025 the 495 grants, totalling over £1.1 million, helped communities across the UK and beyond to thrive - supporting vulnerable people, building confidence, and creating opportunities.
From youth development and mental health support to dementia care and child protection, each grant tells a story of meaningful, local impact.
Looking to the future - 2025 and beyond
Our funding is made possible by the generosity of St. James’s Place PLC and the steadfast support of its community of employees, advisers, and partners. As we enter our next strategic chapter, we are committed to evolving our grants process to remain relevant, equitable, transparent, and responsive to the voices of our charity partners.
We remain committed to funding impactful projects and programmes across our core funding themes. And for 2026, we are pleased to introduce a new funding theme of Financial Wellbeing made possible thanks to funding from St. James’s Place PLC.
Building on over three decades of impact, we will refine our Partnership+ model – combining flexible funding with tailored capacity building opportunities – to help charities thrive, not just survive. By listening closely and adapting to their needs, we will create deeper, more sustainable change for people and communities.