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Growth Fund

The purpose of the Fund

Paul Hamlyn Foundation is committed to supporting the development, sustainability and growth of organisations investing in young people to achieve positive change.

The Growth Fund provides multi-year support for up to 5 years, mixing financial investment (up to £500,000) and non-financial support to help organisations identify and implement practical steps to growth. The fund has an annual budget of £1.5 million.

The Growth Fund is designed for organisations who demonstrate the vision and competence to realise their own plans for growing the impact of their work. This should be in at least two of the following areas:

  1. The quality of the organisation’s delivery and strengthening of position as a leading organisation within their field of practice
  2. The reach of the organisation through increasing take up of new approaches, skills or technology
  3. The scale of the organisation through replicating service delivery
  4. The influence of the organisation in terms of shaping sector-wide practice, systems change and/or policy approaches in work with young people.

The Growth Fund targets organisations that are already known to the Foundation and is by invitation only. However, it should be emphasised the Growth Fund is not a simple extension or ‘follow-on’ of a previous grant.

It is designed as a strategic investment that will have a longer-term influence on the shape of the organisation itself.

The fund aims to be relational and to understand and support the complexities of organisational development and ambitions to achieve growth. It is tailored to the needs of each organisation to enable opportunities to increase capacity and effectiveness.

The following core values underpin the Foundation’s relationship with organisations supported through the Growth Fund:

Ownership: The Fund aims to work alongside organisations to achieve their plans for impact, influencing through advice and guidance, but with the organisation as the driver and owning their own goals and ambitions.

Partnership: The success of the Fund will require building a trusting and collaborative relationship that can withstand critical challenge but is also fundamentally supportive. This will require regular engagement between the organisation’s senior staff and the Foundation.

Flexibility: The package of support offered through the Growth Fund will be bespoke for each organisation, but it will also need to be responsive to change through the lifetime of the grant. The Foundation will support the vision and leadership of an organisation and will be part of their journey of development and growth, providing timely and flexible support.

View examples of grants made through the Growth Fund in our grants database.

Applications are by invitation only.