Meet The Soho House Foundation’s new charity partners

As a global community for creatives, we see first-hand the benefits of providing opportunities for diverse talent to flourish. That’s why we founded The Soho House Foundation, an independent charitable entity set up to fund and empower creatives worldwide. Through an annual donation, we provide grants for organisations doing brilliant work to help young people in their local community through the arts.

This year, our trustees chose four new charities to receive grants. Read on to hear directly from the charities we’ll be supporting for 2023. We also caught up with 2022’s grant award winners to discover how The Soho House Foundation impacted their cause.

The 2023 grant award winners

UD Music, based in Stratford, east London
A London-based music organisation bringing communities together around Black music and Black music culture.

‘UD’s partnership with The Soho House Foundation reflects our shared ambitions to empower and uplift the next generation of creative talent. Its support will facilitate the delivery of UD’s essential work with young people in schools and the local community, nurturing musical talent, offering professional development, and supporting wellbeing initiatives. We’re so excited to be working with such an innovative and forward-thinking organisation, which understands the importance of cultivating a diverse music industry and developing a pipeline of talent.’  Pamela McCormick, CEO of UD

Find out more here
 
Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, based in New Orleans
An American orchestra with a mission to provide transformative experiences for audiences of all ages across the New Orleans region.

‘For the LPO, this partnership with The Soho House Foundation ensures that our planned growth in one of our flagship youth programmes can be achieved and sustained. Not only will this music mentorship programme enhance musicianship in youth, but we also know it leads to better cognitive development, higher academic achievement, and stronger social and emotional development.’ Anwar Nasir, executive director, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra

Find out more here

The Dinner Table Doc, based in Brooklyn, New York
An educational charity that empowers and uplifts young women of colour by fostering leadership skills, reinforcing self-identity, and nurturing health and wellness.

‘Partnering with The Soho House Foundation opens up so many new opportunities for the students we serve – making the dreams of little Black and brown girls come true. It’s so important that young women of colour have access to resources and exposure to creative careers. 

‘We’ll launch our first conference in New York City on Friday 15 and Saturday 16 December, with the intent to impact the lives of 100 students in person and 150 more online. When surveyed, 89% of our students shared that they do not have a mentor, nor know someone working in their dream career field, so we hope to give our students mentors or job-shadowing opportunities at this conference.’  Asha Boston, founder

Find out more here 

Roots, based in Berlin
BIPOC advocates who host community-based activities and projects that focus on the holistic wellbeing of the community.

‘As a newly established non-government organisation, securing funding has been an ongoing challenge. Receiving the grant from The Soho House Foundation gives us access to resources, and allows us to host a series of accessible and free community workshops while ensuring equitable compensation for BIPOC experts. 
‘We aim to increase access to the arts and creative industries for BIPOC creatives, and provide opportunities for them to showcase their talents, develop their skills, foster personal growth and connect with professionals.’  Naima Nazir, cofounder and head of operations

Find out more here 

Our 2022 charity partners
 
Inner-City Arts, based in Downtown LA
‘Partnering with The Soho House Foundation has been very beneficial. We were able to successfully leverage the grant award for new funders to support our work. And in June 2023, employees from Soho House’s West Hollywood location participated in Team Service Day. They prepped our eight professional studios for summer camps by cleaning them and assembling art supply kits for our students.

‘Among the many highlights is the installation of our second annual Permanent Collection both on the campus and nearby at DMST Atelier.’  Alma Villegas, senior director of development 
 

Grounded Sounds, based in south London
‘Our partnership with The Soho House Foundation has provided us with financial security, and added value to the opportunities that we are able to offer through the fellowships and events held at Soho House. Over the past year, we were able to provide 650 hours of creative and music development programmes to young people aged 11 to 24.  
 
‘A highlight was our ability to run Spotlight from October to December 2022 – a seven-week programme designed to empower talented young people to access the music industry. Of the 12 participants who took part, two went on to secure artist management, two gained employment within the music industry, five continued on pathways with Grounded Sounds, and one went on to do a degree at ACM London, Academy of Contemporary Music.’  Tom Scott, founder

Happy Feet Home, based in Mumbai 
‘At Happy Feet Home, we work towards giving our children a better quality of life and a brighter future. With help from The Soho House Foundation, we were able to provide continued support to ensure they get the opportunities they deserve. It also gave us some time to reflect on our planning and fundraising strategy for the future. 

‘We supported 60 children with school, college vocation and professional courses. Rameshwar Yadav completed a one-year diploma programme in photography; he had the opportunity to hone his skills and had a rich experience in living away from home. Plus, we reached out to more than 1,000 children this year, a 147% increase compared to last year. 

‘Our outreach activities in hospital supported 1,033 children with different art-based activities and counselling, so that they felt less stressed and gave their caregivers respite.’  Mansi Shah, founder and CEO

JCFA 
Jeugdfonds Sport & Cultuur, based in Amsterdam

Grant money went towards supporting tuition fee payments for talent accepted at academies around the region; financial help for creatives going on to train at higher levels, and to support ongoing cultural programming within the local neighbourhood and in schools.  

Discover more about The Soho House Foundation and find out how to apply for a grant here