About us

“Our ambitions are huge and we are not daunted by challenge”

As an independent charity, we influence changes to improve circumstances for those people in the UK who need our help most.

We tackle the root causes of social problems. Key to our approach is focussing on the legacy that is created, so that many more people will be supported in the future as a result of our intervention now.


Social and political change is often slow, and we are a small charity, however our ambitions are huge and we are not daunted by challenge. We have a team of staff and trustees who are all committed and passionate about our work to deliver social change. We engage carefully with the right experts, academics, policymakers and frontline staff to ensure we have the knowledge and expertise to make a real difference.

The Nationwide Foundation was established by the Nationwide Building Society in 1997 as a fully independent charitable foundation. We are very grateful to Nationwide for its donations and support of us, as well as its respect that we make our own strategic decisions. More about our relationship with Nationwide.

Our work since 1997 has included:

  • Tackling housing and homelessness issues as well as financial exclusion and capability problems experienced by vulnerable older people and survivors of domestic abuse
  • Supporting young offenders
  • Supporting parents
  • Supporting volunteering