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.

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