At Blagrave, we are thrilled to be part of a bold initiative that asks a simple but radical question: what if the investment industry put the needs of young people and future generations first?
This autumn, alongside a group of leading UK foundations, we will launch the Endowments Investing Challenge — an open call to the investment sector to design a portfolio with tens of millions of pounds at its disposal, rooted in impact and accountability to young people. Shortlisted entrants will share their ideas at a live event at London’s Barbican Centre in March 2026.
This is not the first time the challenge has run — in 2020, it began as a collaboration between Friends Provident Foundation, The Blagrave Trust and Joffe Trust. Now, with new partners on board, we are expanding its reach and ambition, with up to £50 million committed. Together, we want to see an approach to investment that creates long-term positive impact, while also delivering financial returns.
A future generations lens
For us at Blagrave, this project is deeply connected to our emerging strategy, which we will share more fully in early 2026. At its heart lies a commitment to thinking about how we can be good ancestors — recognising that the choices we make today, including how we steward our wealth, will shape the lives of generations to come.
That means asking difficult questions about the role of philanthropy, the traditional ways in which endowments are managed, and the metrics by which “success” is judged. It means shifting dynamics in the investment industry, opening up who has a voice in decision-making, and holding ourselves accountable not only to young people living now but to those not yet born.
We are proud to have played a key role in bringing the Future Generations Panel into being — a group of young adults who will advise the initiative and ensure that those most affected by investment decisions are heard clearly. Their insights on issues such as climate emergency, youth mental health, housing, education and inequality remind us why this work matters, and why we must be willing to challenge dominant paradigms.
Building accountability and hope
At Blagrave, we see this as an opportunity to learn — about how we can create new routes in for young people to shape our work, and about how we can establish more innovative and creative accountability structures for the assets we steward.
This builds on our recent contribution to the UN Summit of the Future in New York, where, alongside Paul Hamlyn Foundation, we shared our emerging thinking about the responsibilities philanthropy holds to future generations.
The Endowments Investing Challenge is one important step in this journey. It represents the possibility of using capital not simply as a tool for growth, but as a force for agency, hope, and long-term flourishing. We’re delighted to be working with The Children’s Society, Cripplegate Foundation, Friends Provident Foundation, Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), Vivensa Foundation, ShareAction, Impact Investing Institute and Redington, a Gallagher company.
We look forward to sharing more in the months ahead about how these commitments will shape Blagrave’s strategy and practice — and how, together, we can invest not just for today, but for generations to come.
Eli Manderson Evans, CEO, The Blagrave Trust