About us
Overview of the RCN Foundation
The RCN Foundation is an independent charity (registered charity number: SC043663 [Scotland]; 1134606 [England and Wales]; registered company: 7026001) and grant-maker which is part of the RCN Group. It was established in 2010, when the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) separated its charitable and trade union activities. Our purpose is to support and strengthen nursing and midwifery, to improve the health and wellbeing of the public. The charity supports nurses, midwives, nursing associates, healthcare support workers, student nurses and midwives, and retired nurses, midwives and healthcare support workers by:
Supporting individual members of the nursing and midwifery teams by providing grants for financial hardship and education activities.
Investing in the future of the professions by funding nursing- and midwifery-led research and innovation projects in our key priority areas.
Championing nursing and midwifery by supporting projects that raise the profile of the professions and help the public to better understand the contribution made by nursing and midwifery staff to improving the nation’s health.
The RCN Foundation supports staff across all of the nations of the UK, in both health and care settings. Our help is available to any nurse, midwife, healthcare or maternity support worker who needs it, and they do not need to be a member of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) to receive support from the Foundation.
As an organisation, our values are to be: relevant for today and ready for tomorrow; focused on impact; accountable; ambitious; and collaborative.
Further details about our work can be found on our website: https://rcnfoundation.rcn.org.uk/
Governance
The Board of Trustees has provision for up to 12 Trustees. There are three substantive committees of the Board – the Grants Committee and the Income Generation and Investment Committee, both of which meet on a quarterly basis and the Governance and Nominations Committee, which meets three times a year.
The Grants Committee is accountable to the Board for the development and implementation of the grant-making strategy which spans grant-making for hardship and education, nursing-led practice development and research projects; and activities that raise the profile of the profession.
The Income Generation and Investment Committee is accountable to the Board for the development and delivery of the fundraising, marketing and communications strategy, as well as keeping the investment strategy under regular review and monitoring the performance of the investment manager.
The Governance and Nominations Committee is responsible for monitoring the governance arrangements of the Foundation and leads on the recruitment and selection for appointments to the Board and Committees.
To find out more about our governance and our Board of Trustees please visit the governance section on our website.
Our income
A significant proportion of the Foundation’s income is generated from returns from its investment portfolio. In addition, the Foundation also generates income from a range of fundraising activities throughout the year. You can view our latest accounts on the Foundation’s website.
Equity, diversity and inclusion
The RCN Foundation is committed to ensuring that principles of equity, diversity and inclusion underpin our approach to our governance, activities, staff and beneficiaries. We know that equity, diversity and inclusion strengthen the work that we do and lead to better outcomes for our beneficiaries, and greater societal impact. We actively encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds and from all sections of the community to apply for these Trustee roles.
Our work to date
Since the Foundation was established in 2010, we have made significant progress in the three areas of our work.
Hardship grants
The Foundation’s Benevolent Service provides grants, signposting and benefits advice through Entitled to, a partner organisation and regulated debt advice through a second partner organisation called PayPlan. The Service makes a tangible and positive impact on those who receive its support. In 2024, we made 576 hardship grants totalling £206,000, which had a significant and direct impact on some of the most vulnerable members of the profession. Those that took up advice on benefits were, on average, better off by £4,524.
Importantly, the Service enables individuals to increase their financial independence and get back to work.
Education and career development funding
The RCN Foundation provides grants for education and career development opportunities to nurses, midwives and Health Care/Maternity Support Workers across the UK. Grants range from funding a one-off course in a wide range of clinical areas, to supporting PhDs. Funding is awarded following a competitive application process so that the very best applicants are supported to develop and enhance their careers. In 2024, the Foundation provided grants of around £183,000 to 122 individuals.
Nursing- and midwifery-led projects that improve patient care
Since 2010, the Foundation has funded a wide range of projects. These include:
The refurbishment of the RCN Library and Heritage Centre, the largest nursing specific resource in Europe.
The establishment of the first Chair in Adult Social Care Nursing in the UK.
The development of a toolkit to support children and young people’s mental health and emotional wellbeing, aimed nurses who are not specialists in mental health.
In 2024, we continued to develop and grow our programme of research and innovation grants by launching grants programme focussed on Learning Disability Nursing, called Inclusive Health. A number of research studies have been commissioned as part of this programme, including those looking at health inequality, urgent care and access to practice placements in Scotland.
Further information about our current and previous research projects can be found on the Foundation’s website.
Our Board has recently approved our Grant-making strategy for 2024-2028 which supports our organisational strategy and sets out how we will strive to continue and grow our grant-making activities across the three areas of: hardship, education and learning, and research and innovation. The aim is to support nursing and midwifery staff to continue to develop their knowledge, skills and expertise to deliver safe, evidence-based care to improve the health and wellbeing of the public.