St Paul's Schools Foundation

St Paul's Schools Foundation, established in 1509 by Dean John Colet, is one of England's oldest educational endowments, originally founded to sustain St Paul’s School and now operating as a grant-making trust since 2007. Governed by the Mercers’ Company, its mission is to advance education—including social and physical training—for boys and girls in Greater London, with a strong emphasis on stewardship, social responsibility, public benefit, and long-term endowment preservation. Distinctive for its five-century legacy, the Foundation blends historic tradition with modern ethics, pursuing responsible investments that exclude tobacco, gambling, pornography, and high-interest lending while targeting net zero by 2023.

It prioritizes core educational support, funding capital projects, bursaries and scholarships for access, facility improvements, extracurricular enrichment, and school activities that enhance learning for children and young people. Primary beneficiaries are pupils at St Paul’s School and St Paul’s Girls’ School, with selective grants to other London-based educational charities or initiatives aligning with its objects, focusing on supplemental needs and public benefit rather than direct community or individual aid.

Eligible entities are UK-registered charities or academic institutions operating exclusively in Greater London, typically large, established organizations like schools; no strict income thresholds apply, though preference leans toward those with significant educational reach. Grants do not accept unsolicited applications—decisions are made at trustees' sole discretion via adhoc Mercers’ Company meetings, with no deadlines, forms, or open rounds. Typical awards range from £10,000 to over £100,000, as seen in 2022–23's £450,000+ disbursements, mainly for core, project, and capital purposes at its flagship schools. Exclusions include non-educational activities, non-London projects, and public fundraising appeals.