# The Fore

> The Fore is a UK grant-maker that provides unrestricted funding and strategic support to high-potential small charities and social enterprises (with an income under £500,000), helping them strengthen their organisations and increase their long-term impact.

The Fore funds small charities that are tackling complex social challenges and have the potential to make a big difference with the right support.

We focus on organisations, not projects. Our funding is designed to help charities grow stronger, more resilient, and more sustainable, whether that means investing in leadership, systems, income generation, or new ways of working.

## What makes our approach different

Many funders focus on specific activities or short-term projects. We focus on the organisation itself, including systems and sustainability, rather than short-term projects or programmes.

Our core approach includes:
- Unrestricted funding, typically over one to three years
- Trust-based relationships, grounded in respect for charity leaders' expertise
- Strategic and skills support, alongside funding
- Time and space to learn, adapt, and plan for the future

This allows charities to invest where it matters most to them, rather than contorting their work to fit narrow funding criteria.

We sometimes describe our approach as a 'venture philanthropy' approach; combining long-term funding with hands-on support to help organisations grow stronger and more sustainable over time, increasing their impact.

## Who we support

We support small charities and social enterprises in the UK that:
- Are typically early-stage or at a key point of development
- Are led by people with deep knowledge of the issues they work on
- Are delivering solutions rooted in lived experience and frontline practice
- Would benefit from flexible funding and organisational support

## Our commitment to equity

We recognise that many excellent charity leaders have not had equal access to funding, networks, or fundraising expertise.

Our approach is designed to level the playing field. We encourage applications from organisations working with underserved communities, and from those who have historically found it difficult to access trust and foundation funding.

We are proud to have been the first grant funder for many charities in our portfolio.

## Our approach to growth and impact

We are interested in transformational change at the organisational level with a marked step forward that strengthens a charity beyond the life of our funding.

Many of the organisations we support go on to have nationwide impact — for example through direct delivery at a national level, or by influencing policy and best practice. There is no requirement to scale nationally in order to be funded.

What matters is that our support enables charities to become more effective, resilient, and sustainable over time.

## Who The Fore is for, and who it isn't

The Fore may be right for you as a funding partner if you are:
- An individual, trust, foundation, or corporate organisation looking to support small charities
- Interested in unrestricted, trust-based funding, rather than tightly restricted projects
- Keen to back organisations with strong leadership and long-term potential

The Fore is not:
- A funder focused solely on short-term, project-restricted grants

Benefits for individual and family donors:
- Reduce time spent on charity research and due diligence
- Access pre-vetted, high-impact charities in the UK
- Increase the impact of your charitable giving
- Engage in strategic philanthropy and impact investing principles
- Join a network of UK philanthropists and funders

Benefits for business or corporate donors:
- Partner with one organisation to fund multiple pre-vetted UK charities, reducing internal resource requirements and increasing efficiency.
- All organisations are assessed through a rigorous grant-making and due diligence process, ensuring alignment with governance and compliance standards.
- Provide corporate employee volunteering opportunities including skills-based volunteering, mentoring, and pro bono support that deliver measurable value.
- Purpose-driven opportunities contribute to employee engagement, retention, talent development, and workplace satisfaction.
- Support social value creation, community investment, and sustainable impact, aligned with your ESG and CSR priorities.

## How to find out more

Interested in partnering with The Fore? Find out more about supporting our work on our Get involved page: https://thefore.org/get-involved