Get in touch with the Philanthropy Team
We are happy to hear from charities looking for support, so please feel free to get in touch if your organisation is making a difference and you think Baillie Gifford could help.
What we are looking for
Our aim is to support initiatives where we can truly make a difference. We support a very broad range of projects, spanning arts and culture, community initiatives, environment, grassroots sports, health and education, social causes and charities working internationally.
Other than our international giving, all of our philanthropic support is targeted to charities headquartered in and working in Scotland.
Our support is purely philanthropic, so we are not looking for any marketing, branding or PR benefits.
We do not support conferences, one-off events like fundraising galas, or individual fundraising appeals, and prefer to support long-term projects making a difference.
If you are a charity or community organisation with an income of less than £250,000, we would encourage you to consider our Foundation Scotland funds, which support community, grassroot sports and international projects.
If you are unsure whether your charity meets our remit, feel free to get in touch and we will be happy to advise.
Our approach to philanthropy
Before you submit an enquiry or proposal, it’s worth reading our introduction to Philanthropy at Baillie Gifford, which gives an overview of our approach and why we donate.
Asking for support
Our preference is to receive a brief summary (one page) of your initiative and an indication of the level of funding you are looking for. If this is of interest, we would then invite a full proposal, and can avoid taking up too much of your time if your charity is not the right fit for us.
If you are confident your charity meets our remit and would like to send a full proposal in, you may do so, but please ensure it is no more than four (A4) pages long, including a budget.
We encourage you to think about the following questions when telling us about your activity:
Are you a charity, headquartered and working in Scotland?
We support international charities through our international philanthropy, with the rest of our support focused on charities working in Scotland.
Why are you requesting a donation?
We are interested in your aims and objectives, and why you need support. Tell us about the difference your project will make. It is also helpful to know if there is a long-term plan and how you plan to fund this in future.
What level of donation are you looking for?
Please be clear in asking what financial support you need. We prefer to fund activity with multiple income sources, and not be the only funder for the project. We are open to requests for staff and core costs.
Meet our team
Meet the team working on your proposals.
