Stone Family Foundation

NPC has worked closely with the Stone Family Foundation (SFF) from the outset of their philanthropic journey in 2005 and continues to provide advice to the family foundation’s UK based portfolios.

The Challenge 

The Stone family decided, following the sale of a business, to give away the bulk of their wealth in their lifetime. The family sought expert advice from NPC to help them get started. With advice from NPC they identified the causes they cared about, but they faced practical challenges when it came to selecting effective charities to fund and evaluating the impact of their giving.

Our Approach

Following extensive research, the Foundation decided to focus on three thematic areas: water and sanitation (WASH) in Africa and Asia, and mental health and disadvantaged youth in the UK.

We helped the SFF identify and learn about charities in these sectors, ran workshops to explore the world of international development, introduced the family to experts in the field, and helped the Trustees to build a portfolio of potential grantees for them to visit with a view to funding.

Since 2015, the WASH portfolio has employed a team of dedicated specialists in water and sanitation. NPC continues to advise much of the SFF’s UK-based grant giving. This includes conducting sector research to help inform strategy developments across both portfolios, identifying and conducting due diligence on new potential grant holders, and monitoring the existing grants in both portfolios.

As the SFF’s giving has progressed, the Foundation increasingly looks for impact-focused interventions that offer innovative, scalable solutions to entrenched social issues.

The Results

The Stone Family Foundation is one of the largest UK-based international grant-makers, providing around £8m per year (in equity, debt and grants) to fund WASH projects as well as investing over £2m per year across its UK-based grantees. These charities provide essential frontline services predominantly supporting children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, with a focus on education, employment, and mental health.

The SFF typically gives unrestricted and multi-year grants and develops close and supportive relationships with the organisations it funds.

John Stone, Founder and Beacon Award Winner commented:

The advice that I have received from Coutts Bank Philanthropy Service and New Philanthropy Capital has been absolutely invaluable in terms of establishing the Foundation, helping us find the right path and making sure that we avoid the pitfalls that can trap the well-intentioned, unwary philanthropist. And achieve the maximum possible impact from our grants.

The Stones Family Foundation logo

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