Rayne Foundation

The Rayne Foundation, an independent UK charitable trust founded in 1962 by Lord Max Rayne, advances social cohesion by building bridges between diverse people and communities, fostering a fairer, more inclusive society through bold, collaborative approaches that challenge the status quo and drive systemic change. Rooted in optimism and pragmatism, its core values—collaboration, connectivity, and transformative impact—guide support for innovative projects that connect sectors, share learning, and influence wider practice, rather than routine services.

It prioritises three areas: mental health and wellbeing for children and young people, especially care-experienced youth, those on care's edge, and early childhood with creative interventions; quality of life for older people and unpaid carers via place-based, agency-building work embedding arts in care; and opportunities for refugees and asylum seekers through employability, personal development, torture survivor support, and arts-led community-building. UK-wide funding targets outward-facing, replicable initiatives like youth mental health advocacy, dementia arts programs, and refugee entrepreneurship training.

Eligible applicants are UK-registered charities and not-for-profits based in the UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland), with a preference for small/medium organisations in under-supported areas; they require at least one year's accounts and a reserves policy, favouring non-household names unless uniquely positioned. Typical grants range £10,000–£30,000 annually for 1–3 years (project costs including salaries/overheads; core costs occasionally), via a two-stage rolling process: online eligibility quiz, short EOI, then full application if invited, with quarterly trustee decisions (March, June, September, December) in 3–6 months.

Rayne excludes statutory activities, day-to-day operations, one-offs, non-replicable local work, capital, endowments, and retrospective funding. Distinctively transparent—publishing all grants via 360Giving—it champions catalytic, learning-focused projects for scalable social change, with special programmes like Where People Meet offering larger sums.