Henry Smiths Charity
The Henry Smith Charity, operating as Henry Smith Foundation, is a UK endowed grant-making foundation established in 1628 that disbursed £61.9 million in 2024 to over 900 organisations across 11 programmes supporting families, youth, LGBT+ people, refugees, clergy, and survivors of adversity.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Henry Smiths Charity does
The Henry Smith Charity (operating as Henry Smith Foundation) is one of the UK's largest independent grant-making foundations, established in 1628 through the legacy of Henry Smith, a London businessman who dedicated his wealth to supporting people facing hardship. Registered as a charity in England (Charity No 230102) and headquartered at Caledonia House, Pentonville Road, London, the foundation disbursed £61.9 million in 2024 across over 900 organisations, reaching 410,000 people. It is led by Chief Executive Anand Shukla and operates under a 2025-30 strategy focused on backing organisations addressing life's toughest transitions.
The foundation runs eleven named grant programmes organised under four strategic themes: Getting Started (Early Years Parenting Fund, Together We Begin), Building Independence (Proud Homes for LGBT+ youth homelessness), Safer Futures (Equity in Justice for racially minoritised young men, Welcome for Newcomers), and Heritage Grants (Holiday Grants for children aged 13 and under, Clergy/Christian Grants Programme, Kindred for descendants of Henry Smith). Additional programmes include the Domestic Abuse Fund and Shout! for youth advocacy. Beneficiary segments span early years families, LGBT+ youth, racially minoritised young men, refugees and immigrants, children, Anglican clergy, domestic abuse survivors, descendants of Henry Smith, and young people needing advocacy.
The foundation operates an endowed, non-commercial business model: it does not sell products or services and generates no revenue from customers. Its operational infrastructure consists of a WordPress-based website with an AI-powered accessibility interface (screen-reader optimisation, keyboard navigation, cognitive dictionary integration), the YourCauseGrants (BBGM Apply) platform for online grant applications and grantee management, and a Suitability Checker tool for prospective applicants. Distribution is via the self-serve online portal plus targeted direct outreach to eligible organisations within the UK only. The foundation employs 11-50 staff and is governed autonomously with no parent company or external ownership.
Henry Smiths Charity firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Henry Smiths Charity
- Legal name
- The Henry Smith Charity
- Website
- https://henrysmithcharity.org.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Henry Smith Charity, operating as Henry Smith Foundation, is a UK endowed grant-making foundation established in 1628 that disbursed £61.9 million in 2024 to over 900 organisations across 11 programmes supporting families, youth, LGBT+ people, refugees, clergy, and survivors of adversity.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Henry Smiths Charity industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Charitable Grantmaking
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)
Keywords
Where Henry Smiths Charity is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Henry Smiths Charity business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Henry Smiths Charity product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Henry Smith Charity is an independent UK grant-making foundation that awards grants to eligible charitable organisations and individuals across multiple targeted programmes (Early Years Parenting, Proud Homes, Equity in Justice, Welcome for Newcomers, Holiday Grants, Clergy Wellbeing, Domestic Abuse, Together We Begin, Shout!, and Kindred). It backs work tackling poverty, social exclusion and hardship during life's toughest transitions, awarding £61.9 million in 2024 to over 900 organisations and reaching 410,000 people across the UK.
Product overview
The Henry Smith Foundation is a charitable grant-making organisation, not a technology product company. It operates as a unified grant-giving charity offering multiple targeted grant programmes to support people through life's toughest transitions. The Foundation's portfolio includes eleven named grant programmes covering early years support (Early Years Parenting Fund, Together We Begin), homelessness and housing (Proud Homes), youth support (Equity in Justice, Shout!), community integration (Welcome for Newcomers), family enrichment (Holiday Grants), domestic abuse services (Domestic Abuse Fund), clergy wellbeing (Clergy/Christian Grants Programme), and descendant support (Kindred). Additionally, it provides a Suitability Checker tool for potential applicants. In 2024, the Foundation awarded £61.9 million, supporting over 900 organisations and reaching 410,000 people across the UK.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Early Years Parenting Fund
Quantifiable outcome
- In 2024, awarded £61.9 million supporting over 900 organisations and reaching 410,000 people across the UK
Companies that use Henry Smiths Charity
Customer profileSegments9 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Henry Smiths Charity technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Henry Smiths Charity partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- YourCauseGrants (BBGM Apply)coreGrant management platform used by Henry Smith Foundation for online grant applications and grantholder portal management. Powers the application and grant management workflow.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Henry Smiths Charity competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Comic Relief: Major UK grantmaking charity funding projects tackling poverty and social injustice. Comparable scale of annual grant disbursement and similar beneficiary focus on disadvantaged UK populations.
- Barrow Cadbury Trust: UK independent charitable foundation focused on social justice, particularly criminal justice, migration, and economic inequality. Strongly comparable to Henry Smith's social-justice-oriented grant programmes.
- Esmée Fairbairn Foundation: One of the UK's largest independent charitable foundations, funding social, environmental, and cultural causes. Comparable scale, mission breadth, and UK grantmaking focus to Henry Smith Foundation.
- The Garfield Weston Foundation: UK family-founded charitable foundation distributing grants across education, health, community, and the arts. Comparable endowed, multi-cause grantmaking model at similar scale.
- Lloyds Bank Foundation: UK charitable foundation supporting small and medium charities tackling disadvantage. Comparable UK grantmaking scale and focus on supporting frontline social-welfare organisations.
- The National Lottery Community Fund: The largest funder of community activity in the UK, distributing Lottery-derived grants to voluntary and community organisations. Comparable in scale of UK community grantmaking and breadth of programme areas.
- The Dulverton Trust: Independent UK grantmaking trust funding a wide range of charitable causes including education, conservation, and social welfare. Similar endowed structure and UK-focused independent grantmaking profile.
- Paul Hamlyn Foundation: One of the UK's larger independent grantmaking foundations focused on social justice, education, and the arts. Direct peer on endowed UK grantmaking with thematic social-equality focus overlapping Henry Smith's.
- The Tudor Trust: UK independent charitable trust making grants to voluntary and community organisations. Closely comparable to Henry Smith as a similarly sized, independent endowed grantmaking trust focused on UK civil society.
Broad incumbents
- Wellcome Trust: One of the world's largest charitable foundations, with a much larger endowment and broader research/health focus. Comparable as a UK-headquartered endowed foundation, but operates at substantially greater scale and a different thematic mix than Henry Smith.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Henry Smiths Charity social profiles
Digital presenceHenry Smiths Charity financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Henry Smiths Charity leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Henry Smiths Charity funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Henry Smiths Charity M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Henry Smiths Charity
What does Henry Smiths Charity do?
The Henry Smith Charity is an independent UK grant-making foundation that awards grants to eligible charitable organisations and individuals across multiple targeted programmes (Early Years Parenting, Proud Homes, Equity in Justice, Welcome for Newcomers, Holiday Grants, Clergy Wellbeing, Domestic Abuse, Together We Begin, Shout!, and Kindred). It backs work tackling poverty, social exclusion and hardship during life's toughest transitions, awarding £61.9 million in 2024 to over 900 organisations and reaching 410,000 people across the UK.
Is Henry Smiths Charity a public or private company?
Henry Smiths Charity is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Henry Smiths Charity founded?
Henry Smiths Charity was founded in -1. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Henry Smiths Charity based?
Henry Smiths Charity is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
Who are Henry Smiths Charity's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Comic Relief, Barrow Cadbury Trust, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, The Garfield Weston Foundation, Lloyds Bank Foundation, The National Lottery Community Fund, The Dulverton Trust, Paul Hamlyn Foundation and The Tudor Trust. Wellcome Trust is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Henry Smiths Charity have an API?
No public API is recorded for Henry Smiths Charity.
What industry is Henry Smiths Charity in?
Henry Smiths Charity's product category is Charitable Grantmaking. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAB, Community Foundations, with a secondary code of BPAGAKAN, Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations. Its NAICS code is 813211 and its SIC code is 8300.