Howden Foundation
Howden's independent charity
Who we are
Founded in 2014, the Howden Foundation is the corporate foundation of Howden, extending the charitable work of the business and its people across the world.
In the last five years, the foundation has donated over £6.5m to charitable causes.
Our vision
A world where everyone is resilient to the impacts of climate change.
Our mission
To equip those most exposed to the impacts of climate change, especially extreme heat and drought, with the tools to prepare, adapt and recover.
We fund solutions that effectively manage climate risk and strengthen long-term resilience.
Prepare
Adapt
Recover
Our funding approach
People first
We prefer solutions that centre the people in the communities we work with, to respond to local needs and priorities.
We don’t hold all the answers – instead, we’re here to support communities to drive their own positive change and put their people first.
Collective power
We believe collaboration is essential for tackling the huge challenges relating to extreme heat and drought. We’re proud to be part of an ecosystem of funders who care about the climate crisis.
We focus on building long-term, strategic partnerships to provide organisations with income security and reduce their time spent on fundraising, freeing up more of their time for programme delivery. And this goes beyond financial support, offering additional resources made available through Howden.
No limits
We look for solutions that can deliver benefits over the long term, rather than providing short-term relief, and can be adapted for use in other contexts.
We embrace innovation and big thinking, and we're ready to support pilots and explore untested approaches. But the solutions we're looking for should deliver benefits over the long term and ideally be adaptable for use in other contexts. We want our funding to contribute to long-lasting, systemic change.
Our partners
Ashden Climate Solutions (Ashden) is a climate change charity working to boost climate innovation in the UK and the Global South.
Howden Foundation are supporting Ashden to expand their work with displaced people in refugee camps in Northern Kenya and Uganda. Through a locally-tailored call for applications, this programme will provide nine refugee-led organisations (RLOs) with direct grant funding, technical assistance and communications support, helping them to scale their work and draw funding attention from the donor, investor and climate finance communities. The programme will focus on supporting solutions which provide communities with access to reliable, affordable, clean energy technologies that enable them to adapt to a changing climate, and increase resilience to drought and extreme heat (e.g. solar irrigation, fuel efficient cooking to combat deforestation, and home cooling).
Climate Resilience for All (CRA) is a women-led NGO dedicated to strengthening and supporting women and vulnerable communities from the impacts of extreme heat.
The Howden Foundation supports CRA’s work with informal female workers in India through their ‘Women’s Climate Shock Insurance and Livelihood Initiative’ (WCSI), which provides financial support and wage protection when it becomes too hot and dangerous for women to work.
In its first year, CRA provided close to $600,000 in extreme heat insurance and cash through the WCSI, protecting 50,000 women and their families. By giving these women with the choice of whether to risk working in dangerous temperatures, the programme resulted in increased family income and food security, as well as reduced illness, injury, and exploitation. Up to 250,000 women are expected to participate in the second year of the programme.
The Environmental Change Institute (ECI) is a research centre based at the University of Oxford, which is working to democratise access to climate risk data by providing decision-makers with the tools to better understand and address the needs of vulnerable communities in the Global South when planning for climate-related disasters.
The Howden Foundation is supporting ECI to build the J-ADAPT Toolkit - the world’s first fully open toolkit of its kind - which provides tailored, high-quality analytics on climate-related risks, whilst assessing the social and economic impacts of plans that aim to address them. The toolkit specifically focuses on enabling green (i.e. natural) and grey (i.e. built) infrastructure to become better adapted to a changing climate, while also helping governments and communities develop adaptation plans that are as just and inclusive as possible, in order to bring the maximum benefit to the world’s most vulnerable people. The work is being piloted in Kenya.
Humanity Insured is a new, independent charity backed by the Insurance industry with a mission to provide accessible and affordable insurance solutions for those living on the frontlines of the climate crisis.
Howden Foundation is supporting Humanity Insured’s work to provide premium subsidies for insurance solutions that address drought and extreme heat in low-income countries, with a focus on farmers, coastal communities, urban informal workers and those who have been displaced by climate shocks. All initatives Humanity Insured funds are locally-led, co-designed and tailored to the needs of the communities that they support.
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental nonprofit working to create a world in which people and nature can thrive.
The Howden Foundation supported TNC to develop the United States’ first ever coral reef insurance policy to fund the protection and restoration of Hawai‘i’s coral reefs when extreme weather events such as tropical storms and hurricanes occur. The policy is triggered when wind speeds of 50 knots (57 mph) occur sufficiently close to the coral reefs in question. If this happens, the Hawai‘i Emergency Reef Restoration Network will utilise the payouts to rapidly repair and restore coral reefs damaged by the storm. Through protecting the structural integrity of these reefs, this policy not only reduces the impacts of storm-surges on land, but also protects a vital part of Hawai‘i’s culture, lifestyle and economy.
PELUM Zimbabwe (Participatory ecological land use management) is a Zimbabwean NGO that works with local farmers organisations to spread regenerative practices which improve nutrition security, livelihoods and environmental sustainability throughout Zimbabwe.
The Howden Foundation is supporting PELUM Zimbabwe to deliver a learning programme focused on livestock and land regeneration in order to build the resilience of local farmers to drought. Across nine partner organisations and working in at least five districts of Zimbabwe, this programme encourages a move away from intensive livestock grazing towards rotational grazing. This leads to improved soil, grassland, cattle and human health - as well as soil water retention – which collectively builds resilience to drought. The programme also engages politicians at a local, regional and national level to promote understanding of and support for regenerative practices like these across the country.
RedR UK is a humanitarian capacity-strengthening NGO which partners with local NGOs and community-based organisations to enable effective disaster response through learning and development.
The Howden Foundation is supporting RedR UK to equip humanitarian workers with the knowledge and resources to respond to climate-related challenges in drought-prone regions of Somalia and Afghanistan through tailored online training. The trainings cover drought response, management, and resilience planning, with the aim of further developing frontline workers in areas of high climate risk. The programme aims to reduce reliance on external assistance, whilst empowering local actors to manage climate-related challenges independently. This includes equipping local actors with the skills to conduct risk assessments and take anticipatory or ‘preventative’ action, with a critical focus on gender-responsive approaches towards climate change.
Sand Dams Worldwide (SDW) is a UK-registered charity which supports some of the world’s poorest people to transform their own lives through water and soil conservation in drylands. They plan to support the construction of one million sand dams for 0.5 billion people by 2050.
The Howden Foundation is supporting SDW to construct sand dams across four seasonal riverbeds in Malawi’s drylands with their local delivery partner, Churches Action in Relief and Development (CARD). Sand dams are a nature-based rainwater harvesting solution which can store up to 40 million litres of rainwater in the sand that accumulates upstream of the dam wall. The sand dams will provide year-round access to clean water for more than 8,000 people whilst enabling women - who typically bear the brunt of water collection duties - to spend more time tending to the land, including through participating in CARD’s climate resilient agriculture training programme. The programme aims to enhance food and water security, whilst enabling the restoration of degraded land through the implementation of environmental protection techniques including tree planting, which is made possible by the presence of more reliable water supplies and the sand dams raising groundwater levels. CARD will also engage with the Malawi government to advocate for more widespread construction of sand dams across the country.
SEEDS (Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society) is an India-based NGO that partners with vulnerable communities to build their resilience to climate-related disasters and impacts.
The Howden Foundation is supporting SEEDS’ work to improve resilience towards extreme heat amongst New Delhi’s most vulnerable communities through an innovative tool that combines AI-driven heat mapping with satellite imagery and local weather data to identify households at risk of extreme heat. Having identified 1,450 most ‘at risk’ homes, SEEDS will work to install nature-based cooling solutions to enhance thermal comfort in these buildings, whilst working with local government officials to advocate for this approach across other parts of the country. This includes training inhabitants in roof insulation techniques that can reduce internal temperatures by up to 6-8 degrees Celsius – including jute bags, bamboo mats and green cover creepers - thus reducing the risk of heat-related illnesses and fatalities.
Seven Clean Seas is an Ocean Impact organisation that has developed solar-powered technology which supports the removal of millions of kilograms of plastic waste before it enters and pollutes the ocean.
The Howden Foundation has supported the development of the first automatic, solar-powered High-Impact Plastic Pollution remOver (HIPPO) that aims to remove up to 1.4 million kilograms of plastic waste per year from the Chao Phraya River in Thailand. As well as installing the HIPPO which prevents plastic from entering the ocean and polluting marine ecosystems, Seven Clean Seas work with local communities to separate and treat the captured waste, turning recyclables into products (e.g. furniture) and non-recyclable plastics into building products like bricks and roof tiles.
Start Network is a network of over 100 humanitarian agencies working together to revolutionise the existing global humanitarian system, by providing early, effective support to those living on the frontlines of crisis by providing early, effective responses before and when disasters strike.
The Howden Foundation is supporting Start Network’s ‘Start Ready’ programme which works with communities at risk of climate-related disasters to co-create emergency assistance plans, and to fund the roll out of these plans once a pre-agreed crisis threshold has been met. As soon as Start Network receives a warning that a climate-related incident will occur, emergency funding is released. It also supports the Start Fund programme - a rapid response mechanism that delivers humanitarian aid within 72 hours of a crisis alert. This tailored and timely humanitarian assistance both before and during a crisis event dramatically reduces the impact of that event and limits the damage to lives and livelihoods that occurs, including through the provision cash transfers, information exchange and equipment supplies.
People First Fund
The People First ethos has been at the heart of Howden since the company’s founding in 1994.
Alongside its climate work, the Howden Foundation’s People First Fund supports the charitable giving of Howden employees, helping them make an even greater impact in the causes they care about.
Throughout the year, Howden employees can request matched funding for their personal fundraising or donations, making their charitable donations go even further.
Additionally, the Howden Foundation Charity Awards provide employees worldwide with the chance to nominate a charity close to their hearts to receive a possible donation from the foundation.
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Our trustees
David Howden
David Howden
Chair
David started his career as a broker at Alexander Howden in 1981. He founded the Group in 1994 originally as a wholesale broker employing just three people. He has been the fundamental driving force behind its expansion into an international insurance group offering wholesale, retail and reinsurance broking and underwriting.
As Chief Executive. David's focus is on leading the Group's M&A activities as well as directing and implementing the Group's strategic growth and direction.
He is also a passionate champion of insurance as a force for good and believes it has a major role to play in helping nations respond to the challenges of climate change.
Louise Cable-Alexander
Louise Cable-Alexander
Trustee
Louise is one of the three founding members of Howden. Starting out as a specialist broker, Louise went on to set up Howden Italy in Milan, ran Howden North Europe for a few years and is currently Chief of Staff to David Howden. She joined the board of the foundation in 2022.
Louise is a passionate advocate for the role the private sector can play in mitigating the effects of climate change on the world's most vulnerable communities.
Mark Hudson
Mark Hudson
Trustee
Mark joined DUAL as Group Chief Financial Officer in 2016 having spent his career in insurance, specifically at Lloyd’s of London with Novae Group PLC following his qualification as a chartered accountant with Deloitte. He previously held the role of Group Finance Director for Howden and is currently a trustee of the Howden Foundation.
Mark is deeply concerned about the impact of climate change and passionate about the positive action the Howden Foundation is making in tackling its impacts.
Rebecca Scott
Rebecca Scott
Trustee
Rebecca is Chief Risk Officer at Howden and joined the foundation board in 2021. Prior to joining Howden, Rebecca was CRO at a Lloyd's managing agency and a partner at chartered accountancy firm Mazars.
Rebecca says “for me, the key word is ‘share’. Too often, it’s considered meek or passive – but really it is a truly magical and powerful word. The foundation is focused on sharing both the financial and intellectual resources of Howden with those battling the effects of climate change. The work done by the organisations we support to meet the challenges the world faces is truly awe-inspiring and it’s a privilege to be able, through the foundation, to share in just a little of what they achieve.”
Lucy Dormandy
Lucy Dormandy
Trustee
Lucy is a corporate sustainability and social impact director, with experience working in a range of large, international organisations including Wellington Management, Aviva and Hilton. She joined the board in 2022.
Lucy has over 15 years of experience developing and executing social impact and corporate sustainability strategies, incorporating international market alignment, operational environment management, strategic charitable partnerships, ESG reporting and human rights due diligence. She is a fellow of the Institute of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability and is co-chair of its London steering group.
Heather Goodhew
Heather Goodhew
Trustee
Heather has over 40 years’ experience in the specialty (re)insurance business, having held senior leadership roles in underwriting, business development and operations. She now serves on the board of DUAL, the underwriting arm of Howden, as an independent non-executive director.
Heather is also an experienced charity board trustee who is passionate about the importance of the non-profit sector and the powerful contribution it can make in addressing both local and global challenges.
She is a trustee of the Howden Foundation, as well as being an ambassador for the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (UK).
Anshu Mandal
Anshu Mandal
Trustee
Anshu has ten years of experience in impact investing. She has supported more than 40 early to growth-stage ventures, tackling some of the toughest global developmental challenges by providing both capital and advisory. She has also built expertise in using catalytic capital to de-risk blended finance vehicles which are investing for impact. She has built her experience across two main geographies – the UK and Sub-Saharan Africa – and although sector agnostic, has had significant exposure to solutions addressing the impact of climate change through mitigation and adaptation, via the provision of technology. Through her work, she has built a strong global network of key ecosystem players, from innovators to investors.
Anshu has a huge interest in how non-profits deploy funding to effect change and address societal and environmental issues, and sits on several boards to provide guidance on overall strategy to ensure maximum impact.
She joined the board of the Howden Foundation in 2022.
Louise Creasey
Louise Creasey
Trustee
Louise was Managing Director of Sutton Place, a single family office, where she also served as Chief Operating Officer, Head of Advisory Services, and Tax Director. Within the Global Executive Management Committee, Louise was responsible for governing the overall strategic vision of the family, focused on fiduciary obligations and multiple generations of wealth preservation, as well as providing professional services across multiple areas.
Louise now heads up a new single-family office, ERS Private Office Limited, working on behalf of bio-tech entrepreneurs across various European jurisdictions in both private and business spheres, covering all aspects of wealth management and investment advisory.
Both these roles have been combined with a passion for philanthropic work. Louise is a member of the board of various charitable organisations, advising on philanthropic strategy, good governance and key return drivers on philanthropic funding.
Louise joined the board of the Howden Foundation in 2022.
Our team
Clare Ballantine
Clare Ballantine
Head of Howden Foundation
Clare leads the Howden Foundation and has been instrumental in launching its ambitious global climate action strategy. In her role, she oversees all foundation activities and maintains a close relationship with the board to ensure the achievement of strategic objectives. She believes deeply in the unique role philanthropic capital can play in fostering sustainable change.
With over ten years’ experience at the intersection of UK corporate philanthropy and international grant-making, including her tenure at international grant-making charity, the Maitri Trust, Clare possesses a deep understanding of the non-profit sector. She is skilled at aligning philanthropic efforts with business objectives and values, as well as being highly proficient in all aspects of international grant-making.
Hannah Torkington
Hannah Torkington
Partnerships Manager
Hannah is passionate about the role that intelligent, catalytic and empowering grant-making can play. She led frontline charity projects in international NGOs before moving into philanthropy 15 years ago. Since then, her philanthropic roles have included leading international environmental grant-making programmes, and governance and senior leadership positions at large family and independent grant-making bodies, such as the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and the Tudor Trust. Hannah joined the Howden Foundation in March 2024 as the Partnerships Manager to take on her first role in corporate philanthropy.
Contact us
Please email us at [email protected] if you have any queries. Please note we source grant proposals through our networks and do not accept unsolicited applications for funding.
Find out more information on our safeguarding policy here.
The Howden Foundation is a charity registered in England and Wales (Charity Number 1156286). Registered office: One Creechurch Place, London EC3A 5AF.