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Impact

At the Peter Sowerby Foundation, we always seek to support projects that can provide the maximum impact from the funds provided. To see the evidence of this, our Trustees ask grant recipients to report on the outputs, outcomes and impact of their grant, and in turn they measure the impact of the Foundation as a whole. 

Since it was established in 2013, the Foundation has awarded 89 grants to 63 organisations. Some of these have been small grants to local, grass-roots organisations while others have been to large, well-established charities and educational institutions. In total, we have awarded over £10 million in grants since we started. 

Breakdown of grants by subject domain

We've identified some overlapping themes across our main metrics where we've made significant impact: 

  • a focus on young people,
  • projects related to Yorkshire 
  • end of life care
  • arts and creativity
Our grant from the Peter Sowerby Foundation provided us with the opportunity to invest in our woodland creation centre. Improving the facilities and access to the woodland has allowed us to welcome many more volunteers, emerging artists, producers, programmers and creative thinkers as well as community groups into the space to spend time working in nature, developing new creative projects and dreaming up innovative and environmentally sustainable ways of working.
Wild Rumpus
Many foundations shy away from supporting start-up charities. This support is inevitably risky but it can lead to high impact. The Foundation first supported us in early 2015 when it was just me and the kitchen table. It has awarded further grants at key stages of Aesop’s growth. We are now a team of 11, have recruited 822 volunteers and have a Pioneer Group of supporters
AESOP