Mark Evison Foundation

What Mark Evison Foundation does

The Mark Evison Foundation is a UK-based charitable foundation established in 2010 in memory of Mark Evison, operating from London with approximately 10 staff. The organization provides grants to young people — primarily UK secondary school students — to undertake ambitious personal challenges spanning outdoor expeditions, athletic achievements, creative projects, and community initiatives. It reaches students through a network of UK secondary schools, school assemblies led by foundation representatives including Margaret Evison, direct applications via its website, and word-of-mouth referrals from past recipients.

The foundation runs several structured award programs. Major Awards are the flagship grants supporting exceptional individual challenges, with documented recipients having summited Mount Everest, swum the English Channel, and completed long-distance cycling expeditions. School Awards provide grants to teams of students for projects including hiking, robotics, music recordings, fashion shows, and cultural festivals. Two dedicated memorial awards — the Dulwich College Memorial Award and the Charterhouse Memorial Award — are run in partnership with named schools, providing annual grant cycles tied to those institutions. A specialized Australian Outback Award enables recipients to work as jillaroos or jackaroos on rural Australian properties, extending the foundation's challenge portfolio internationally.

The foundation operates as a non-profit with no commercial revenue stream. All grantmaking is funded by charitable donations, Gift Aid claims, and a 'Friends' recurring membership program, with donation infrastructure including JustGiving integration. It is independently governed by a board of trustees, has no parent company or subsidiaries, and markets primarily through its website, school assembly presentations, and social proof from past recipients. Award cycles have run continuously since 2010 and are documented through 2026, with the foundation actively operating and expanding its partner school network over time.

Name

Mark Evison Foundation

Legal name

Mark Evison Foundation

Website

https://markevisonfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Mark Evison Foundation is a UK charitable foundation established in 2010 that awards grants to secondary school students to undertake ambitious personal challenges. It funds expeditions, athletic achievements, creative projects, and community initiatives through donations and Gift Aid.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Charitable Grants

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Youth grant programs
• Charitable foundation awards
• Student challenge grants
• Memorial scholarship funds
• School expedition awards

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The foundation operates as a charitable organization funded by donations. Recipients receive grants to complete challenges rather than the foundation generating revenue. Income comes from individual donors, Gift Aid scheme participation, and the 'Friends' membership program.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Mark Evison Foundation is a UK-based charitable foundation that provides grants and awards to young people, primarily secondary school students, to undertake ambitious personal challenges and projects. Operated award programs include Major Awards, School Awards, Australian Outback Awards, and Memorial Awards in partnership with schools (Dulwich College, Charterhouse). Challenges span hiking expeditions, cycling journeys, mountaineering, creative projects, technical builds, and community initiatives, and are funded by individual donations, Gift Aid, and a 'Friends' membership program.

Product overview

The Mark Evison Foundation is a charitable organization that provides grants and awards to young people (primarily secondary school students) to undertake challenging projects and adventures. The foundation operates several award programs including Major Awards for exceptional individual achievements, School Awards for various student projects, Australian Outback Awards for rural Australian work experience, and Memorial Awards in partnership with schools like Charterhouse and Dulwich College. The supported challenges span outdoor expeditions (hiking, cycling, mountaineering), creative projects (music, film, fashion), technical builds (robotics, drones), and community initiatives. The foundation was established in memory of Mark Evison to encourage young people to challenge themselves.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Major Awards Grants awarded to young people for undertaking exceptional individual challenges including major expeditions such as Mount Everest climbing, long-distance cycling to Gibraltar and Africa, swimming the English Channel, and horse riding around Lake Khosvgol in Mongolia. Targeted at ambitious individual students with high-impact personal projects.
• School Awards Grants awarded to secondary school students for undertaking challenging projects including hiking expeditions, cycling journeys, robotics builds, music recordings, fashion shows, and community initiatives. Delivered through partner UK secondary schools.
• Australian Outback Award A specialized grant enabling recipients to work as jillaroos or jackaroos on Australian rural properties, gaining experience in mustering, sheep management, and Australian outback life.
• Charterhouse Memorial Award Memorial award in partnership with Charterhouse School for students undertaking ambitious challenges, including coast-to-coast hikes, recording studio sessions, and French wilderness expeditions.
• Dulwich College Memorial Award Memorial award in partnership with Dulwich College supporting students in completing major adventures such as the Four Peaks challenge, Land's End to John O'Groats cycling, and cycle from London to Nice.

Quantifiable outcome

• Students complete challenging expeditions and projects spanning outdoor adventures (hiking, cycling, climbing), creative endeavors (films, music albums, fashion shows), and humanitarian initiatives

Named customers6 records

Segments2 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.

• Dulwich CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDulwich College Memorial Award - an annual award in memory of Mark Evison for Dulwich College students to undertake ambitious challenges, continuing the spirit of adventure and challenge that defined Mark Evison.
• Charterhouse SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharterhouse Memorial Award - an annual award for Charterhouse students to complete challenging projects, part of the foundation's school memorial award program.
• UK Secondary Schools NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe foundation works with numerous UK secondary schools to identify and support student applicants. Schools serve as the primary channel for recruiting award recipients, with teachers and staff promoting opportunities and supporting student applications.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• The Prince's Trust: Major UK youth-development charity providing funding, training, and grants to young people aged 11–30 across the UK. Overlapping beneficiary demographic and grantmaking activity but at far greater scale and broader programme scope than Mark Evison Foundation.
• The Woodward Charitable Trust: UK grantmaking foundation funding small charities and youth projects, including education and personal-development initiatives. Comparable as a UK small-grantmaking entity, though less youth-specific in targeting.

Emerging players

• The RAF Benevolent Fund Youth Programmes: Provides funding and development opportunities for young people including adventurous training and challenge awards. Comparable challenge-grant mechanism, though with a beneficiary skew toward RAF-affiliated youth.
• Young Enterprise: UK charity delivering enterprise and personal-development programmes to school-age students. Partial overlap in target demographic and character-development outcomes, though focused more on enterprise skills than outdoor/creative challenges.

Direct peers

• Sky's the Limit Fund: UK charity providing small grants to young people (often via youth workers and schools) to overcome barriers to participation in activities, training, and challenges. Comparable grantmaking mechanism and beneficiary profile.
• The Brathay Trust: UK charity working with young people through outdoor challenges, expeditions, and personal development programmes. Similar youth-challenge funding model and outcomes focus (resilience, ambition, character).
• Woodland Trust Schools Fund / Ernest Cook Trust: UK educational charitable trust that provides small grants to schools and young people for outdoor learning, expeditions, and character-building projects. Comparable grantmaking scale, school-channel distribution, and youth-outdoor focus.
• British Exploring Society: UK charity funding adventurous expeditions and personal-development programmes for young people from a wide range of backgrounds. Highly comparable in challenge-based youth funding, though primarily delivered via organised expeditions rather than individual grants.
• The Jack Petchey Foundation: UK charity that awards grants to young people (primarily through schools and youth organisations) for personal achievement, leadership, and challenge projects. Closest direct peer in mission, target demographic (UK secondary school students), and grantmaking model.

Regional players

• The Dulwich College Foundation: The charitable arm of Dulwich College providing bursaries and developmental grants to students. Comparable as a UK independent-school grantmaking entity, and a direct institutional partner of Mark Evison Foundation via the Dulwich College Memorial Award.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mark-evison-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Mark Evison Foundation