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Non-profit

Friends Provident Foundation

Website:

www.friendsprovidentfoundation.org/
Type:

Grantmaking Foundation
Formation:

2004
President/CEO:

Trevor Matthews
Location:

York, England

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Friends Provident Foundation is a British left-of-center grantmaking and investment fund which promotes climate change activism, affirmative action, and ESG activism through both its grants and its shareholder power. 1 It was founded in from excess stock after the fund Friends Provident Insurance was demutualized into a public limited company. 2 Friends Provident has a historical association with the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and the foundation’s initial board included Quaker members of the Friends Provident board. 3

In 2019, the Foundation released a “Climate Emergency Declaration,” affirming the belief that man-made climate change will lead to an extinction event which can only be avoided by complete decarbonization. 4 As a result, Friends Provident Foundation gives grants based on its goal of eliminating carbon emissions while maximizing diversity and economic redistribution towards those seen as marginalized. The Foundation also supports migration into Western countries and utilization of disruptive technologies of production and communication to restructure the economy. 5

In addition to grants, which are funded by returns on the endowment, Friends Provident Foundation uses its investing to achieve its social goals. 6 To this end, in March 2020, Friends Provident Foundation hosted “ESG Investing Olympics” to allow left-of-center organizations to pitch investment ideas which prioritize ESG activism. 7

Founding and History

Friends Provident Insurance was founded as a mutual insurance society by Quakers in 1832. In 2001, it was converted into a privately traded company. In the ensuing series of mergers and partitions, unclaimed shares were placed into trust as the Friends Provident Foundation in 2004. Although the Foundation has no formal connections to any religious group, some of its first board members were Quaker shareholders. 8

In 2019, the Foundation released a “Climate Emergency Declaration,” asserting that man-made climate change will lead to an extinction event that can only be avoided by complete decarbonization. 9

Grants

Friends Provident Foundation gives grants toward eliminating carbon emissions while maximizing diversity and economic redistribution towards those seen as marginalized. The foundation prioritizes funding towards organizations whose goal is to disrupt the existing economic structure and promote diversity. 10

The foundation issues three kinds of grants: project grants, core grants for organizations with a long-term relationship with the foundation, and small grants for new organizations. These grants prioritize organizations run by or for the benefit of populations perceived to be marginalized, including racial minorities, disabled people, and the young. 11

Grantees have included 350.org, Transparency International, and a wide range of British left-of-center nonprofits. The foundation also partnered with London School of Economics to research how the abolition of carbon emissions can prioritize minority groups. 12 The foundation states that it rejects 34 percent for non-alignment with its programs. 13

Shareholder Activism

In addition to grants, which are funded by returns on the endowment, Friends Provident Foundation also uses its investing to achieve its social-policy goals. The foundation’s investments focus on their areas of influence, and they make use of shareholder power to move corporate behaviors. Ten percent of all the foundation’s investments also go towards low-profit or high-risk social investment. 14

The foundation’s preferred areas of investment include weather-dependent energy, banks with strong diversity and redistribution policies, and companies that pay high wages, particularly to minorities and women. Investment extends beyond these areas, however, when the foundation believes it can alter corporate behavior through shareholder power towards its goals, including by using corporate power to lobby the government. 15

In March 2020, Friends Provident Foundation hosted the “ESG Investing Olympics,” through which left-of-center organizations would pitch investment ideas that prioritized ESG activism. 16 This contest was won by Cazenove Capital, a subsidiary of Schroders, one of the largest asset managers in the United Kingdom. Schroders committed to using its ownership power in its investments to vote in favor of all ESG resolutions, to vote against management unless concessions are made, and to publicly disclose voting. The foundation provides this as an example of their plan for asset management activism. 17

Areas of the economy where the foundation refuses to invest in include weapons manufacturing, fossil fuels, nuclear energy, and companies which they view as inciting “hate.” 18

Friends Provident Foundation pledged in August 2022 to increase its social investment to 33 percent of its total portfolio. 19

References

  1.  “About Us.” Friends Provident Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://www.friendsprovidentfoundation.org/about-us/
  2. “Our History.” Friends Provident Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://www.friendsprovidentfoundation.org/about-us/our-history/
  3. “Our History.” Friends Provident Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://www.friendsprovidentfoundation.org/about-us/our-history/
  4. “Climate Emergency Declaration.” Friends Provident Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://www.friendsprovidentfoundation.org/about-us/climate-emergency-declaration/
  5. “Our Focus Areas.” Friends Provident Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://www.friendsprovidentfoundation.org/our-programme/building-a-4-d-economy-by-using-all-of-our-assets/our-focus-areas/
  6. “ESG Investing Olympics.” Friends Provident Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://www.friendsprovidentfoundation.org/investment-shareholder-engagement-endowment/asset-engagement/esg-investing-olympics/
  7. “ESG Investing Olympics.” Friends Provident Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://www.friendsprovidentfoundation.org/investment-shareholder-engagement-endowment/asset-engagement/esg-investing-olympics/
  8. “Our History.” Friends Provident Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://www.friendsprovidentfoundation.org/about-us/our-history/
  9. “Climate Emergency Declaration.” Friends Provident Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://www.friendsprovidentfoundation.org/about-us/climate-emergency-declaration/
  10. “Our Focus Areas.” Friends Provident Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://www.friendsprovidentfoundation.org/our-programme/building-a-4-d-economy-by-using-all-of-our-assets/our-focus-areas/
  11. “About Our Funding.” Friends Provident Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://www.friendsprovidentfoundation.org/grants/are-we-the-right-funder-for-you/about-our-funding/
  12. “Closed Grants.” Friends Provident Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://www.friendsprovidentfoundation.org/grants/what-have-we-funded/closed-grants/
  13. “Why We Say No.” Friends Provident Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://www.friendsprovidentfoundation.org/grants/are-we-the-right-funder-for-you/why-we-say-no/
  14. “Our Approach to Ethical Investment.” Friends Provident Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://www.friendsprovidentfoundation.org/investment-shareholder-engagement-endowment/our-approach-to-ethical-investment/
  15. “Investment Principles and Policies.” Friends Provident Foundation. September 2019. Accessed May 14, 2023. http://www.friendsprovidentfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Investment-Principles-and-Policy_new-sept-2019.pdf
  16. “ESG Investing Olympics.” Friends Provident Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://www.friendsprovidentfoundation.org/investment-shareholder-engagement-endowment/asset-engagement/esg-investing-olympics/
  17. “Asset Engagement.” Friends Provident Foundation. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://www.friendsprovidentfoundation.org/investment-shareholder-engagement-endowment/asset-engagement/
  18. “Investment Principles and Policies.” Friends Provident Foundation. September 2019. Accessed May 14, 2023. http://www.friendsprovidentfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Investment-Principles-and-Policy_new-sept-2019.pdf
  19. Ian Lewis. “Friends Provident Foundation Boosts Snowball Investment as Part of New Impact Strategy.” ImpactInvestor. August 30, 2022. Accessed May 14, 2023. https://impact-investor.com/friends-provident-foundation-boosts-snowball-investment-as-part-of-new-impact-strategy/
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