TL;DR
- The Shanly Foundation has donated over £28 million since 1994, supporting hundreds of local charities and projects in Southeast England.
- Key focus areas include education (notably Beech Lodge School), healthcare, youth programmes, and environmental conservation.
- Its giving model is rooted in solving real problems through hands-on, community-driven philanthropy.
- During COVID-19, the Foundation quickly distributed £185,000 to over 100 grassroots charities, highlighting its agile approach.
- In 2024, Shanly announced his businesses will be owned by the Foundation—ensuring perpetual funding through business-generated profits.
Since 1994, the Shanly Foundation has quietly become one of Southeast England’s most impactful charitable organisations, distributing over £28 million to hundreds of local charities, community projects, and environmental initiatives. Founded by property developer Michael Shanly, the Foundation represents three decades of practical philanthropy focused on strengthening the communities where his businesses operate.
Unlike high-profile charitable foundations that chase headlines with grand gestures, the Shanly Foundation’s approach is rooted in solving tangible problems one project at a time. From fully funding a school for children with special needs to planting over 20,000 trees, the Foundation’s work demonstrates how strategic giving can create lasting change at community level.
Quick Stats at a Glance
£28+ million – Total grants distributed since 1994 30 years – Foundation operational history (1994-2024) 100+ – Local organisations supported during COVID-19 alone Hundreds – Total charities and community projects supported Southeast England – Primary geographic focus, aligning with Shanly Group operations
Where the Money Goes: Four Core Areas of Impact
The Shanly Foundation’s giving strategy reflects Michael Shanly’s hands-on business philosophy: identify concrete needs, act decisively, and ensure solutions are built to last. The Foundation’s grants fall into four main categories, each addressing critical gaps in community support.
Education and Special Needs: Creating Pathways for Every Child
The Foundation’s most transformative single investment has been in education, specifically supporting children who struggle in traditional academic settings. In 2013, the Shanly Foundation fully funded the launch of Beech Lodge School in Berkshire—a specialised institution founded by Shanly’s wife, Daniela, and other educators to provide alternative educational approaches for children with social and learning difficulties.
The school’s story mirrors Michael Shanly’s own educational journey. Having left school at 14 with no qualifications due to struggles with reading and writing, Shanly understood firsthand how traditional education systems can fail children with different learning needs. His early experiences—thriving outside the classroom while repairing bikes and refurbishing cars—shaped his belief that every child has potential if given the right environment to grow.
Beech Lodge School began in a converted barn with just a handful of students, including one of Michael Shanly’s own children. The Foundation’s continued support enabled the school to expand into a purpose-built facility in 2017, and it now educates over 90 students who might otherwise have been left behind by conventional schooling.
The Foundation’s educational focus extends beyond special needs. It has supported numerous local schools and youth programmes, recognising that education is the Foundation of community strength and individual opportunity.
Healthcare and Hospices: Supporting Life’s Most Vulnerable Moments
Healthcare represents another significant area of Foundation giving, with particular emphasis on palliative care and children’s health services. In 2016, the Foundation donated £100,000 to the Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice to help complete a much-needed facility providing specialised care for seriously ill children and their families.
The Foundation’s healthcare investments reflect its focus on filling critical gaps in public provision. In 2019, it contributed £400,000 to Thames Hospice to fund a therapy wing at a new palliative care centre. These substantial donations don’t just provide immediate relief—they create lasting infrastructure that serves communities for decades.
The Foundation’s healthcare giving demonstrates Shanly’s understanding that true community strength depends on caring for society’s most vulnerable members. Whether supporting children facing life-limiting illnesses or families navigating end-of-life care, these investments reflect a commitment to ensuring no one faces their greatest challenges alone.
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Youth and Community Development: Building Tomorrow’s Leaders
The Foundation’s youth programmes focus on creating opportunities for young people to develop skills, confidence, and community connections. One of its most innovative initiatives has been the partnership with The Scout Association, launched in 2017 through the “Building Futures” competition.
This programme represented the Foundation’s largest single donation initiative to date, awarding grants up to £100,000 for improving Scout meeting places. The winning community group received funding for a brand new Scout hut, but the competition’s broader impact was in encouraging communities across the country to think creatively about youth facilities and programming.
The Foundation’s community events further demonstrate its commitment to bringing people together. Christmas lights switch ons, community summer festivals, and children’s events create moments where neighbourhoods come alive, where families meet, and where community bonds strengthen. These events may seem modest compared to major charitable programmes, but they address an essential need: the simple human requirement for connection and shared experience.
The Foundation’s hands-on approach extends to practical community improvements. From constructing greenhouses for local charities to refreshing playgrounds with colourful murals, Shanly’s team has embraced work that is often overlooked but deeply appreciated. These efforts address the quiet, essential gaps that keep communities functioning effectively.
Environmental Conservation: Planting Seeds for Future Generations
Environmental stewardship represents a growing focus of the Foundation’s work, reflecting both urgent ecological needs and Michael Shanly’s long-term thinking. The Foundation’s partnership with the Woodland Trust resulted in funding for over 20,000 trees and forest conservation projects, primarily in Hertfordshire.
This environmental work extends beyond tree planting. The Foundation has supported organisations like the Freshwater Habitats Trust, recognising that healthy ecosystems are essential for thriving communities. These investments reflect an understanding that environmental and community health are inseparably linked.
The Foundation’s environmental grants also align with Shanly Homes’ development practices, which increasingly emphasise sustainability and environmental integration. This connection between business operations and charitable giving creates a coherent approach to community stewardship that extends across all of the Shanly Group’s activities.
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Rapid-Response Giving: The COVID-19 Emergency Fund
The Foundation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated its ability to mobilise quickly when communities face unexpected challenges. In 2020, as lockdowns began and local organisations struggled to support vulnerable populations, the Shanly Foundation established an emergency fund that ultimately distributed nearly £185,000 to over 100 local charities.
This rapid deployment of resources reflected the Foundation’s operational agility and deep community connections. Rather than waiting for formal applications or lengthy review processes, the Foundation identified organisations already working on the front lines and provided immediate support for their expanded operations.
The COVID response also highlighted the Foundation’s focus on local impact. While national and international charities competed for attention and resources, the Shanly Foundation concentrated on community organisations that might otherwise have been overlooked—local food banks, volunteer groups, and small charities providing direct services to isolated and vulnerable residents.
Beyond the Numbers: Building Lasting Relationships
While the £28 million total represents significant financial impact, the Foundation’s true success lies in its approach to charitable giving. Michael Shanly personally chairs the board of trustees and reviews grant applications, ensuring that every donation reflects careful consideration of community needs and organisational capacity.
This hands-on approach creates relationships rather than just transactions. Organisations that receive Shanly Foundation grants and succeed in projects, can go on to apply for multi-year awards. This continuity enables deeper impact and more sophisticated solutions to complex community challenges.
Future Growth: Foundation Ownership Model
The Foundation’s impact is set to expand dramatically through Michael Shanly’s 2024 announcement that his business empire will eventually be owned entirely by the charitable Foundation. This transition will transform the Foundation from a grant-making organisation funded by business profits into a Foundation that owns profit-generating businesses.
Under this model, profits generated by Shanly Homes and Sorbon Estates will flow directly into charitable activities. Given the substantial scale of these businesses—which have built over 13,000 homes and support more than 1,300 commercial tenants—the Foundation’s annual giving capacity will increase significantly.
This transition represents more than organisational restructuring. It creates a perpetual cycle where business success automatically generates charitable impact, ensuring that the Foundation’s work will continue and grow regardless of future market conditions or leadership changes.
Recognition and Rankings
The Foundation’s impact has earned recognition within the UK charitable sector. In 2015, Michael Shanly was ranked 122nd on the Charities Aid Foundation’s Sunday Times list of Top 200 UK donors, reflecting the significant scale of his charitable contributions relative to other major philanthropists. In 2021 he was ranked 164th.
This recognition is particularly notable given the Foundation’s focus on local rather than national or international causes. Most major donors in the Charities Aid Foundation rankings support high-profile national charities or global causes. Shanly’s inclusion demonstrates that sustained local giving can achieve comparable impact and recognition.
The Foundation has also updated its visual identity to reflect its evolution and mission. In 2023, it introduced new branding incorporating a bricklaying trowel motif blossoming into a flower—symbolising the organisation’s roots in Shanly’s construction work and its mission to “help rebuild lives.”
A Model for Community-Centred Philanthropy
The Shanly Foundation’s three-decade track record offers important lessons for effective charitable giving. Its success stems from several key principles:
Local Focus: By concentrating efforts in communities where the founding businesses operate, the Foundation develops deep understanding of local needs and can see the direct impact of its investments.
Practical Solutions: Rather than funding abstract programmes, the Foundation focuses on tangible projects that solve specific problems—building schools, funding hospice wings, creating youth facilities.
Long-term Relationships: The Foundation builds ongoing partnerships with recipient organisations rather than making one-time grants, enabling more sophisticated and sustained impact.
Responsive Agility: When unexpected needs arise—like the COVID pandemic—the Foundation can mobilise resources quickly without bureaucratic delays.
Integrated Approach: The Foundation’s work complements and extends the community impact of Shanly’s business operations, creating coherent local stewardship.
Looking Ahead: Sustainable Impact
As the Shanly Foundation enters its fourth decade of operation, its transition to Foundation ownership of the underlying businesses represents both continuity and transformation. The model preserves Michael Shanly’s hands-on, community-focused approach while creating a sustainable structure for expanding impact.
The Foundation’s work demonstrates that effective philanthropy doesn’t require global reach or celebrity endorsement. By focusing on practical solutions to local problems, building lasting relationships with community organisations, and maintaining operational flexibility, charitable Foundations can create profound and lasting change.
For other business leaders considering their own philanthropic legacy, the Shanly Foundation provides a compelling example of how sustained, thoughtful giving can strengthen entire communities while creating personally meaningful connections between business success and social purpose.
The Shanly Foundation continues to accept applications from charitable organisations working in Southeast England. Information about grant criteria and application processes is available through the Foundation’s official website.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Shanly Foundation and when was it established?
Founded in 1994 by property developer Michael Shanly, the Shanly Foundation supports local charities, schools, hospices, and environmental projects across Southeast England.
What kinds of projects does the Shanly Foundation fund?
Its core areas of giving include education and special needs, healthcare, youth development, community building, and environmental conservation.
How is the Foundation’s approach different from other philanthropies?
The Foundation focuses on practical, local impact through hands-on support, long-term relationships with grantees, and swift responses to emerging community needs.
What is the significance of the 2024 ownership model change?
Michael Shanly announced that his businesses will be owned by the Foundation, turning business profits into sustained charitable funding for years to come.
How can local charities apply for funding?
Charitable organisations in Southeast England can find eligibility criteria and application guidelines on the Shanly Foundation’s official website.