Our Philanthropy - a core mission

Philanthropy is core to the mission of all livery organisations and at WCI we are very proud of the incredible philanthropic support provided through our members' donations.

City of London livery companies collectively raise and give away over £80 million annually to charitable causes.

For the Worshipful Company of Insurers philanthropy takes many forms – grants to charities, educational initiatives, volunteering, support to our highly valued service affiliations and of course assisting the Lord Mayor and the City in their charitable objectives.

We are proud to work with a number of incredible charities with whom we are dedicated to building long-term relationships as our ‘Charity Partners’, but we are also committed to encouraging WCI members to get involved, either by volunteering their time or applying for matched funding for charitable activities they are personally involved with.

Charitable Trust 2024 Report

Latest Philanthropy News

Charity objectives and structure

The objectives of the Charity include, but are not limited to:

• The advancement of education of the public in general in relation to insurance and to promote research for the public benefit in all aspects of that subject and to publish the useful results;

• The advancement of the education for the public benefit of individuals practising or intending to practise the business of insurance or any other recognised business or profession;

• The relief of poverty of current or former practitioners of the business of insurance or any other recognised business or profession and their dependents, and in particular members of the Worshipful Company of Insurers and their dependents; and

• The provision of assistance and support for persons who are currently serving or have served in the armed forces of the United Kingdom and their dependents, including (without limitation) by making grants to charities established in whole or in part for that purpose and registered in any part of the United Kingdom.

The Charitable Trust has three internal funds

• The General Fund, which relies on donations from WCI Members. The award of grants by the General Fund is managed by the General Fund Sub-committee, chaired by Sally Bramall.

Typically more grant requests are rejected than approved, reflecting not only a healthy flow of applications but also a rigorous approach to their merits. A focus on larger longer term partners which primarily relate to early education, employability and financial wellbeing.

• The Education Fund 1, which makes its grants out of its accumulated assets of some £1.3 million. Annual grants now being made to a variety of large educational projects. The intent is that this Fund will be utilised first wherever grants are within the objects to allow second fund to go forward with broader objects. The award of grants by the Education Fund is managed by the General Fund Sub-committee, chaired by Kirsty Gray.

• The Education Fund 2, which was the result of the assets transferred from the CII Trust EATT. They transferred assets of £3.1m to WCI Education Fund 2 in November 2023. These funds along with existing commitments will be for annual grants now being made to a variety of large educational projects, in line with the EATT objects. The award of grants by the Education Fund is managed by the General Fund Sub-committee, chaired by Kirsty Gray.

Education Funds

Charity Partners

Building long-term relationships

The WCI recognises that many charities require long-term financial support to sustain the valuable work they do and that some projects only bear fruit if they are able to run for several years. This is why our philanthropic focus is on building long-term relationships with carefully chosen Charity Partners supported through the General Fund.

In addition to supporting many charities affiliated with the Lord Mayor and City of London, the Worshipful Company of Insurers Charitable Trust is also keen to prioritise its philanthropic partnerships with charities providing a focus of employability, financial wellbeing and early-stage educational initiatives, underpinning the professional and educational heart of the WCI.

Recurring commitments

Ad hoc grants

City Civic

In addition to financial donations, to ensure the relationships between the WCI and its Charity Partners are fruitful and mutually beneficial, a WCI member offers to lead the relationship with a charity, championing them within the WCI, representing the Company at charity events and offering support and advice when required. The two-way communication this facilitates is invaluable.

New Charity Partnerships

During 2025 the WCICT will be selecting a several new Charity Partners with whom we are committed to building positive, meaningful and impactful relationships both in financial and, ideally, practical terms.

Details of the new application process for our future Charity Partners will be released in March 2025, with a selection process taking place during Summer 2025, to be effective from October 2025.

If you are interested in applying please complete the form which can be downloaded below.

Charity Partner Application Form – PDF

Charity Partner Application Form – Word version

Our Service Affiliations

Our philanthropic support would not be complete without WCI’s highly valued service affiliations, both those with established active service and reserve units and those offering young people an opportunity to experience the adventure, discipline and skills of military life.

We are delighted to support:

Governance

The WCI Charitable Trust is governed by a board of trustees appointed by the Court. The full board of trustees meets at least quarterly, with a General Fund sub-committee meeting in between to carry out the detailed scrutiny of applications and the work of the organisations the WCI supports. The Charitable Trust will also have representation from trustees on the WCI Education sub-committee.

The current trustees are:

Katie Wade (Chair)
Ian Clark (Treasurer)
Sally Bramall (Chair, General Fund Sub-committee)
Kirsty Gray (Chair, Education Fund Sub-committee)
Lucy Hodgson
Steve McCann
Howard Pearson
Stephen Ross
Sunnie Luthra (Communications)

The Worshipful Company of Insurers Charitable Trust (Registered Charity Number: 1175425)