Tompkins Foundation

The Tompkins Foundation, established by trust deed on 10 November 1980 and registered with the Charity Commission (number 281405) in England and Wales, is a grant-making trust founded by patron Mrs Elizabeth Nancy Tompkins to advance education, promote religious understanding, and provide recreation facilities or other beneficial charitable purposes. Its mission emphasizes broad, generalist support for public benefit through discretionary grants to established charities and voluntary bodies, guided by values of independent stewardship, cautious financial governance, and efficient operations—highlighted by the patron personally covering staff and overhead costs, with no trustee remuneration. Distinctively, it maintains a personalised structure with trustee appointments under patron authority and professional investment oversight, fostering quiet, committed funding without thematic silos.

It prioritizes general charitable activities aligned with its objects, including education-linked programs (e.g., the Richard Tompkins Scholarship via the Foundation of Nursing Studies), religious initiatives, recreational wellbeing, project funding, and core costs for organizations delivering wider impact. Beneficiaries are exclusively UK charities and voluntary bodies capable of public benefit, with no support for individuals or direct services.

Eligible applicants must be UK-registered charities based in England and Wales (UK-wide focus, no regional limits), preferably established medium-to-larger entities with delivery capacity; no strict income thresholds apply, though smaller or unproven groups are less favored. Unsolicited applications are not accepted—grants are awarded solely at trustees' discretion following annual (or more frequent) meetings, with no open rounds, forms, or deadlines. Typical annual distributions range £248,000–£362,000, with individual grants from several thousand to over £50,000.

Exclusions include individuals, direct service delivery, and unsolicited proposals; its unique hallmarks are enduring flexibility, patron-driven efficiency, and preference for well-run charities embodying education, faith, or recreation values, positioning it as a discreet partner for aligned, capable organizations.