Johnson Foundation

The Johnson Foundation is a charitable trust with a mission to transform lives in Liverpool City Region communities by tackling education gaps, health vulnerabilities, and poverty through sustained, relational philanthropy. Core values emphasize personal involvement, long-term commitment, flexibility, and direct engagement to foster genuine, lasting change for disadvantaged residents. They believe impact arises from multi-year partnerships with grassroots charities, tailoring support to acute needs, building resilience via hands-on collaboration, and prioritizing organizations delivering tangible local benefits over short-term fixes.

Thematic priorities center on advancing education through careers inspiration programs like youth mentoring, employability training, and skills development for children and young people aged 5-19 facing barriers to opportunity, including after-school clubs and guidance initiatives combating youth unemployment and educational exclusion. Health preservation focuses on relieving sickness via welfare interventions, community health services, and support for individuals with complex health needs or chronic conditions, emphasizing preventative care and therapeutic activities. Poverty relief targets families in hardship through financial support, food insecurity programs, and community kitchens addressing hunger and economic instability. Additional emphases include community development via grassroots welfare projects, peer support groups for disadvantaged residents, and cultural arts activities promoting local identity, social cohesion, creative expression, and inclusive recreation for isolated young people and families, all delivered through person-centred, community-led models that empower local leadership and holistic resilience-building.

Exclusions encompass grants to individuals, animal welfare, unregistered social enterprises, non-charity sporting groups, or organizations operating primarily outside the UK. Distinctive priorities favor grassroots charities serving Liverpool City Region's vulnerable children, young people at risk of exclusion, poverty-impacted families, health-challenged adults, and isolated community members without significant reserves. They uniquely champion relational, multi-year backing for acute-need projects, relational philanthropy valuing lived experience, direct trustee involvement, and tailored interventions over transactional aid, with a niche in education-driven opportunity creation and sustained welfare for urban disadvantaged neighborhoods.