SFCT at 50

The Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts (SFCT) is an umbrella organisation that facilitates the work of the grantmaking trusts and charities established by three generations of the Sainsbury family. Each Trust is an independent entity with its own focus areas and board of Trustees, in many cases led by the family member who established it.

The Trusts have worked alongside each other in this unique structure since 1973, when the initial Trusts came together. Today, there are 16 Trusts, together with associated charitable companies.

The full SFCT at 50 brochure is available upon request. You can contact us here.

David Sainsbury

Timothy Sainsbury

FOREWORD

As founding family members of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts, we are pleased to join in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Trusts’ shared operations.

The Trusts and their shared office have changed enormously since the early days, when SFCT began by bringing the then handful of family Trusts under a single umbrella. In the decades since, we have seen the next generation of our family found their own Trusts, pursuing their distinct areas of interest alongside a growing staff team in the UK and East Africa.

It is wonderful to see in this brochure a snapshot of the varied work that the Trusts have supported. From heritage restoration to access to the arts; climate action to supporting refugees, these stories reflect the range of contributions made by grantees and programmes over the years. Our grantees have always been the focus, and we continue to be hugely impressed by their work to make the world a better place. Half a century of such work is certainly cause for celebration.

David and Timothy Sainsbury

Decades at SFCT

Choose a decade to explore the stories of impact.

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Years

40,000+

Grants in total

£3billion

In grants

Stats celebrating the impact of:

The Alan and Babette Sainsbury Charitable Fund

Ashden Climate Solutions

The Aurora Trust

The Elizabeth Clark Charitable Trust

Gatsby Africa

The Gatsby Charitable Foundation

Gatsby Technical Education Projects

The Glass-House Trust

The Headley Trust

The Indigo Trust

Jerusalem Productions Limited

The Jerusalem Trust

The JJ Charitable Trust

The Kay Kendall Leukaemia Fund

The Linbury Trust

The Mark Leonard Trust

The Monument Trust

The Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Charitable Trust

The Staples Trust

The Tedworth Charitable Trust

The Three Guineas Trust

The True Colours Trust

The Woodward Charitable Trust

The Woolbeding Charity

Fran Perrin

Sarah Butler-Sloss

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Reading these wide-ranging stories – fifty snapshots from thousands of grants and programmes – gives a clear sense of the breadth, scale and impact of the Trusts’ work over the past fifty years. Regardless of size, good grant-making has real impact. Small grants to help disadvantaged families during difficult times have been life-changing, as have the multi-million pound projects and programmes to increase access to the arts, invest in East African industry, or retrofit British homes.

Our parents’ generation shared a passion for actively making the world a better place. What they created in setting up SFCT in 1973 was a unique vision for how family philanthropy could operate. We are so grateful to them for encouraging us to join their philanthropic example and enabling us to follow our own passions. It is a testament to this philosophy that the Carnegie Medal was awarded to the entire family in 2003 rather than an individual Trust.

For us, the fifth generation, being able to lead our Trust’s work independently of one another while working collaboratively and learning and sharing with other Trusts, has been enormously beneficial and empowering. It has allowed each Trust to develop their own individual focus, grow their work over the years and make significant changes to their distinct areas of work. This is thanks to the remarkable and unique SFCT offices, and the incredible team of staff, as well as our dedicated Trustees. We are all so grateful for this.

SFCT is constantly evolving; as current co-chairs we are the first family members to share this role, the first from the fifth generation and the first women. SFCT has grown from a tiny family office to a substantial and sophisticated modern operation, and we’re delighted that it is starting to include the sixth generation of our family.

Being able to support and champion the work of a large range of grantees and to increase their impact on important causes is what drives us all. We aspire to build on the living legacy of the family’s giving, and SFCT continues to have a very important role in the world of philanthropy. We’re encouraged to know that future generations will benefit from SFCT’s support and we’re looking forward to celebrating further decades of impact.

Sarah Butler-Sloss and Fran Perrin