the rank foundation

What the rank foundation does

The Rank Foundation is a UK charitable foundation established in 1942 by the flour miller and filmmaker Arthur Rank, headquartered in Shoreditch, London. It operates an engaged philanthropy model focused on three thematic areas — leadership, enterprise, and care — and serves approximately 1,500 social sector leaders across the UK through a portfolio of programmes and a digital community platform. Core offerings include the Time to Shine Programme (a 12-month paid leadership placement that has produced nearly 700 leaders since 2011), the Fellowship (an alumni network of 600+ cross-sector leaders created in 2003 by Fred Packard, grandson of Arthur Rank), School Leadership Awards for young people, and a coworking space in Shoreditch designed for social sector organisations.

The foundation's technology backbone is RankNet, a Hivebrite-powered digital community platform that connects members, manages events, and facilitates collaboration, complemented by Nexudus for coworking space management. Content and engagement channels include The Ripple Effect podcast (launched Autumn 2024), the quarterly Rank Ripples magazine, and an active LinkedIn alumni group. The foundation's commercial revenue is generated through coworking space rental (hot-desking from £35 + VAT daily, flexible desks from £240 + VAT monthly, plus meeting room hire), while the bulk of its operating capital comes from engaged philanthropy funding, management support, and network access provided to selected partner charities. The foundation explicitly does not accept unsolicited funding applications, instead selecting partners through research-led processes. Geographic operations span London, Dundee, Sunderland, Plymouth, and Hull, with named partner organisations in each region.

Name

the rank foundation

Legal name

The Rank Foundation

Website

https://rankfoundation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1942

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Rank Foundation is a UK charitable foundation that supports social sector leaders through leadership programmes, a coworking space in Shoreditch, and a digital community platform (RankNet) connecting approximately 1,500 social sector leaders across the UK.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Sector Philanthropy

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Social sector philanthropy
• Leadership development programmes
• Grant funding charities
• Charitable coworking space
• Community network platform

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Coworking Space Rental: The foundation operates a coworking space in Shoreditch, London, specifically designed for the social sector. Revenue is generated through various desk memberships (hot-desking, flexible desk, dedicated desk) and meeting room hire. Pricing is positioned as affordable compared to market rates in the area.
2. Engaged Philanthropy / Grant Making: The foundation operates under an engaged philanthropy model, concentrating funding, knowledge and expertise in focused areas (leadership, enterprise, care). They provide not just financial capital but also social and intellectual capital, management support, and access to their wider network. The foundation funds projects that are chosen through research-led processes by executive directors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Rank Foundation is a UK-registered non-profit charitable foundation that supports social sector organisations through engaged philanthropy (grant-making), leadership development programmes, and a coworking facility. It operates grant funding, the Time to Shine leadership placement programme, the Fellowship alumni network, School Leadership Awards for young people, and a coworking space in Shoreditch, London for social sector tenants.

Product overview

The Rank Foundation operates a network of social sector leadership programmes and services. The core offering is the Rank Network—a community of around 1,500 social sector leaders connected through the RankNet digital platform (built on Hivebrite). Key programmes include The Fellowship (alumni network created in 2003 with 600+ members), the Time to Shine 12-month leadership placement programme (700+ leaders since 2011), and the Coworking Space in Shoreditch, London (for social sector organisations). Additional offerings include the Rank Aspire Programme, School Leadership Award, and The Ripple Effect Podcast. The Foundation does not offer technology products but provides philanthropic and leadership development services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Time to Shine Programme
• The Fellowship
• School Leadership Awards
• Coworking Space (Shoreditch, London)
• Engaged Philanthropy / Grant Funding

Quantifiable outcome

• Almost 700 Time to Shine leaders developed since 2011
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Winston Churchill Memorial TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint collaboration on a 3-year research project (2012-2015) addressing complex challenges facing UK communities. 58 Churchill Fellows were selected to undertake international, experiential research investigating how to build strong communities. The collaboration resulted in a joint report 'Building Better Communities through Global Learning' launched at the House of Commons, identifying four key themes: Engagement and cohesion, Health and safety, Empowerment and resilience, Enterprise and innovation.
• HivebritecoreTechnology or IntegrationHivebrite powers the RankNet community engagement platform, providing the digital infrastructure for networking, event management, and member communication within the Rank Network of social sector leaders.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Paul Hamlyn Foundation: UK private foundation focused on social justice, education, and the arts with an engaged grantmaking model. Comparable in mission scope, UK focus, and approach of providing long-term, flexible support to social-sector organisations.
• Esmée Fairbairn Foundation: One of the largest UK independent grantmakers supporting social, environmental, and cultural causes. Direct peer as a UK private foundation using engaged grantmaking with focus on long-term impact — closely aligned with Rank's three-pillar approach (leadership, enterprise, care).
• Lloyds Bank Foundation: UK grantmaker focused on supporting small and medium-sized charities tackling social disadvantage. Comparable as a UK-focused engaged funder that combines unrestricted grants with capacity-building support for charity leaders.
• Tudor Trust: UK independent grantmaking foundation supporting smaller communities and marginalised people. Direct peer in operating as a private foundation with a relationship-based, engaged grantmaking approach and focus on smaller charities.
• Barrow Cadbury Trust: UK independent foundation focused on social justice, with strong emphasis on supporting communities and connecting social-sector leaders. Comparable in its combination of grant funding with convening/networking roles for charity leaders.
• Joseph Rowntree Foundation: Large UK foundation addressing poverty and social disadvantage through research, policy, and grant funding. Direct peer in operating as a long-established UK foundation with programmes covering leadership and community development alongside funding.
• Garfield Weston Foundation: One of the UK's largest family-founded grantmaking charities, supporting education, youth, community, and the arts. Comparable as a long-established UK private foundation with broad social-sector grantmaking.
• City Bridge Foundation: London-focused grantmaking charity funding initiatives that reduce inequality and disadvantage across the capital. Direct peer in its UK (London) focus, community grantmaking, and emphasis on social-sector leadership development.

Broad incumbents

• Comic Relief: Major UK charitable institution funding projects tackling poverty and social injustice. Broad incumbent offering overlapping capabilities around grantmaking and community capacity-building, but at much larger scale and with public fundraising rather than endowment-funded model.
• The National Lottery Community Fund: Largest community funder in the UK distributing National Lottery money to community projects. Broad incumbent competitor for community-focused social-sector grantmaking across the UK, with open applications model contrasting with Rank's closed research-led selection.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@therankfoundation954
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-rank-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 the rank foundation