What Forces in Mind Trust does

Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) is a UK-registered charitable trust (Charity No. 1145688) established in November 2011 with a £35 million endowment from the Big Lottery Fund, now The National Lottery Community Fund. It funds targeted evidence generation and policy influencing activities that enable ex-Service personnel and their families to make successful and sustainable transitions from military to civilian life, focusing on the most vulnerable among the roughly 15,000 people who leave the UK Armed Forces each year. Grants are awarded across seven outcome areas: Housing, Employment, Health, Finance, Criminal Justice, Relationships, and Enabler.

FiMT's product surface is structured around four interconnected programmes: the Centre for Evidence for the Armed Forces Community (CeFAFC), funded with £2.5 million for 2022-2027 to coordinate and curate research; a grant-making framework that funds both responsive applications and commissioned work through Requests for Expressions of Interest; a Collaboration and Leadership Programme (including the Clore Experienced Leaders Programme and Cobseo Emerging Leader Programme) that builds sector capacity; and a Capacity Building Programme for organizational development. Outputs are published open-access via the Veterans and Families Research Hub. The trust also annually sponsors the FiMT Working Together Award at the Soldiering On Awards.

FiMT's business model is that of a grant-making foundation, not a commercial enterprise. It has no product pricing or revenue from sales; capital is deployed from its £35 million endowment through grant awards, with the trust operating with a 17-person team from its London headquarters at Mountbarrow House. Its go-to-market is structured grant application processes and commissioned research, and its commercial equivalent of customer base is the UK Armed Forces charity sector, where FiMT holds a permanent seat on the Cobseo Executive Committee and is a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant.

Name

Forces in Mind Trust

Legal name

Forces in Mind Trust

Website

https://fim-trust.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Forces in Mind Trust is a UK charitable trust that funds evidence generation and policy influencing to help ex-Service personnel and their families transition successfully to civilian life across seven outcome areas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Grant-making Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Investors, Nec (6799)

akta.pro primary industry

Philanthropic & Charitable Trust Services (FSAAANAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Veterans Affairs & Military Family Services (BPAIAHAL), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Trust Funds & Multi-Donor Pooled Funds (BPADAOAE)

Keywords

• Veteran transition support
• Grant-making charity
• Armed forces research
• Policy influencing
• Sector capacity building

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

Revenue model

1. Endowment from The National Lottery Community Fund: FiMT was established in November 2011 with a £35 million endowment from the Big Lottery Fund (now The National Lottery Community Fund). The trust uses this endowment to award grants for both responsive and commissioned work supporting ex-Service personnel and their families.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Forces in Mind Trust is a charitable grant-making trust that funds projects supporting UK ex-Service personnel and their families to transition successfully to civilian life. It awards grants through responsive applications and commissioned Requests for Expressions of Interest across seven outcome areas (Housing, Employment, Health, Finance, Criminal Justice, Relationships, Enabler), and funds research, leadership development, and sector capacity-building initiatives. All funded work is published in open access to inform policymakers and service deliverers.

Product overview

Forces in Mind Trust is a grant-making charitable foundation (Registered Charity No. 1145688) that funds projects enabling ex-Service personnel and their families to transition successfully to civilian life. The organization operates a portfolio of interconnected programmes: the Centre for Evidence for the Armed Forces Community (CeFAFC) coordinates high-quality research; the FiMT Change Model provides structured outcome-area funding across seven domains (Housing, Employment, Health, Finance, Criminal Justice, Relationships, and Enabler); the Collaboration and Leadership Programme funds leadership development through partnerships with Clore Social Leadership and Cobseo; and the Capacity Building Programme supports organizational development in the sector. Research outputs are published open-access via the Veterans and Families Research Hub. The Trust also sponsors the annual FiMT Working Together Award at the Soldiering On Awards. All funding is UK-focused, with grantees required to deliver sustainable impact for the Armed Forces community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Centre for Evidence for the Armed Forces Community (CeFAFC) An internationally renowned research centre coordinating and curating high-quality, influential research on Armed Forces community needs across housing, employment, health, finance, criminal justice, and relationships outcome areas. Funded by FiMT with £2.5 million (2022-2027) and managed in partnership with RAND Europe and Shared Intelligence.
• FiMT Change Model - Outcome Areas Grant Programme Grant-making framework covering seven outcome areas: Housing, Employment, Health, Finance, Criminal Justice, Relationships, and Enabler, designed to support ex-Service personnel and their families in transitioning to civilian life through responsive grant applications.
• Collaboration and Leadership Programme Funding for leadership courses and collaborative projects that share best practice within the Armed Forces charities sector, including the Clore Experienced Leaders Programme and Cobseo Emerging Leader Programme.
• Capacity Building Programme Grants and support to develop competencies and skills in sector organisations, making them more effective and sustainable in supporting the Armed Forces community.
• FiMT Working Together Award

Quantifiable outcome

• 15,000 people leave UK Armed Forces annually; majority transition successfully with FiMT targeting the most vulnerable
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers15 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

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered key, supporting and core.

• RAND EuropekeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2023Awarded £500,000 in August 2023 to investigate delivery of the Armed Forces Covenant across England, Scotland, and Wales. Two-year study examining support at regional level across housing, employment and health.
• Shared IntelligencekeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2023Partner with RAND Europe on Armed Forces Covenant delivery research. Contributed to previous 'A Decade of the Covenant' study published by FiMT.
• Meri Mayhew ConsultingsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2023Partner with RAND Europe and Shared Intelligence on £500,000 Covenant delivery research.
• SSAFA, the Armed Forces charitykeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023Awarded £357,574 to SSAFA and University of Stirling (June 2026) to evaluate casework delivery in the Armed Forces community. Previous funding for Glasgow Helping Heroes Project (£110,000+).
• TimeBanksupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2020Awarded £21,283 (December 2020) for Knowledge Transfer project to integrate TimeBank's Shoulder to Shoulder mentoring programme into SSAFA mentoring services.
• University of EdinburghkeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2020Awarded £301,867 (September 2020) for 'You're in Your Own Time Now' research on veteran experiences in Scotland, in partnership with Edinburgh Napier University.
• Veterans ScotlandkeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2020Awarded £209,700 (July 2020) for Informing Scotland 2020-2023 project to educate stakeholders about the Armed Forces Covenant. Previous three-year project engaged over 200 organizations.
• Black Country Chamber of CommercekeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2019Awarded £128,146 (September 2019) for Chamber of Commerce Military and Business Project to promote Armed Forces Covenant nationwide through British Chambers of Commerce network.
• Contact GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2019Collaboration of third sector, statutory providers and support organisations delivering mental health support to UK Armed Forces community. FiMT awarded £50,500 in August 2019 and further £92,000 for 2022-2024. Contact Group is mental health cluster for Cobseo.
• Good PeoplekeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2019Awarded £87,140 (June 2019) for Skills Transfer and Employment Access Development Model study in Solent area examining employment barriers for ex-Service personnel and SMEs.
• University of BristolkeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2016Awarded £46,938 (November 2016) for domestic violence and abuse research in military families. Research identified criteria for specialist DVA provision and led to inclusion of 24 services in Routes to Support database.
• Queen's University BelfastkeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2015Awarded £96,201 (August 2015) for research on how counter-insurgency warfare experiences affect transition. Led to Northern Ireland Veteran Health and Wellbeing Study (£355,262).
• Clore Social LeadershipkeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2015Partnership for leadership development in the Armed Forces charities sector. FiMT has funded Specialist Fellowships on Clore's Experienced Leader Programme since 2015 and co-designed the Cobseo Emerging Leader Programme. Amount: £185,760 for Clore Experienced Leaders Programme.
• StollkeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2014Awarded £182,361 (May 2014) for London outreach support programme for transitioning personnel. Two-year pilot supporting around 180 veterans across 33 London Boroughs.
• Cobseo (The Confederation of Service Charities)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2011FiMT came about from a partnership between Big Lottery Fund, Cobseo, and other charities. FiMT is a permanent member of Cobseo's Executive Committee and works within the Armed Forces charities sector representing 279 member organizations.
• Armed Forces CovenantcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFiMT is a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant, a promise by the nation that those who serve or have served, and their families, are treated fairly.
• Centre for Evidence for the Armed Forces CommunitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn internationally renowned centre of research excellence coordinating and curating high-quality, influential research. Funded by FiMT with £2.5 million (2022-2027). Research published on Veterans and Families Research Hub.
• University of StirlingkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunded £120,745 for housing outcomes research. Led study on barriers to accessing housing for ex-Service personnel published December 2020.
• The Royal FoundationsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Deloitte Employment Project (£30,000) investigating how Service personnel could be better supported in securing employment.
• Fighting With PridesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAwarded funding (April 2023) to support development of Pride in Veterans Standard for LGBT+ Veterans.
• The Confederation of Service Charities (Cobseo)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFiMT is a member of Cobseo with permanent Executive Committee seat. Cobseo represents over 1,000 member, associate, and affiliate organizations in the Armed Forces charity sector.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• SSAFA, the Armed Forces Charity: Long-established UK Armed Forces charity providing direct welfare and mentoring support to serving personnel, veterans and families. A frequent FiMT grantee (e.g., the £357,574 Stirling partnership) and a fellow Cobseo Executive Committee member, but primarily a service-delivery charity rather than a grantmaking trust.
• Help for Heroes: Major UK Armed Forces charity funding recovery and welfare services for wounded veterans and their families. Comparable beneficiary population and outcome areas (Health, Employment, Relationships) to FiMT, but focused on direct service delivery and fundraising rather than evidence-based grantmaking.
• The Royal British Legion: The UK's largest Armed Forces charity, providing welfare, healthcare, employment and housing support to the wider Armed Forces community. Like FiMT, it advocates on the Armed Forces Bill and is a fellow Armed Forces Covenant signatory, but operates at vastly greater scale with direct service delivery.

Emerging players

• Combat Stress: UK charity providing specialist mental health treatment to veterans, overlapping FiMT's Health and Criminal Justice outcome areas. Comparable as a Cobseo member and Armed Forces-focused organisation, but concentrated on clinical service delivery.
• Walking With The Wounded: UK charity supporting veterans with mental health challenges, employment and family outcomes. Operates in several of FiMT's outcome areas (Employment, Health, Relationships) with a smaller, more direct-delivery model.

Others

• The National Lottery Community Fund: The original £35M endowment provider and stated 'parent' relationship of FiMT. Included as an ecosystem enabler rather than a competitor, since the Fund is the principal capital source that established FiMT and shapes the broader UK grantmaking environment for charities.

Direct peers

• ABF The Soldiers' Charity: Grant-making charity supporting soldiers, veterans, and their families in the UK with a comparable funding-and-research operating model. Both organisations channel endowed or donated capital into outcome-area programmes for the Armed Forces community and act as conveners within Cobseo.
• Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund: The RAF's leading welfare charity, providing grants and direct support to serving and former RAF personnel and their families. Comparable to FiMT in its grantmaking orientation and Armed Forces-welfare focus, though service-specific rather than tri-service.
• Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity: Grant-making charity funding projects that support serving and former Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel. Closely analogous to FiMT in distributing funds across welfare, mental health, housing and employment outcomes for a defined Armed Forces cohort.
• The Veterans' Foundation: Grant-giving charity that funds smaller UK charities and organisations delivering frontline support to veterans. Shares FiMT's grantmaking trust model and Armed Forces beneficiary focus, operating at a smaller scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FiMTrust
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-forces-in-mind-trust

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Forces in Mind Trust