Henry Smith Foundation

Our Domestic Abuse Counselling Fund is now open for Expressions of Interest. Find out more, check eligibility and apply 👇

We are pleased that a group of funders has come together to support Reach Volunteering and help ensure the continuation of its important contribution to the voluntary sector. Reach's situation has highlighted both the value of organisations that provide infrastructure and support across the sector, and the challenges many such organisations face in securing sustainable funding. These organisations play a vital role in helping charities and communities thrive, often delivering benefits that extend far beyond any single organisation. While this response reflects the particular circumstances facing Reach, it has also highlighted wider questions about the long-term sustainability of social infrastructure. The funders involved have agreed to work together with infrastructure organisations and fellow funders to have a broader conversation this autumn to consider how the sector can build greater resilience for the future, beginning with a roundtable discussion being convened by Funders Together next month. City Bridge Foundation, Henry Smith Foundation, Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales, Postcode Lottery UK, The Clothworkers Company, This Day, Greater London Authority, William Grant Foundation

Angela Hartnett, the Michelin chef, opened a new restaurant. She served a school lunch. The menu wasn't invented. It was copied, plate for plate, from a real school canteen. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Prue Leith and Thomasina Miers sat down expecting a masterclass at a new pop-up called Centena. They got processed chicken burgers, stale buns, soggy chips and cold baked beans, secretly filmed for the video below. Every mouthful was real. None of it was what they expected. The second course reversed it: a curry with rice, flatbread and raita, built on Chefs in Schools recipes. Same event. Same guests. A different standard. Many school caterers work hard, often with tight budgets. The new standards, due by the end of September, set what should be served. The School Food Project, a coalition of Chefs in Schools, The Food Foundation, School Food Matters, Bite Back and The Jamie Oliver Group, exists to support every school to deliver them on budget. We're part of a coalition of foundations backing the project. The leading reason children aged five to nine end up in hospital in the UK is tooth decay. 80% of teachers agree unhealthy food at lunch and breaktime can lead to disruptive behaviour. A child eats a third of their meals at school. How good it is depends on their postcode. Since the start of term, Free School Meals have been extended to every family in England on Universal Credit, protecting 500,000 more children from hunger. Watch the video: https://lnkd.in/eDCy9yVk If you run a school kitchen, help is waiting: https://lnkd.in/d7KnDzfE

Today we welcome our first illustrator-in-residence: Rosa ter Kuile, known as RTiiiKA. Rosa is a Bristol-based illustrator and muralist early in her career, working across illustration, live drawing and public art. She joins us every Tuesday for the next thirteen weeks, bringing a fresh energy into how we picture our stories. See her work: https://rtiiika.com

Domestic abuse touches almost every part of a survivor's life: mental and physical health, relationships, confidence, safety.   Recovery from domestic abuse takes time, but support is often short-term.   Alice Piller-Roner, Chief Executive of Woman's Trust, has written a guest article for Henry Smith Foundation. It draws on a consultation with survivors who completed specialist counselling at Woman's Trust. Their experiences varied, but four themes ran through them: time, continuity, specialist knowledge, and access to the right support at the right stage of recovery.   Alice argues for a system where organisations have the stability to provide this, and survivors get the time and specialist support to rebuild their lives. Read her article:  https://lnkd.in/e8R3aMhS   More on our Domestic Abuse: Counselling Fund:   https://lnkd.in/eQcrfSN7

We’re recruiting a Communications Officer to create communications to share learning and create positive change in people's lives. It's a broad and varied role. You'll be writing content for the website one day, designing graphics or publications the next, and delivering training or support to teams on another. You'll work with our Co-Heads of Communications Ellen R. and Michael Gough, helping to showcase our grant holders and their work, launch new funds, and share learning across our sector. We need someone with strong written and verbal skills, and an eye for design and detail. Most of all, we need a team member with a proactive, growth mindset, and a heart for people and relationships. Our small team is values-driven and committed to supporting development. Full time role, £35,000 pa. Read the job advert, then Contact Kris or Ollie at The Talent Set for more information and to apply: https://lnkd.in/eEiUTZys

The Maternity Equity Fund is now open for Expressions of Interest. Read more and apply 👇

Every survivor of domestic abuse deserves sensitive, trauma-informed counselling support. Survivors usually need access to longer-term counselling to recover, rebuild confidence, improve wellbeing, and move forward. Too often, specialist domestic abuse support organisations struggle to secure funding that lasts long enough for this help to be effective. Through the Domestic Abuse: Counselling Fund, we want to help sustain access to specialist counselling for survivors. The fund opens for Expressions of Interest on 23rd September. Sign up to our webinar on 15th September and find out more on the Fund webpage: https://lnkd.in/eQcrfSN7

A town in Lancashire cut children's mental health A&E visits by 59%. Not with more clinics. Not with a bigger budget. By organising care around people, instead of passing them between services. It wasn’t more clinics or a bigger budget, but organising care around people and relationships that made the difference. Like Fleetwood, there are practitioners and organisations all over the country  isn't a one-off. Dozens of places are quietly working in the same way, and most have never heard of each other. Our new blog looks at what they share, and why it hasn't spread and the opportunities ahead for making public services more human, ahead of 'Towards a Relational State', a report we funded, written by Marc Le Chevallier, Nigel Ball and Polly Mackenzie at Zinc Innovation Partners. Read about it here. https://lnkd.in/eW5ytsKk

Every family deserves the best possible start, but for too many people, maternity experiences and outcomes are shaped by inequities that are unfair and preventable. That's why the Maternity Equity Fund is so important. This fund will invest in trusted, community-led organisations delivering preventative, trauma-informed and culturally safe support during pregnancy and birth. These organisations are close to the communities they serve, helping to break down barriers, improve access to care, and create better experiences and outcomes for families. The fund will strengthen partnerships, share learning, and build evidence about what works so successful approaches can influence maternity care and systems more widely. The fund opens for expressions of interest at 9am on 3 September 2026. https://lnkd.in/ekHqgapC