Jabbs Foundation

The Jabbs Foundation is a major UK grant-maker with a broad charitable remit to advance any lawful charitable purpose, but it has evolved into a strategic leader in driving systemic social change, particularly in criminal justice, gender equality, and the welfare of women and girls. Established with significant resources—recent annual spending over £7.9 million and £30 million donated in the past decade—it champions evidence-based, survivor-centred services through flexible, multi-year grants. Its distinctive approach emphasises whole-system innovation, including founding the Jabbs Foundation for Women and Girls and backing the flagship Effective Women’s Centres Partnership, a multi-million-pound initiative partnering women’s centres and academics to deliver community alternatives to women’s imprisonment, addressing trauma, abuse, substance use, and poverty.

It prioritises funding for registered charities and academic institutions tackling root causes of female offending, supporting organisations like Anawim, Women’s Centre Cornwall, Centre for Women’s Justice, Prison Reform Trust, and the National Women’s Justice Coalition. Grants fund core costs, programmes, research, advocacy, capacity building, and scaling of women-focused services, with a focus on England (e.g., Birmingham, Manchester, Gloucestershire, Yorkshire, Cornwall) but potential UK-wide reach via strategic needs.

Eligible entities are UK-registered charities or academic institutions with proven track records in systemic impact or policy; medium-to-large organisations are favoured, though no strict income thresholds apply. Funding is invite-only, with no unsolicited applications or public portals—trustees select partners via networks for rolling, strategic decisions. Typical grants range £50,000–£500,000 annually (up to £1M+ for flagships), favouring collaborative, long-term investments over one-off projects. Distinctively, it avoids restricted, short-term funding, instead mobilising infrastructure and transformative partnerships for equitable justice.