The future and funding of Sainsbury Centre

Sainsbury Centre's major funder and founder, Gatsby Charitable Foundation, has announced that it will be spending out its funds in the next few years, and its annual grant to us will cease in 2010.

To ensure Sainsbury Centre's work is sustained for the longer term, Gatsby has asked us to make plans for new working arrangements for 2010 and beyond for which it plans to provide a final grant later this year.

The future role of Sainsbury Centre will be to continue our two work programmes with integrity and independence at the cutting edge of policy and practice.

Frequently asked questions

Why is this happening now?

The Gatsby Charitable Foundation has funded our work for some 25 years.

As the Foundation is to be spent out over the next few years, its Trustees have had to prioritize their commitments. Given their large commitments in areas such as neuroscience, plant science and African development, they need to bring a number of other areas of spending to an end. They wish to do this gently and gradually, and where especially good work is being done, promote renewal and stimulate alternative sources of funding.

In this context they were keen, therefore, to ensure that the work they have supported for so long at Sainsbury Centre should not be lost as a result of this change and so they have offered legacy funding to support the work while it seeks alternative funds for the longer term. In this way Gatsby has shown that it values the work of Sainsbury Centre and that it does not wish its change of focus to lead to that work coming to an end.

When will any change take place?

During 2010 we will begin the search for alternative forms of funding to develop alongside Gatsby's final grant.

Will the Centre's work change?

Our work programmes in employment and criminal justice remain vital and will continue to be the focus of our work in our new form. Sainsbury Centre exists to promote quality of life for people with mental health problems. We investigate the barriers to an equal chance in life and develop innovative ways of overcoming them. We form a bridge between research, policy and practice that complements the work of other organisations.

Updated: March 2010