What Parasol Foundation Trust does

Parasol Foundation Trust is a Gibraltar-registered charitable trust established in 2004 as the philanthropic arm of Parasol International Ltd and the Ruth Parasol family. The Foundation funds a portfolio of named programmes and multi-year institutional partnerships organised under four thematic pillars — Women in Science, Women in Health, Women in Art and Future Generations — across at least seven countries (Gibraltar, UK, Israel, US, India, Spain and other). The Foundation does not develop proprietary technology; its public-facing website is built on the Sanity content management system and uses Google Analytics for visitor tracking. Its output is grant capital, embedded research infrastructure, and curatorial programming.

Cumulative grant-making exceeds £40 million since founding, with the most material commitments being the £3m V&A Women in Photography Project (2021) and its on-site Parasol Foundation Gallery (opened May 2023), the £2.68m Parasol Foundation Centre for Women's Health and Cancer Research at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (March 2022), the $3.5m Parasol Foundation Women's Breast Cancer Center at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Nov 2022), the £201k Parasol Foundation Scholarship programme at Murray Edwards College Cambridge (March 2024), and a $2.03m partnership with SpaceIL. The Trust is funded principally by Ms Ruth Monicka Parasol (Principal Benefactress and Trustee Director) and is operationally supported by her family office, RG Advisors Ltd.

Revenue is not generated — the Foundation is grant-funded by its principal benefactress — and operational headcount is small (1-10 employees per the firmographic data), with most execution delivered through Trustee Directors (Karin Orsing, Dayan Nahon) and a board of advisors including former UK MP Dudley Fishburn, ex-Hassans partner Nyreen Llamas, and senior RG Advisors staff. The customer base is an institutional partner set spanning the V&A, Imperial, Cambridge, TASMC, Laniado, SpaceIL, Reichman University, Tel-Aviv University, the University of Gibraltar, the University of San Francisco, Marin Academy, Marin Health, the Prince's Trust, Bloomsbury Football, the Advanced Leadership Foundation, Atidim and the British Council (BIRAX). Most recently, the Foundation has begun to deploy venture-scale social impact capital via its new Parasol Ventures arm, with STELAR as the first investment.

Name

Parasol Foundation Trust

Legal name

Parasol Foundation Trust (Gibraltar)

Website

https://parasolfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Parasol Foundation Trust, a Gibraltar-registered charitable trust established in 2004, is the philanthropic arm of the Ruth Parasol family. It deploys over £40m in grants across four pillars — Women in Science, Health, Art and Future Generations — to world-class institutional partners worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Women in STEM scholarships
• Womens health research funding
• Arts and culture philanthropy
• Charitable foundation programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Gibraltar

HQ country

Gibraltar

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Principal Benefactress donations: The Trust is funded by ongoing contributions from Ms Ruth Monicka Parasol, who continues to fund the Trust with her additional money. Personal donation from Ms Ruth Monicka Parasol also included in projects such as the V&A Women in Photography Project (£3m).
2. Family office administrative and investment support: The Trust's private family office (RG Advisors Ltd / Parasol International) provides administrative and investment support, including asset management of the $1b+ portfolio of the principal benefactress.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Parasol Foundation Trust is a Gibraltar-based charitable foundation (the philanthropic arm of Parasol International Ltd and the Ruth Parasol family, established in 2004) that awards grants to projects supporting women in four pillars: Science, Health, Art, and Future Generations. It funds scholarships, research fellowships, named centres and capital projects at world-class institutions such as the V&A, Imperial College Healthcare, Cambridge, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center and SpaceIL, with cumulative grant-making exceeding £40 million.

Product overview

The Parasol Foundation Trust is a Gibraltar-based philanthropic foundation (the grant-making arm of Parasol International and the Parasol family, established 2004; over £40m awarded) rather than a single unified software product. Its offering is structured as a portfolio of named charitable programmes and partnerships organised under four thematic pillars: Women in Science (e.g., the Parasol Foundation Scholarship Programme with Murray Edwards College at Cambridge, the Parasol Foundation Women in SpaceIL programme, BIRAX), Women in Health (the Parasol Foundation Centre for Women's Health and Cancer Research at Imperial College Healthcare, the Parasol Foundation Women's Breast Cancer Center at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, the existing Parasol Center for Women's Cancer Research at Sourasky, Marin Health Medical Center, Laniado Hospital), Women in Art (The Parasol Foundation Women in Photography Project at the V&A, The Parasol Foundation Gallery at the V&A, and The V&A Parasol Foundation Prize for Women in Photography) and Future Generations (the Parasol Foundation Advanced Leadership Foundation Emerging Leaders and Shadowing Program, University of Gibraltar Parasol Foundation Scholars, Reichman University and ALF scholarships for Ukrainian women, Bloomsbury Football Changing the Game for Girls, The Prince's Trust Women Supporting Women Programme, and the Parasol International LL.M. Program at Tel-Aviv University). These named programmes sit alongside the public-facing parasolfoundation.org website (built on Sanity, with Google Analytics tracking) which presents the foundation's projects, news, team, grants and impact, and the foundation's recently launched STELAR social-venture investment arm.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• V&A Parasol Foundation Women in Photography Project: A major multi-year programme at the V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum, London) supporting women in photography, including a dedicated gallery (the Parasol Foundation Gallery), a curatorial position, the V&A Parasol Foundation Prize for Women in Photography and a Collection Selection Box.
• Parasol Foundation Centre for Women's Health and Cancer Research
• Parasol Foundation Women's Breast Cancer Center
• Parasol Foundation Women in SpaceIL
• Parasol Foundation Scholarship Programme

Products and services

• The Parasol Foundation Women in Photography Project at the V&A, London Major multi-year programme at the V&A supporting women in photography, including acquisitions, research, education, public displays, the Parasol Foundation Gallery, the inaugural Parasol Foundation Curator of Women in Photography (Fiona Rogers), and a dedicated Instagram account (@vamparasolwomenphoto).
• The Parasol Foundation Gallery at the V&A London Photography gallery within the V&A accompanying the Women in Photography Project; first industry evening event was held there for the 2024 V&A Parasol Foundation Prize winners.
• The V&A Parasol Foundation Prize for Women in Photography Annual international prize identifying, supporting and championing global female photographers; each year's winners receive a £2,000 bursary and exhibit at the Peckham 24 festival. Donation amount £193,500.
• Parasol Foundation Centre for Women's Health and Cancer Research at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust Research centre based at Hammersmith and St Mary's hospitals in north west London; funds advanced treatments for women's cancers (ovarian), pre-term birth research, infectious disease and pregnancy research, and fellowships. Donation amount £2.68m.
• The Parasol Foundation Women's Breast Cancer Center at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center Multidisciplinary center in Israel for the comprehensive diagnosis, research and treatment of women with breast cancer; funded by a $3.5m Parasol Foundation donation.
• The Parasol Center for Women's Cancer Research at Sourasky Medical Center Pre-existing Parasol Foundation-funded center at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center bringing together physicians and scientists focused on gender-specific cancers in women; $3m of funding since 2016.
• Parasol Foundation Scholarship programme with Murray Edwards College, Cambridge Fully-funded Master's scholarships for talented female students to study Astrophysics, MPhil in Astronomy, or MPhil in Planetary Science and Life in the Universe at Cambridge's Institute of Astronomy, delivered through women's college Murray Edwards. Donation amount £201,000.
• Parasol Foundation Women in SpaceIL Space and astro science programme in Israel with SpaceIL creating new opportunities and empowering women in the space industry, including research scholarships for advanced degrees in space and a pioneering study on the state of women in the Israeli space ecosystem. Donation amount $2.03m.
• Parasol Foundation Scholarship Program for Ukrainian Women at Reichman University Fully-paid undergraduate STEM scholarships at Reichman University in Israel for four young women from war-torn regions of Ukraine. Donation amount $365k.
• Parasol Foundation Advanced Leadership Foundation - Emerging Leaders and Shadowing Program Fully-funded intensive two-month emerging leaders and shadowing programme in Washington DC for STEM post-graduate students, run in partnership with the Advanced Leadership Foundation; participants are paired with expert mentors. Amount $57,000.
• The Parasol Foundation Women's Leadership Scholarships for Ukrainian students (Advanced Leadership Foundation) Four scholarships for Ukrainian women to study in Washington DC with the Advanced Leadership Foundation (ALF). $71,000 donation; ALF has directly trained and empowered 11,000 leaders globally.
• Parasol International LL.M. Program at Tel-Aviv University (Buchman Faculty of Law) 10-month LL.M. programme established in 2014 at the Buchman Faculty of Law, Tel-Aviv University, attracting exceptionally talented international students. Donation amount £1.5m.
• University of Gibraltar Parasol Foundation Scholars Multi-year commitment supporting the University of Gibraltar since its establishment, with almost £1m committed to curriculum development of academic programmes and scholarships (£800K to the University of Gibraltar Parasol Foundation Scholars programme and £700,000 in Parasol Scholarships in Business).
• Marin Health Medical Center partnership Long-running partnership with Marin Health Medical Center in Marin County, California, since 2013; most recently supporting design, construction and equipment. Donation amount $2m.
• Marin Academy Parasol Foundation Women Scholarship Scholarship first established in 2011 to support an exceptional female student at Marin Academy. Donation amount $400K.
• The Prince's Trust Women Supporting Women Programme Partnership with The Prince's Trust Women Supporting Women Programme, providing support and resources to help women succeed. Donation amount £400K.
• Gibraltar Academy of Music and Performing Arts partnership Recommitment to funding the Gibraltar Academy of Music and Performing Arts (GAMPA), which supports and empowers women in the arts and hosted the 'All About Women' programme for International Women's Day 2023. Donation amount £130K.
• Friends of Atidim Parasol Foundation Women STEM Scholarships Collaboration with Atidim in Israel offering scholarships for female STEM students in high-school and university, alongside other programmes. Donation amount £750K.
• University of San Francisco Parasol Foundation Women STEM Scholarships Sponsorship since 2018 of two excellent and financially in-need female students studying STEM bachelor's degrees at the University of San Francisco.
• BIRAX (Britain Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership) Longstanding supporter of the Britain Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership (BIRAX), a £10,000,000 initiative led by the British Council. Parasol Foundation donation amount £1.2m.
• Parasol Foundation Cambridge University programme Broad collaboration with Cambridge University on a range of projects since 2009, including research on Darwin and gender, the Cambridge Women's Boat Club, the Darwin Library, and Parasol Scholarships for female STEM students. Donation amount £250K+.
• Laniado Hospital Netanya partnership Long-term partner of Laniado Hospital in Israel since 2008, supporting projects including maternity, IVF and gynaecology departments, CPCT Center, Head & Neck Center and Parasol Foundation Surgical Fellowships. Donation amount over $2m.
• Bloomsbury Football - Changing the Game for Girls Seed and follow-on funding supporting the Changing Game for Girls initiative at Bloomsbury Football in London, giving girls the opportunity to play football and learn skills. £180,000 committed over two years from 2023; total project donation amount £257,000.
• STELAR social venture investment The Parasol Foundation Trust's first social impact venture investment made through its new investment arm, Parasol Ventures, recognising the power of enterprise to create opportunity.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over £40 million awarded to projects and collaborations since 2004
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-year, multi-project partnership launching the Parasol Foundation Women in Photography Project in 2021. Includes The Parasol Foundation Gallery at the V&A London (opened May 2023), a funded inaugural Parasol Foundation Curator of Women in Photography role (Fiona Rogers), and the annual international V&A Parasol Foundation Prize for Women in Photography (£193,500 prize funding). Total commitment £3m including a personal donation from Ms Ruth Monicka Parasol.
• Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Imperial Health CharityflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-created the Parasol Foundation Centre for Women's Health and Cancer Research in March 2022, based at Hammersmith and St Mary's hospitals. The £2.68m donation funds research into ovarian cancer, pre-term birth, and links between infectious diseases and pregnancy, plus a £430,000 award for infectious disease/pregnancy research and an additional commissioned report on women in clinical academia.
• Murray Edwards College, University of CambridgeflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaunched the Parasol Foundation Scholarship programme for female students to study Master's degrees in Astrophysics, Astronomy and Planetary Science and Life in the Universe at Cambridge's Institute of Astronomy. £201,000 commitment with up to four scholarships a year. Inaugural scholars (Maria Semerkina and Almudena Visser Velez) started in October 2024, followed by a second cohort of four in October 2025.
• SpaceILflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeads the Parasol Foundation Women in SpaceIL Programme ($2.03m) to create new opportunities and empower women in the space industry. Includes research scholarships for advanced space degrees, engineering positions on the Beresheet2 spacecraft, and a joint pioneering study on the state of women in the Israeli space ecosystem.
• Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (TASMC)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding partner for the Parasol Foundation Women's Breast Cancer Center for diagnosis, research and treatment ($3.5m) and the long-standing Parasol Center for Women's Cancer Research ($3m since 2016). Includes ten research grants over three years for Masters, PhD and post-doctoral research into breast and ovarian cancer, and ten clinical/research fellowships outside the hospital.
• Advanced Leadership Foundation (ALF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTwo-month intensive Emerging Leaders and Shadowing Program in Washington DC for STEM post-graduate students ($57,000 in 2024), and four leadership scholarships for Ukrainian women studying in Washington DC ($71,000). ALF has directly trained and empowered 11,000 leaders globally.
• Reichman UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaunched in August 2022, the Parasol Foundation Scholarship Program for Ukrainian Women offers fully-paid undergraduate scholarships to four young women from war-torn regions of Ukraine to continue their STEM studies in Israel. $365k commitment.
• Tel-Aviv University (Buchman Faculty of Law)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished the Parasol International LL.M. Program in 2014, a 10-month programme attracting exceptionally talented international students. £1.5m commitment.
• University of GibraltarcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported the University of Gibraltar since its establishment, committing £800K to the University of Gibraltar Parasol Foundation Scholars programme and £700,000 in Parasol Scholarships in Business.
• Bloomsbury FootballcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSeed funding for the Changing Game for Girls initiative since 2020, with £257,000 total commitment including £180,000 over the next two years to support expansion across London.
• The Prince's Trust (Women Supporting Women Programme)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking with The Prince's Trust Women Supporting Women Programme to provide the right support for women to succeed. £400K commitment, plus £125,000 for the Get Started Programs.
• Marin Health Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership since 2013 supporting design, construction and equipment at Marin Health Medical Center in Marin County, California. $2m commitment.
• University of San FranciscominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerParasol Foundation Women STEM Scholarships sponsoring two financially in-need female STEM bachelor's students since 2018. $400,000 commitment.
• Marin AcademyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerParasol Foundation Women Scholarship at Marin Academy, established 2011, supporting an exceptional female student. $400K commitment.
• Gibraltar Academy of Music and Performing Arts (GAMPA)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerFoundation has recommitted to funding GAMPA (£130K) and partnered on the 'All About Women' International Women's Day programme showcasing the creative talent of women in Gibraltar.
• British Council (BIRAX - Britain Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Parasol Foundation Trust is a longstanding supporter of BIRAX, a £10,000,000 initiative led by the British Council. £1.2m commitment.
• Friends of Atidim (Israel)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerParasol Foundation Trust's collaboration with Atidim creates opportunities for exceptionally talented females through three programmes, including Parasol Foundation Women STEM Scholarships. £750K commitment.
• Laniado Hospital NetanyacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term partner of Laniado Hospital in Israel since 2008, supporting the hospital's Maternity, IVF and Gynaecology Departments (worth $1,600,000 in the grants list) and other projects totalling over $2m.
• RG Advisors Ltd (Parasol family office)flagshipImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerRG Advisors Ltd is the family office that provides administrative and investment support to the Parasol Foundation Trust, including market research, asset allocation, manager selection, and ongoing monitoring of investments. Dayan Nahon (Managing Director and CIO) and Stefanie Brancato (Director of Operations) and Nyreen Llamas (Senior Advisor) are all staff of RG Advisors Ltd who also serve the Trust.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum) — Patrons & Donors: An institutional partner rather than a competitor, included because the Parasol Foundation Gallery at the V&A is the largest single named-arts anchor in the portfolio and a benchmark for how museum-affiliated foundations structure major named galleries and prizes.

Broad incumbents

• Wellcome Trust: Large UK-based health research foundation. Comparable on the Imperial / women's health research axis and on UK-anchored grant-making scale, though with a far broader scientific remit.
• Bloomberg Philanthropies: Major philanthropy with portfolios in arts/culture, education and public health. Comparable on the V&A-style arts partnership model and on the multi-pillar grant architecture.
• Ford Foundation: Large US-based foundation historically focused on social justice, gender equity and inequality. Comparable in scale of multi-decade grant-making for women and underrepresented groups globally.
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Largest private foundation globally, with significant women's-health, education and gender-equity portfolios. Broad incumbent in philanthropic grant-making for women and global health, with overlapping institutional partners.

Direct peers

• Global Fund for Women: Grant-making foundation supporting women's rights organisations globally. Peer on women-focused grant deployment across multiple geographies, though operating with a broader activist-grant model.
• The Prince's Trust: UK youth charity with a Women Supporting Women Programme — a direct partner of the Parasol Foundation Trust. Most direct operational peer on the youth/future-generations pillar and UK footprint.
• NoVo Foundation: Private foundation focused on advancing girls and women, with major programmes in education, health and economic empowerment. Closest peer by mission architecture (single wealthy founder, women-and-girls lens, multi-pillar grant-making).
• Pivotal Ventures: Melinda French Gates's organisation investing in women and families, with heavy emphasis on women in STEM and women's health research. Comparable in founder-driven grant strategy and explicit women-in-STEM/health positioning.
• Nike Foundation: Corporate-affiliated foundation historically focused on adolescent girls in developing economies. Direct peer in single-them focus (girls/women) combined with brand-led programme architecture.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/vamparasolwomenphoto
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/parasolfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Parasol Foundation Trust