KMSF is a relatively small charity; meaning that we must focus our efforts carefully, and have sound strategic oversight, in order to maximise the impact we are able to make.

Our founder, Tamsin, has direct experience of the criminal justice system – and so, when KMSF was established, this was where we decided to start, allocating our first funding to Hampton Trust to support Project Gateway, a pilot offering alternative interventions for young adults (18–24) otherwise at risk of prosecution. We agreed from the outset that we would offer multi-year funding wherever possible, to give our partners a level of security in their planning – and resolved to listen to them as to whether restricted or unrestricted funding might be the most helpful in delivering their objectives.

In its first two years, KMSF funded a total of five charities and two research projects. In 2018, the Trustees decided on a policy of funding fewer organisations in larger amounts, in order to build deeper relationships and have greater impact; this remains our approach. In 2022, having previously concentrated mainly on charities developing early intervention programmes for disadvantaged and marginalised young people, we actively sought funding partners working in the asylum and refugee sector, where we could see an increasingly hostile policy environment leading to greater and more acute need.

By 2023, our experience of meeting with and hearing from a wide range of charities across various sectors, and seeing time and time again just how interconnected the root causes of inequality are, enabled us to clarify further the scope of our mission: we are funders, working to transform lives and systems for those with traumatic pasts, and uncertain futures. The intersectional nature of disadvantage means that people are often navigating multiple systems at the same time; by funding thematically, we are able to drop into any of them, enabling us to respond to problems more holistically than might otherwise be possible. It is clear to us that issues such as poverty and inequality cannot be neatly separated into discrete categories – all too often, both policy makers and charities themselves operate in silos that can obscure the deep, systemic links between causes and consequences. We want to ensure that change is rooted in a fuller understanding of the complex realities our partners are working to address.

Such transformations also require a deep understanding and analysis of evidence, data and research to inform both effective policy, and practice. In 2024, when Labour made its manifesto pledge to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) within a decade, it was clear to us that this could not be done without a policy focus, and improved practice, addressing perpetration. We began working with Respect, supporting the early development of a Centre for Excellence in this space, which will bring together evidence and expertise, and analyse data and existing practice from across the world, in order to identify and share the most effective approaches – with the intention of helping to shape future government policy, and to inform best practice standards.

As a small and young Foundation, it has always been important to us to develop and shape our funding practice intentionally and constructively, and not be afraid to challenge conventions where we feel the need to do so, particularly where the inevitable power imbalance in any funding relationship could be recalibrated.

We work hard to reach the right balance between funding partners for long enough that a genuinely impactful relationship is developed, and ensuring that KMSF continues to find new and innovative organisations and projects to work with. Unlike many larger foundations, we are able to make quick decisions if required, and our funding partners tell us that they greatly appreciate our flexibility and responsiveness.

Alongside direct funding, we also work to forge meaningful connections between the charities we support, as well as others we engage with, helping to create networks that can strengthen their collective impact.

Our aim is for KMSF to continue to evolve in response to a shifting socio-economic landscape, and help to shape that shift in a positive way. We want to model philanthropy that empowers its beneficiaries and amplifies their voices above our own. Our vision is for a society where compassion, empathy and fairness are integral to its fabric and functioning, where the importance of acknowledging and addressing trauma in all its forms is fully understood, and where no one is deprived of opportunity due to inequality.