What Cloudesley does

Cloudesley is an independent charitable trust (Charity Commission Reg No 205959) established in 1517 under the will of Richard Cloudesley, making it one of the oldest charities in the London Borough of Islington. Operating from offices on Pentonville Road in London under the corporate trustee Richard Cloudesley Trustee Ltd, it runs two principal grant programmes: Health Grants, which support Islington residents with health problems, disabilities or financial hardship, both directly and through 18 local partner organisations; and Church Grants, which fund building repairs, accessibility improvements, and sustainability works for the 24 Church of England churches in the Islington Deanery. The trust distributes grants through defined funding rounds (Spring and Autumn for church grants; continuous and programme-based for health grants) using application forms, multi-year commitments, and a Grants Committee reporting to a Board of up to 15 Trustees.

Cloudesley's annual grants budget is £2.6 million, funded entirely by investment income generated from approximately 100 residential properties it owns on the Cloudesley Estate in Barnsbury, Islington, and from a portfolio of marketable securities. Programmes include the Large Grants Fund, Small Grants Fund, Flexible Fund, Cloudesley Partner welfare grants, the Catalyst Fund (co-run with Cripplegate Foundation), Main Church Grants Fund (up to £65,000), Urgent Repair grants (up to £10,000), Top-up grants, the Church Access Project and the Sustainable Church Buildings Project. The organisation operates with five staff, governed by a Board of Trustees and supported by co-opted committee members with finance, grants and endowment expertise.

The technology stack is minimal and non-proprietary: the trust uses a standard website (CMS-driven), online application forms, and a database managed by an Operations and Database Officer. Distribution is relationship-led rather than technology-led, leveraging partner organisations, the Diocese of London, Islington Deanery, Islington Giving, the Islington Sustainability Network, and the Advice Services Alliance. As an endowed place-based funder with no customer revenue, Cloudesley's "business model" is the disciplined stewardship of a 500-year-old endowment to deliver targeted grant impact within a fixed geographic remit.

Name

Cloudesley

Legal name

Cloudesley (Charity of Richard Cloudesley, Charity Commission Reg No 205959; Richard Cloudesley Trustee Limited, Co Reg No 7425897)

Website

https://cloudesley.org.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cloudesley is an independent charitable trust, founded in 1517, that provides Health Grants and Church Grants to support Islington residents with health or financial hardship and Church of England churches in the Islington Deanery, funded by a £2.6M annual grants budget derived from 100 residential properties and investments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

Keywords

• Charitable grant making
• Community health grants
• Church building grants
• Endowed charitable trust
• Place-based funding

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Investment income: Cloudesley's funding for grants and all operating costs comes from investments. The charity owns around 100 residential properties on the Cloudesley Estate in Barnsbury, Islington, as well as marketable securities. Income from these properties and investment portfolios funds the annual grants budget of £2.6 million.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cloudesley is an independent endowed charitable trust that distributes grants from its permanent endowment to support two defined beneficiary groups within the London Borough of Islington. Its Health Grants programme provides small grants to individuals for health-related needs and larger grants to partner organisations delivering health and wellbeing services, while its Church Grants programme funds both routine maintenance and major capital projects at Church of England churches across the Islington Deanery.

Product overview

Cloudesley is an independent charitable trust providing grant programmes in Islington, London. Its offering consists of two main grant streams: Health Grants (supporting Islington residents with health problems or disabilities in financial need) and Church Grants (supporting Church of England churches in Islington for building repairs and maintenance). Health Grants include Cloudesley Partner grants, Catalyst Fund grants, Large Grants Fund, Small Grants Fund, and Flexible Fund. Church Grants include Main Grants Fund (up to £65,000), Urgent Repair grants, Top-up grants, Church Access Project, and Sustainable Church Buildings Project. The organisation's current annual grants budget is £2.6 million.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Health Grants — small grants for individuals

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,300 Cloudesley Partner welfare grants made to local people during 2025
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Centre for Accessible EnvironmentscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 July 2022Access audits for eligible Islington churches were funded by Cloudesley and delivered by Centre for Accessible Environments as part of the Church Access Project (July 2022 - June 2025).
• Islington DeanerycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2022Church Access Project was a Cloudesley initiative in partnership with Islington Deanery and the Diocese of London. The project ran from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2025, offering access audits, grants, and learning opportunities for eligible Islington churches.
• Diocese of LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2022Church Access Project was a Cloudesley initiative in partnership with Islington Deanery and the Diocese of London. The Diocese authorised church buildings under church legislation and the partnership supported churches in reaching net zero goals.
• Islington GivingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCloudesley is one of the founding partners of Islington Giving, a coalition of local people, organisations and businesses working together to support communities and projects to bring about positive change in Islington. Cloudesley's funding for Islington Giving is used to support work with people with health issues and/or who are disabled.
• Cripplegate FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Catalyst Fund is a partnership between Cloudesley and the Cripplegate Foundation. This creative fund allows support workers to provide small grants to help vulnerable Islington residents to develop and connect into wider opportunities. Also collaborating on the Islington Strategic Advice Partnership Research.
• Inspired EfficiencymajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProvided updated technical advice to all 24 eligible churches and delivered 10 new energy audits with 99 hours of consultancy support as part of the Sustainable Church Buildings Project 2023-25.
• Advice Services AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned by Cloudesley and Cripplegate Foundation, working in partnership with Islington Strategic Advice Partnership and Islington Council, to undertake research exploring patterns in advice cases and scope for system improvements.
• Islington Sustainability NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCloudesley is a member of the Islington Sustainability Network and works with others in Islington and beyond to share learning on climate action and environmental sustainability.
• Church of EnglandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCloudesley's Church Grants programme supports Church of England churches in Islington. The charity works with the Diocese of London and Islington Deanery to fund church building repairs, accessibility improvements, and net zero works.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• City Bridge Foundation: One of the UK's largest endowed foundations, funding London-wide charitable work including heritage bridge maintenance and London-wide grant programmes. Comparable as a London-focused endowed grantmaking foundation, though with a much larger endowment and broader geographic scope.
• John Lyon's Charity: A London-based endowed charity funding children and young people's services across 10 boroughs including Islington. Comparable as a place-based London endowed grantmaker with multi-year funding programmes and similar governance structure.
• Islington Giving: A coalition of local people, organisations, and businesses in Islington that Cloudesley co-founded. Comparable as a place-based funding and giving platform operating in the same geographic and beneficiary space as Cloudesley.
• The Tudor Trust: An independent endowed UK grantmaking foundation supporting small community-led organisations, with a focus on under-served communities. Comparable as an independent endowed charitable trust making multi-year grants to community organisations.
• Cripplegate Foundation: An independent endowed foundation also operating in Islington, focused on reducing inequality for Islington residents. Direct partner with Cloudesley on the Catalyst Fund. Highly comparable given similar endowment model, Islington focus, and overlapping beneficiary populations.

Regional players

• London Diocesan Fund (Diocese of London): The Church of England diocese covering London, with which Cloudesley partners on church building grants. Comparable as a CofE institutional funder of church buildings in London, though with a London-wide scope rather than Islington-only focus.

Broad incumbents

• Esmée Fairbairn Foundation: A large UK-wide independent grantmaking foundation funding social change, the arts, and the natural environment. Comparable as an endowed charitable trust with multi-year grant programmes, but operates at much larger scale and broader geographic scope.
• Garfield Weston Foundation: One of the largest family-founded grantmaking foundations in the UK, supporting a wide range of charitable causes including community, education, and heritage. Comparable as a major UK endowed grantmaking foundation, particularly relevant for church building and heritage grants.
• The Henry Smith Charity: A large independent UK grantmaking foundation that supports work to reduce disadvantage. Comparable as an endowed grantmaking charity with programmes addressing health and social welfare, though operating across the UK rather than a single borough.
• The Dulverton Trust: An independent UK grantmaking foundation funding youth opportunities, conservation, health, and social inclusion. Comparable as an endowed independent foundation with multi-year grant programmes, but operating at much larger UK-wide scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cloudesley

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Cloudesley