About us

The Old Dart Foundation is a private grant-making foundation which was founded in 2013 in the UK. Established as a spend-down foundation, our mission is to tackle poverty for women, children and young people by improving outcomes in health, education and employment.

The Foundation has a geographically-specific scope, supporting organisations in Chile, Papua New Guinea, Peru, and the Philippines. We currently make grants to approximately 27 different charitable organisations and in some cases we fund multiple projects with that partner.

The Foundation has a preference for partnering with organisations which work directly with their beneficiaries and for forming long-term, strategic partnerships. The size and length of our different partnerships vary greatly, reflecting the wide range of organisations we fund from small, community and volunteer initiatives to larger national organisations. Our partner organisations must demonstrate that they are meeting a need effectively with clear outcomes, strong leadership and a robust business plan.

The Foundation's grant-making approach continues to evolve. We welcome applications for funding from organisations that meet the above criteria, but we are also increasingly interested in proactive grant-making and building partnerships and coalitions around causes we have identified in our focus countries.

Our Mission Statement

To reduce poverty primarily in Peru and Papua New Guinea but also the Philippines and Chile, by supporting initiatives to improve health, employment and education amongst impoverished women, children and young people.

Our Resources

The Foundation was created as a spend-down foundation; instead of lasting in perpetuity, we want to commit all our resources to tackling poverty in the here and now. The trustees have agreed not to put any artificial timeline on the spend-out but intend to commit all the funds in the shortest reasonable time frame. We recognise the need to fund responsibly and that the challenge of tackling poverty requires strategic, long-term thinking. Our legacy will be to help build resilient communities and organisations that last beyond the lifetime of the Foundation.

Safeguarding

The Old Dart Foundation believes that it is unacceptable for anyone to experience abuse of any kind. We recognise our responsibilities for safeguarding and child protection and as such have a policy which commits all of our directors, employees and contractors to practices which promote and protect the welfare of all children, young people and adults. We expect all grantees to share these values and have appropriate policies and practices in place as part of any grant agreement. For more information, please contact a member of the Foundation team.