A foundation that administers a royal gift made in 1786 has unveiled a new name and visual branding including a refreshed website and logo.
The Richmond Parish Lands Charity announced today that it had renamed itself Richmond Foundation.
Richmond Foundation was endowed by a gift of land from King George III and Queen Charlotte to support the community in Richmond, now part of Greater London, and reconstituted in its present form in 1968.
Accounts for the year ending 30 June 2024 show that the charity received £1.3m in 2024 from its investment portfolio (2023: £1.2m) and £1.2m from its residential and commercial property rentals (2023: £1.2m).
In 2024, it achieved a combined direct and indirect impact investment of £3.7m, including £2.5m in grants to individuals and 72 funded partners, and increased its permanent endowment by £3.2m.
Name better reflects ‘dynamic and inclusive vision’
Richmond Foundation said it has “a strong legacy supporting individuals and local initiatives across the borough” and its new name “better reflects its dynamic and inclusive vision for the future”.
“What remains unchanged is Richmond Foundation’s dedication to providing funding and support that empowers individuals with opportunities, responds to needs, and provides resources to unlock their full potential,” it said.
“The foundation’s grant priorities include strengthening the local voluntary and community sector, accessing support and advice services, improving health outcomes, reducing inequalities in education and enhancing community cohesion.”
Chief executive Phil Barron said: “The transition to Richmond Foundation reaffirms our commitment to fostering a fairer and more supportive community for all.
“We want to build a foundation for a thriving community where everyone in Richmond has opportunities to build healthy and fulfilling lives.
“Our new strategy has a greater focus on being an outward-looking collaborative organisation, embracing partnership working and making a collective impact with our partners.”
This year, Richmond Foundation launched Future Leaders, an initiative co-developed with ACEVO, Clear Thinking Consultancy and Richmond Community and Voluntary Service to retain local talent in Richmond, strengthen peer support and invest in budding voluntary sector leaders.
‘More proactive, long-term funding’
Richmond Foundation said in its accounts that it has updated its grants policy to shift to “more proactive, long-term funding”.
“Where applicants have a track record of successfully delivering our grants for two years or more and are applying to deliver similar activities, we aim to move them onto one of our three-year grant streams,” the accounts read.
“Our new partnerships grants are more flexible in terms of value and can be for a longer duration. These fund collaborative programmes which we co-develop with our partners to meet a specific need, or they can be used to fund voluntary and community sector development.”
The accounts say the charity has moved 12 organisations from annual funding to three-year grants and “our cohort of core funded organisations has increased to 40 Richmond-based charities”.
“As well as increasing the number of longer-term grants we award, we also provided £84,046 in partnership grants to help strengthen the local voluntary and community sector,” the accounts add.
“We have adapted our grants process to better support our funded partners. Those in the final year of a multiyear grant can now apply for future funding decisions up to six months before their current funding ends.
“This was in response to feedback from partners that they would like greater certainty of future funding.”
