Foundation for Common Land
The Foundation for Common Land is a UK registered charity and the only national umbrella organization supporting commoners, landowners, and policymakers on England's common land, delivering advocacy, training, digital tools, and grant-funded programmes across seven upland regions.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersCumbria, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
Foundation for Common Land firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Foundation for Common Land
- Legal name
- Foundation for Common Land
- Website
- https://foundationforcommonland.org.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The Foundation for Common Land is a UK registered charity and the only national umbrella organization supporting commoners, landowners, and policymakers on England's common land, delivering advocacy, training, digital tools, and grant-funded programmes across seven upland regions.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Foundation for Common Land industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Land Conservation and Common Land Advocacy Services
- NAICS
- Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Support Activities for Forestry (115310), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)
- SIC
- Forestry (800)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC)
Keywords
Where Foundation for Common Land is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cumbria
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Foundation for Common Land business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Charitable Funding and Grants: As a registered charity (Number: 1150439), the Foundation for Common Land operates primarily through charitable funding, grants from foundations, and project funding from government sources. Core activity is supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation with additional project funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation, and other sources.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Hill Sheep Husbandry in England Guide |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Foundation for Common Land product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Foundation for Common Land is the only national charity dedicated to England's common land, providing advocacy, training, digital tools, and convening services to commoners, landowners, government bodies, and conservation organisations. It delivers a proprietary SFI Moorland Surveying App, the Common Land Toolkit, a Carbon Calculator, and a training offer covering hill farming and conservation, alongside multi-year programmes such as the £3 million Our Upland Commons project and Defra ELM Test and Trials. Revenue is derived primarily from charitable grants and project funding.
Product overview
Foundation for Common Land offers a suite of interconnected products and programmes focused on protecting and enhancing England's common land. The core offerings include the SFI Moorland Surveying App (a digital tool for moorland assessments), the Common Land Toolkit (practical management resources), and the Carbon Calculator. These are supported by major programmes such as the Our Upland Commons project (£3m, 4.5-year initiative), Defra ELM Test and Trials, and the Young Commoners networking initiative. The organisation also provides educational content through Commons Stories multimedia collection and Walking Trails. Together, these offerings provide practical tools, advocacy support, research programmes, and educational resources for commoners, land managers, and stakeholders working with England's 3% common land.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- SFI Moorland Surveying App A mobile-based digital surveying tool enabling those with SFI Moorland agreements to complete the M0R1 actions required for moorland assessments. Collects essential data including peat depth, surface roughness, and vegetation types while providing guidance, working both online and offline for remote locations, and reducing the need for expensive external surveys. Targeted at commoners and moorland managers across England's upland commons.
- Common Land Toolkit An online resource collection supporting best practices and day-to-day management of common land by commoners and land owners. Covers setting up and running Associations, identifying and recording public goods such as biodiversity and archaeology, and provides guidance, resources, and core documents.
- Carbon Calculator A resource tool for calculating carbon storage and emissions related to common land management practices, supporting commoners and land managers in assessing carbon outcomes of their management decisions.
- Training Offer A range of training courses, workshops, and services offered to professional organisations, individuals, farmers, and commoners covering hill farming, conservation, and land management practices. Delivered by experienced commoners and partner organisations across England's upland commons regions.
- Hill Sheep Husbandry in England Guide A published guide on hill sheep husbandry authored by Andrew Humphries MBE PhD and published by Foundation for Common Land. Available as a free PDF download or as a hard copy sold at £8 plus £2 p&p (UK only). Targeted at farmers, commoners, students, and professionals working with upland sheep husbandry.
Quantifiable outcome
- 200+ conservation professionals trained through hill farming training sessions
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Foundation for Common Land
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Foundation for Common Land technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Foundation for Common Land partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.
- National TrustmajorCollaboration on PhD research project co-designed with Foundation for Common Land and University of Exeter, working with commoners on Kinniside and Derwent commons. Joint interest in Lake District landscape management.
- University of ExetermajorAcademic partner for biodiversity research on common land, co-supervising PhD project with National Trust and Foundation for Common Land.
- University of CumbriamajorHost of Lake District Summit with Royal Patron; Julia Aglionby is Professor in Practice at the University of Cumbria; partnership on protected landscapes research.
- Federation of Cumbria CommonerscoreKey delivery partner for Defra ELM Test and Trial on Common Land and Our Upland Commons project. Viv Lewis served as facilitator for the Lake District.
- Dartmoor Land Use Management Group (DLUMG)majorIndependently chaired advisory group promoting cooperation on Dartmoor management. FCL facilitator Tamsin Thomas supports the group 3 days per week, funded by Dartmoor National Park Authority.
- Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)coreGovernment department funding Test and Trials for Environmental Land Management Schemes. FCL provides feedback on policy development for common land.
- Rural Payments Agency (RPA)coreGovernment agency working on solutions to enable commons to apply for Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier. Active collaboration on system functionality for common land applications.
- Commoners' Associations and FederationscoreIncluding Dartmoor Commons Council, Federation of Cumbria Commoners, Yorkshire Federation of Commoners, Gower Commoners Association, Scottish Crofting Federation among others.
- Environmental NGOsmajorPartnership with RSPB, Wildlife Trusts, and other conservation organizations for collaborative land management projects.
- Renew BiodiversityminorResearch partner appearing on supporting research page alongside other biodiversity organizations.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Foundation for Common Land competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Uplands Alliance: Coalition of upland-focused organizations chaired by FCL's Executive Director. Directly comparable as an upland-focused advocacy network addressing common land and hill farming issues, with overlapping member organizations.
- The Wildlife Trusts: A federation of 46 UK wildlife trusts focused on nature conservation and land management. Directly comparable to FCL as a UK environmental nonprofit working on land stewardship, with similar member-based and project-based funding models.
- CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England): Environmental charity advocating for the English countryside including common land policy. Comparable as a policy advocacy organization addressing rural land use issues with similar grant-dependent funding model.
- FWAG (Farming & Wildlife Advisory Group): Provides conservation advice to farmers including commons groups. Direct comparable as an advisor-focused organization bridging farming and conservation, with shared constituency of land managers and similar advisory service model.
Emerging players
- Plantlife: UK wild plant conservation charity with significant upland and common land work. Comparable as a niche conservation charity with overlapping upland habitat focus and similar grant-funded project model.
Broad incumbents
- Soil Association: UK charity focused on sustainable farming and land management including upland areas. Comparable as a fellow land management charity with farmer engagement and certification programs, though focused on organic agriculture rather than common land specifically.
- National Trust: UK's largest conservation charity managing heritage land, including significant common land holdings. Comparable as a fellow conservation nonprofit with large land management footprint, though much broader in scope than FCL's common land focus.
- RSPB: UK's largest nature conservation charity with significant upland land holdings. Comparable as a major environmental nonprofit with policy advocacy function, though operating at much larger scale across broader wildlife agenda.
- CLA (Country Land and Business Association): UK membership organization for rural landowners and businesses. Comparable as a membership-based rural advocacy body with overlapping constituency of commoners and land managers, though with broader business focus.
- NFU (National Farmers' Union): UK's largest farming representative body with active Uplands Committee. Comparable as a major farming advocacy organization with overlapping uplands constituency and government access, though focused on commercial farming more broadly.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Foundation for Common Land social profiles
Digital presenceFoundation for Common Land financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Foundation for Common Land leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
Foundation for Common Land funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Foundation for Common Land 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 Foundation for Common Land
What does Foundation for Common Land do?
Foundation for Common Land is the only national charity dedicated to England's common land, providing advocacy, training, digital tools, and convening services to commoners, landowners, government bodies, and conservation organisations. It delivers a proprietary SFI Moorland Surveying App, the Common Land Toolkit, a Carbon Calculator, and a training offer covering hill farming and conservation, alongside multi-year programmes such as the £3 million Our Upland Commons project and Defra ELM Test and Trials. Revenue is derived primarily from charitable grants and project funding.
Is Foundation for Common Land a public or private company?
Foundation for Common Land is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Foundation for Common Land founded?
Foundation for Common Land was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Foundation for Common Land based?
Foundation for Common Land is headquartered in Cumbria, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Foundation for Common Land make money?
One revenue line is on record: charitable Funding and Grants.
Who are Foundation for Common Land's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Uplands Alliance, The Wildlife Trusts, CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England) and FWAG (Farming & Wildlife Advisory Group). Plantlife is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Soil Association, National Trust, RSPB, CLA (Country Land and Business Association) and NFU (National Farmers' Union).
Does Foundation for Common Land have an API?
No public API is recorded for Foundation for Common Land.
What industry is Foundation for Common Land in?
Foundation for Common Land's product category is Land Conservation and Common Land Advocacy Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAGAC, Land Trusts & Protected Areas. Its NAICS code is 813312 and its SIC code is 800.