P H Holt Foundation

The P H Holt Foundation is a legacy-driven grantmaker rooted in over a century of philanthropy aimed at improving everyday life for Merseyside residents through community strengthening and practical support for those facing disadvantage. Its core values emphasize local legacy, equity, social cohesion, and measurable life-changing impact, guided by a philosophy of building resilient communities via targeted investments in grassroots capacity and inclusion. Funding decisions prioritize charities demonstrating community engagement, clear articulation of local challenges, and evidence of positive change, believing that locally anchored interventions in social cohesion, barrier removal, and access foster enduring improvements in life chances.

It supports thematic priorities including community engagement through grassroots activities strengthening social connections, peer support groups, and local development addressing isolation and poverty in Merseyside neighborhoods; enabling people to overcome barriers via interventions tackling social exclusion, youth unemployment, family crisis support, and employability training for disadvantaged young people and families; widening access to education for all with programs promoting educational inclusion, after-school clubs, skills training, and SEND support for children and young people aged 5-19 facing learning barriers; and involving excluded groups in the arts through creative arts projects, music therapy, cultural festivals, therapeutic activities, and inclusive recreation like family activity zones and instruments for ethnic minority youth exploring heritage. Funded activities encompass project delivery, core costs for community-led services, capacity building, equipment for outreach, and holistic approaches valuing preventative early intervention, person-centred support, and culturally relevant solutions for marginalised residents including ethnic minorities, isolated families, and youth at risk of exclusion.

Exclusions encompass individuals, for-profit activities, capital building projects, and national organizations lacking local roots, focusing solely on registered small and medium charities with Merseyside delivery. Distinctive for its unwavering place-based commitment to Merseyside's social fabric, it prioritizes grassroots organizations with lived experience leadership, cultural relevance, and practical outcomes over headline strategies, favoring beneficiaries like excluded young people, families in hardship, and communities building resilience through arts, education, and barrier-breaking initiatives.