John Feeney Charitable Trust

The John Feeney Charitable Trust, established in 1905 by Birmingham philanthropist John Feeney, upholds a founding mission to benefit the city's residents through public charities promoting arts, cultural heritage, and acquisition/maintenance of parks, recreation grounds, and open spaces, explicitly excluding political or denominational purposes. Core values embody the 'Spirit of Feeney'—ambitious, transformative, one-of-a-kind projects delivering lasting civic impact and enabling initiatives that would otherwise not proceed. Their grantmaking philosophy prioritizes deepening public engagement with Birmingham's heritage, celebrating marginalised communities and unsung histories, enriching open spaces access, and fostering environmental sustainability, believing change arises from concentrated, place-rooted investments in cultural and green infrastructure that create visible, enduring benefits for local people.

They fund arts and cultural heritage projects including commissions for new artistic works, heritage preservation illuminating diverse ethnic minorities, working-class narratives, and immigrant stories through exhibitions, public installations, and educational programs; support for institutions like museums and galleries enhancing collections and public access; community-led cultural events, festivals, and creative arts activities promoting inclusion and social cohesion; open spaces interventions such as parks restoration, recreation grounds enhancement, woodland conservation like Warley Woods, and sustainable green infrastructure improving biodiversity, accessibility, and community wellbeing. Activities encompass project grants covering direct costs for heritage research, digitization, oral history projects, and environmental stewardship; fellowships for career development in arts curation, heritage interpretation, landscape management, and community arts facilitation. They target transformative solutions addressing cultural disconnection, historical erasure of marginalised voices, urban green space degradation, and barriers to arts participation, supporting community organisations delivering participatory, inclusive interventions that build civic pride, intergenerational engagement, and ecological resilience.

They exclude core costs, unrestricted funding, emergency relief, national or non-Birmingham projects without direct resident benefit, duplicative or incremental work, and individuals without organisational backing. Distinctive for Birmingham-centric focus on ambitious cultural commissions and heritage celebrating unsung diverse communities, preference as primary funder for unique, visible legacies, and requirement for public acknowledgment and outcomes reporting, they prioritise grassroots heritage groups, environmental charities stewarding public lands, and arts bodies empowering local voices in the city's civic and natural heritage ecosystem.