The Monday Charitable Trust

The challenge 

The Monday Charitable Trust (MCT) is a grant-making foundation which aims to improve the life chances of disadvantaged and often marginalised groups in the United Kingdom. It supports UK registered charities that work to tackle disadvantage, mainly in the fields of housing, education, and the environment. A strategy refresh in 2023, supported by NPC, included the decision to start a new ‘climate portfolio’ of grants. As a result, MCT commissioned NPC to help identify the focus of its grants in this area. 

The approach 

NPC recommended that MCT establish a ‘learning portfolio’ as it took its first steps into environmental giving. With regards to making decisions on the focus of its grants in this area, NPC recommended that the trustees consider an ‘environmental portfolio’ rather than a ‘climate portfolio’ in recognition of the interconnected nature of changes to our climate, natural world, and the impact this has on people’s lives in the UK.  

Following an initial kick-off meeting to agree scope and focus, NPC researched and provided analysis on two areas:  

1) An introduction to environmental philanthropy and the options for funding in this space. 

2) Analysis of the links between MCT’s existing grant focus areas (housing and education) and the environmental crises. NPC facilitated a process of ranking options and the trustees agreed on MCT’s focus for its environmental portfolio. Workshop discussions included facilitated debate on the different levers for change and the type of funding that MCT would offer. 

The result 

NPC’s support helped MCT’s board to increase its understanding of environmental philanthropy and how environmental issues impact the areas of housing and education.  As a result, MCT adopted an ‘environmental portfolio’ with a focus on:  

1) Biodiversity and species preservation. 

2) Climate and atmosphere. 

3) Holistic approaches covering coastal ecosystems, fresh water, land use, consumption, waste, toxics and pollution.  

The trustees also committed to embedding environmental issues into MCT’s housing and education grant-making. 

NPC also supported the MCT board to consider the ‘levers’ that could be used to support change within their environmental giving. Following discussion, the trustees agreed to focus on three proven levers for change:

1) Enforce and improve law/regulation.

2) Innovate and scale (including research).

3) Policy change.

The work we completed with NPC has assisted the trustees to think strategically about their grant funding in the area of environmental crises.  It will enable discussions with potential grantees to be more focussed in the areas of interest and allow grantees to structure programme applications to be more in line with MCT strategic aims.

Andrew Hope, Trust Advisor, Monday Charitable Trust