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.
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 Mayoralty and the City in their charitable objectives.
During 2025 the WCI Charitable Trust restructured its General Fund charity allocations, including selecting three new charities with whom we are delighted to partner for up to the next six years; St Paul’s Money Advice Centre (Crosslight), Success Club, and The Money Charity.
We are proud to work with several 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.
We have a separate Education Fund which suppoprts local schools and a range of professional education initiatives.
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.
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.
- Action Tutoring
- Blind in Business
- Livery Schools Link
- The Lady Mayor’s Appeal
- Sheriffs’ and Recorders’ Fund
- Sheriffs’ Challenge
- SPMAC (Crosslight)
- Success Club
- The Money Charity
- XLP
- St Lawrence Jewry Church
In addition to financial donations, to ensure the relationships between the WCI and its Charity Partners are fruitful and mutually beneficial, WCI members volunteer to lead the relationship with each 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.
Future Charity Partnerships
The WCICT is proud to work with a wide range of incredible charities over a long period. Our next window for Charity Partner applications will be in Spring 2027, with a selection process taking place during Summer 2027, to be effective from October 2027.
However, WCICT may be able to consider small ad-hoc donations within our priority focus of employability, financial wellbeing and early-stage educational initiatives during the Summer 2026. An update will be available from July 2026; please check the website after 1 July 2026.
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)
If you would like to find out more about our membership please click here.
Further information on membership can be obtained from the Clerk to the Company at