Sussex Community Foundation

What Sussex Community Foundation does

Sussex Community Foundation is an independent registered charity (No 1113226) and company limited by guarantee (No 5670692), founded in 2006 by the late 10th Duke of Richmond and Gordon and headquartered in Lewes, East Sussex, UK. It operates as a community foundation connecting local philanthropists with small charities and community groups across Sussex (Brighton & Hove, East Sussex, West Sussex), with a staff team of approximately 13. Since inception it has raised £70 million cumulatively, distributed £36 million in grants to over 3,000 organisations, and holds £26 million in endowment to fund future generations.

Its core products comprise a Main Grants programme (£1,000–£10,000 per grant, average just over £5,000) supporting grassroots organisations with annual income under £2 million, Additional Grants including the Rampion Community Benefit Fund and named thematic funds, and four Funding Priorities — Tackling Poverty, Improving Health, Reaching Potential, and Acting on Climate. Donor-side offerings include Donor Advised Funds (flow-through with 10% Foundation contribution, or endowment with 3% donation fee plus 1.5% per annum capital fee, minimum £25,000 entry), Philanthropy Advice services, a Friends Programme (£40/month or £500/year), Legacy Giving, and a Professional Advisors Partnership. Technology consists of a Salesforce-based online grant application portal (sussexcf.my.site.com/fundseekerportal) with real-time progress tracking and 360Giving-standard open grant data publication.

The foundation's business model blends fee-for-service revenue (DAF management fees, Friends subscriptions) with philanthropic and corporate contributions covering operating costs. Go-to-market is hybrid: relationship-driven philanthropy advice to high-net-worth donors and their professional advisors, combined with a self-serve online grants portal and event-led engagement (Sussex in the City, Brighton & Hove Homelessness Showcase). It is a quality-accredited member of UK Community Foundations, a signatory to IVAR's eight Flexible Funders commitments, and administers over 100 dedicated funds on behalf of individuals, families, businesses, and charitable trusts.

Name

Sussex Community Foundation

Legal name

Sussex Community Foundation

Website

https://sussexcommunityfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sussex Community Foundation is a UK registered charity founded in 2006 that connects local philanthropists with small Sussex-based charities and community groups through Donor Advised Funds, philanthropy advice, and a Main Grants programme (£1,000–£10,000), supported by a £26 million endowment and four strategic funding priorities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation Grantmaking

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA), Family Offices & Philanthropic Advisors (Grantmaking) (BPAGAKAD)

Keywords

• Community foundation grants
• Donor advised funds
• Philanthropy advisory services
• Charity grantmaking
• Local community funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Lewes

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donor Advised Funds - Flow-through: Flow-through funds spend donations as grants, typically within a year. Typical contribution to the Foundation is 10% of each donation.
2. Donor Advised Funds - Endowment: Endowment funds are invested for long-term benefit. Typical contribution to the Foundation is 3% of donations and 1.5% of the capital value per annum after one year.
3. Philanthropy Advice Services: Expert philanthropy advice provided to individuals, families, businesses, and charitable trusts. Services include matching donors with causes, managing administration, investments, due diligence, reporting, and legal responsibilities.
4. Friends Program: Regular monthly or annual donations from Friends of the Foundation. Friends pledge £40 per month or £500 per year.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Sussex Community Foundation is a registered charity that connects local donors with local causes and distributes grants to charities and community groups across Sussex. It manages over 100 dedicated Donor Advised Funds (both flow-through and endowment variants) on behalf of individuals, families, businesses, and charitable trusts, while awarding Main Grants of £1,000–£10,000 to grassroots organisations and providing expert philanthropy advice.

Product overview

Sussex Community Foundation operates as a community foundation offering a portfolio of philanthropic services organised around grant-making and giving vehicles. Core products include Main Grants (funding grassroots organisations £1,000-£10,000) and Additional Grants (themed funds like Rampion Community Benefit Fund), alongside Donor Advised Funds (flow-through and endowment variants) enabling tax-efficient local giving. The Foundation channels resources through four Funding Priorities: Tackling Poverty, Improving Health, Reaching Potential, and Acting on Climate. Complementary services include Philanthropy Advice, a Friends membership programme, Legacy Giving, and a Professional Advisors Partnership. Research publications (Sussex Uncovered series) and specialist funds like the Brighton & Hove Homelessness Fund and Sussex Crisis Fund round out the portfolio. The Foundation connects donors with local causes through an online grants portal with data published via 360Giving standard.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Donor Advised Funds

Quantifiable outcome

• £48 million raised since 2006
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, key and minor.

• UK Community Foundations (UKCF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSussex Community Foundation is a proud member of UK Community Foundations, a movement of 47 accredited and independent community foundations. As UKCF members they are locally rooted while nationally connected. UKCF collectively mobilises over £180 million annually to grassroots charities and community groups throughout the UK.
• IVAR (Institute of Voluntary Action Research)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSussex Community Foundation is one of the Flexible Funders, signed up to IVAR's eight funder commitments to fund charities in an open and trusting way. The eight commitments were designed by charities and funders to support grant management in a way that reflects funders' confidence in and respect for the organisations they fund.
• 360GivingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSussex Community Foundation works with 360Giving to openly publish information about grant making programmes. Grant data from 2017 onwards is available on 360Giving's platform, published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
• VCSE Infrastructure Organisations (Voluntary Actions)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with local VCSE Infrastructure Organisations across Sussex including Community Works, Resource Centre, Community Action East Sussex, Hastings Voluntary Action, Rother Voluntary Action, Sussex Community Development Association, Adur Voluntary Action, Crawley Community Action, and others. These organisations provide support for local charities and community groups.
• Professional Advisors NetworkkeyChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership with professional advisors including solicitors, accountants, and wealth managers to help clients achieve philanthropic goals. Foundation provides expert local philanthropy advice and can partner with advisors to embed philanthropy in clients' wider financial planning.
• JustlifekeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerJustlife is a homelessness charity that co-hosted the Brighton & Hove Homelessness Showcase and Pledge Event with IMEX and Sussex Community Foundation. The event aimed to raise £200,000 for the Brighton & Hove Homelessness Fund.
• IMEX GroupkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMEX Group co-hosted the Brighton & Hove Homelessness Showcase and Pledge Event with Justlife and Sussex Community Foundation to bring together businesses and charities working to address homelessness.
• Charity Mentors SussexminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFree mentoring for charity leaders across Sussex. Charity Mentors provides free, structured, one-to-one mentoring to leaders of charities and community organisations, helping them think strategically, build confidence, and strengthen impact and sustainability.
• West Sussex County CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal council partnership providing funding advice and support for voluntary and community organisations in West Sussex.
• East Sussex County CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal council partnership providing funding advice and support for voluntary and community organisations in East Sussex.
• Brighton and Hove City CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal council partnership providing grants and support for community and voluntary organisations in Brighton & Hove.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Charities Aid Foundation (CAF): A much larger national charity operating donor-advised giving, Gift Aid services and charitable trust administration across the UK. Overlaps with Sussex Community Foundation's Donor Advised Fund and philanthropy-advice services but at national scale and without the Sussex-specific local knowledge moat.
• UK Community Foundations (UKCF): The umbrella body of 47 accredited community foundations including Sussex Community Foundation. UKCF collectively mobilises over £180m annually and provides accreditation, peer benchmarking and shared infrastructure, making it the closest broad-incumbent network peer.

Direct peers

• Cumbria Community Foundation: A peer community foundation administering Donor Advised Funds, themed priorities and grassroots grant programmes for Cumbrian charities. Directly comparable structure including UKCF accreditation and similar staff scale.
• Norfolk Community Foundation: East Anglian peer community foundation with comparable team size, endowment model, donor-advised funds and a similar portfolio of themed grant programmes for small charities. Operates under the same UKCF accreditation regime.
• London Community Foundation: Another UKCF-accredited community foundation operating Donor Advised Funds and themed grant programmes for small charities across a defined metropolitan geography. Highly comparable operating model — philanthropy advice + endowment + Main Grants — though operating at larger scale in London.
• Devon Community Foundation: A county-scale UK community foundation offering DAFs, philanthropy advice and themed grant priorities to small charities in Devon. Closely comparable regional-grantmaking and donor-services model.
• Cambridgeshire Community Foundation: A peer community foundation delivering donor-advised funds, themed grant programmes and matched-funding campaigns to small charities in Cambridgeshire, under the same UKCF accreditation standards.
• Suffolk Community Foundation: A peer county-level UK community foundation running DAFs, themed funding priorities and Main Grants for grassroots organisations in Suffolk. Directly comparable in scale, regional focus and funding-priority structure to Sussex.
• Heart of England Community Foundation: A directly comparable UK regional community foundation operating Donor Advised Funds, endowment-building and grant programmes for grassroots charities in the West Midlands and Warwickshire. Same UKCF accreditation model, similar team size and fundholder structure as Sussex.
• Yorkshire Community Foundation: A larger regional community foundation providing donor-advised giving vehicles and grant programmes across Yorkshire, UKCF-accredited, with the same locally-rooted operating model as Sussex but at greater geographic and capital scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sussex-community-foundation

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Sussex Community Foundation