It is one of the larger independent grant-making foundations based in the UK, funding organisations which aim to improve the quality of life for people and communities in that country.
The charity was founded in 1961 by Ian Fairbairn, a pioneer of unit trust investments, and was named after his second wife who was killed in World War II.
This ended when M&G was sold to Prudential Corporation in 1999, but the sale allowed alternative investments that increased the income of the charity.
[3]: 8 Trustees include Sir Jonathan Phillips (chair, from 2019), Tom Chandos, Joe Docherty, John Fairbairn, Beatrice Hollond, Thomas Hughes-Hallett, Kate Lampard, William Sieghart, Eleanor Updale and Edward Bonham-Carter.
[3]: 8 Margaret Hyde was appointed as director in 1994[3]: 9 and then Dawn Austwick was chief executive officer from 2008 to 2014[11] and was succeeded by Caroline Mason.