Freeman 1st Foundation

What Freeman 1st Foundation does

Freeman 1st Foundation (F1F) is a UK-registered charity (Charity Number 1193010), founded in 2021 and headquartered at Victoria Chalet, 18 South Cliff, Bridlington. It provides financial grants and practical support to talented individuals aged 18–25 resident in the Yorkshire and the Humber region whose abilities in arts, academia, business, or sport are constrained by circumstance. The organisation is governed by three trustees — Lesley Jackson (Chair), Stuart Sanderson, and Leanne Brewis — all of whom personally cover the foundation's administrative costs so that 100% of donated funds are passed directly to beneficiaries. Its name commemorates Henry Freeman, a 19th-century lifeboatman and ancestor of Lesley Jackson, who saved over 300 lives and survived the 1861 Whitby lifeboat disaster.

F1F's "product" is grant-making and structured support programmes rather than a technology platform. Core activities include individual grants (covering equipment, coaching, competition fees, tuition, and living expenses), the Freeman PhD Fellowship co-run with Hull York Medical School at the £7.5m Allam Diabetes Centre, and project-based work-experience programmes delivered with Scarborough Theatre Company. Its technology footprint is minimal: a WordPress website on SiteGround hosting, built with Elementor, secured by Wordfence, instrumented with Google Analytics and reCAPTCHA, and accompanied by Facebook and Instagram channels and a JustGiving donation page. No AI, proprietary software, or mobile app exists.

The revenue model is pure donation-driven, with gifts accepted from £1 to £100,000 and routed through the website and JustGiving; the charity does not sell goods or services. Beneficiary identification is community-led — applications via the website plus referrals from schools, colleges, and local businesses — and beneficiaries are supported across sports (e.g. golf scholarships, academy footballers), the arts (musical theatre, jazz, performing arts), academia (Cambridge summer schools), and medical research (endocrinology PhD). The foundation is privately held by its trustees with no parent, equity investors, or external funding disclosed.

Name

Freeman 1st Foundation

Legal name

Freeman 1st Foundation

Website

https://f1f.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Freeman 1st Foundation is a UK-registered charity that provides financial grants and practical support to talented young people aged 18–25 in Yorkshire and the Humber, with all administrative costs covered by its three trustees so 100% of donations reach beneficiaries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Charitable Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

Keywords

• Youth grants
• Talent scholarships
• Charitable foundation
• Youth development
• Regional charity

Headquarters

HQ city

Bridlington

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The Freeman 1st Foundation is a registered charity (Number 1193010) that operates entirely on donations. 100% of all funds raised by the charity is spent directly on young people beneficiaries. All administrative and operational expenses of running the charity are met by the trustees themselves, ensuring maximum impact of donations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Freeman 1st Foundation (F1F) is a UK-registered charity (Charity Number 1193010) that provides financial grants and practical support to talented young people aged 18–25 resident in Yorkshire and the Humber. Grants cover equipment, coaching, competition entries, living expenses, and tuition across arts, academia, business, and sport. The foundation also runs named programmes such as the Freeman PhD Fellowship at Hull York Medical School and project-based work-experience partnerships with organisations such as Scarborough Theatre Company.

Product overview

Freeman 1st Foundation (F1F) is a registered charity (Charity Number 1193010) that provides financial and practical support to talented young people aged 18-25 resident in Yorkshire and the Humber region. The organization does not offer a traditional technology product; its core offering consists of grant programs and support services for young people with outstanding abilities in the arts, academia, business, or sport who might otherwise be held back by their circumstances. Support provided includes financial grants (covering coaching, equipment, competition entries, living expenses, tuition), the Freeman PhD Fellowship at Hull York Medical School, career development mentoring, and project-based work experience programs through partnerships with organizations such as Scarborough Theatre Company. All donations are spent entirely on beneficiaries, with trustees covering operational costs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Financial Grants for Talented Young People Direct grants awarded to talented young people aged 18-25 in Yorkshire and the Humber following a means-tested application process, supporting arts, academic, business, and sporting pursuits through equipment funding, coaching costs, competition entries, living expenses, and tuition.
• Freeman PhD Fellowship Three-year PhD studentship funding medical research students from Yorkshire and the Humber, based at the Allam Diabetes Centre at Hull York Medical School with a research focus on endocrinology and hormonal illnesses.
• Scarborough Theatre Company Partnership Programme Project-based work-experience programme offering young people from Yorkshire coastal towns paid work opportunities on theatre productions alongside career development mentoring, in partnership with Scarborough Theatre Company.

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple young people supported in achieving sporting, academic and artistic success since 2021
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Scarborough Theatre CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2024F1F partnered with Scarborough Theatre Company to help young people from coastal towns develop careers in the arts. The charity funds project-based programmes offering work experience with a living wage on productions, along with career development mentoring. First beneficiary Josh Simpson served as assistant stage manager in Elf the Musical.
• Hull York Medical SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2023The Freeman 1st Foundation launched a Freeman PhD Fellowship programme at Hull York Medical School for medical students from Yorkshire and the Humber. The three-year studentships are based at the £7.5m Allam Diabetes Centre and cover research in endocrinology (hormonal illnesses). The first fellow, Savannah Sygrove, began in 2024.
• Schools and Colleges (Yorkshire and Humber)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerF1F works with schools, colleges and businesses to identify talented young people who would benefit from financial or practical support. Partner institutions include Headlands School in Bridlington and Scarborough Sixth Form College.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• The Prince's Trust: The Prince's Trust is the UK's largest youth-focused charity, helping 11–30 year olds into education, employment, and training. While far larger and broader in scope, it shares F1F's core mission of unlocking opportunities for disadvantaged young people with talent.
• BBC Children in Need: BBC Children in Need is a major UK charity funding projects supporting disadvantaged children and young people. Comparable to F1F's beneficiary-focused youth support model, though with national reach and substantially larger grantmaking capacity.
• The Garfield Weston Foundation: Garfield Weston is one of the UK's largest grantmaking foundations, with significant giving across youth, education, and community. Comparable to F1F as a UK-based private foundation funding education and youth opportunity.
• Sport England: Sport England is the national body distributing public and lottery funding to sport. Comparable to F1F's sport-talent funding (golf, football) but at vastly larger scale and with public-sector funding infrastructure.
• Esmée Fairbairn Foundation: Esmée Fairbairn is a UK foundation funding social change, including substantial grants to youth, arts, and education causes. Comparable to F1F's arts, academia, and sport funding remit, though at materially greater scale.
• Wellcome Trust: Wellcome is a major UK-based research charity funding health and biomedical research, including PhD studentships. Comparable as a UK research-grantmaking foundation, though operating at dramatically larger scale and broader remit than F1F's single PhD fellowship.

Direct peers

• The Leverhulme Trust: Leverhulme is a major UK grantmaking trust funding research fellowships, scholarships, and education. Directly comparable to F1F's fellowship and scholarship funding model, particularly its PhD fellowship programme at Hull York Medical School.
• Youth Music: Youth Music is a UK charity funding music-making opportunities for children and young people, including grants to individuals and organisations. Directly comparable to F1F's music beneficiary support (e.g., Zak Parlby's jazz saxophone grant).
• The Rank Foundation: Rank is a UK grantmaking foundation supporting young people through education, leadership, and community programmes. Comparable to F1F in funding youth talent development across multiple disciplines.
• The Tudor Trust: The Tudor Trust is a UK grantmaking trust supporting small charities and community-led organisations working with disadvantaged people. Directly comparable to F1F as a small UK grantmaking foundation supporting grassroots impact.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Freeman 1st Foundation