Browne Jacobson Charitable Trust takes fundraising total above £170,000 after 2024/25 donations

Browne Jacobson has donated more than £36,000 to 20 charities across its office network over the past year. 

The UK and Ireland law firm has supported causes across health, education, youth support and social inclusion via its Browne Jacobson Charitable Trust (BJCT).

Its 2024/25 fundraising total of £36,805 was split between charities located near its six UK offices in Birmingham, Cardiff, Exeter, London, Manchester and Nottingham. 

The BJCT is funded by a contribution from the Browne Jacobson partnership to provide small donations to local charities in the local communities near to its offices. It prioritises supporting causes that are important to Browne Jacobson employees, who must be involved with or have a strong connection to the charity.

Since 2018, the BJCT has donated £171,537 to 129 charities. 

Richard Medd, Managing Partner at Browne Jacobson, is a BJCT trustee and the senior leader sponsor of the firm’s community action strategy. 

He said: “As a firm with an ambition to be at the forefront of society’s biggest issues, we want to make a meaningful, positive impact within our communities by supporting a diverse range of charities.

“By developing a community action plan to manage our charitable activities, we are able to target charities with shared values and purpose, while putting our people at the heart of this strategy means those who put the effort into fundraising feel even more incentivised to support these great causes.”

BJCT trustees* meet three times per year to consider applications received from Browne Jacobson employees and typically award grants of up to £3,000.

Charities** to have received donations in the 2024/25 financial year included:

• Child Brain Injury Trust, which was awarded £2,000 towards its Give a Child a Chance fund, providing equipment and emotional support to those affected by childhood acquired brain injury – and their families – in Birmingham and the West Midlands. 
• Velindre, a cancer charity based in Cardiff that funds a wide range of roles, resources and services that support cancer patients and their families, was awarded £2,000 towards the cost of organising an orchestra concert to raise funds for the Velindre Cancer Centre.
• Jay’s Aim – Helping Young Hearts, an Exeter charity set up to try and reduce the number of young people who die of sudden cardiac arrests in the South West of England, was awarded £3,000 to help fund a defibrillator scheme that will provide six defibrillators plus training to places in need such as sports clubs and community spaces.  
• Inside Out Wellbeing, a London-based provider of culturally informed wellbeing support, was awarded £2,470 to help fund sessions for the Inside Out Wellbeing Programme, a personal development initiative designed for 30 young beneficiaries aged 18 to 25 from racialised communities. 
• Dementia Disco, a charity based in Stockport and Greater Manchester whose mission is to use music to inspire memories, conversation and friendships in and between people living with dementia, received £2,000 to help fund a large fundraiser to trial mobile discos in care homes.
• Ignite Futures, an education charity in Nottingham, was awarded £3,000 to fund Primary Parliament, a termly opportunity for pupil representatives from primary schools to come together and have their voices heard.

Browne Jacobson also supports its local communities via its office community action groups, which partner with charities focused on addressing social inequality. Each office supports a local charity for at least two years, chosen by staff votes. These partnerships involve comprehensive support including fundraising, volunteering, and pro bono work.

Partnerships for 2024/25 raised an additional £23,374 for five charity partners, which were chosen because they aim to address unique local needs, such as homelessness, youth violence and social exclusion.

These were Inspire & Achieve in Nottingham (£8,983), Lifeshare in Manchester (£5,150), First Class Foundation in Birmingham (£3,270), The Wallich in Cardiff (£3,130), and St Petrock's in Exeter (£2,860). 

Fundraising activities throughout the past year included bake sales, half marathons, pet photograph competitions, quiz nights and Euro 2024-themed football contests. 

The BJCT recently selected Broxtowe Youth Homelessness as its Nottingham office charity partner and Bow Foodbank as its London office charity partner for summer 2025 onwards. The vote for its other office charity partners will take place later this year.

Browne Jacobson Charitable Trust trustees*

Craig Sharples, Information and Research Manager – Nottingham (BJCT Secretary)

Andy Merckel, Client Relationship Manager – Birmingham

Angela Williams, Legal Director – Exeter

Deveshi Patel, Associate – London

Emma Middleton, Legal Director – Dublin

Kelly Buckley, Partner – Nottingham

Kevin Lawson, Partner – Birmingham

Owen Fear, Senior Associate – Cardiff

Richard Medd, Managing Partner – Nottingham

Victoria Colclough, Partner – Manchester

Browne Jacobson Charitable Trust beneficiaries in 2024/25**

Birmingham

Birmingham LGBT, a Birmingham charity whose vision is a vibrant, diverse, lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans community in Birmingham in which individuals can realise their full potential and have equal access to what the city has to offer, was awarded £1,500 to help continue to fund and deliver the vital Emerge service to trans young people in the West Midlands. Emerge is the only trans youth group in the West Midlands and currently supports 40 young people in group and one to one support, and the funding will be used towards running a weekly group delivering activities and events providing a safe space and delivering one to one wellbeing support sessions.

Child Brain Injury Trust, the leading voluntary sector organisation providing emotional and practical support, information and learning opportunities for families and professionals affected by childhood Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) across the UK, was awarded £2,000 to help support its Give a Child a Chance fund for children with ABI and their families in the West Midlands. The fund supports families who are struggling financially and provides equipment to help with rehabilitation.

Food Justice Network, an association of more than 280 community food projects across Birmingham whose primary aim is to deliver emergency food support to vulnerable and disadvantaged communities in the city suffering food poverty, was awarded £1,200 funding to cover the cost of creating a food hub co-ordinator role based at Birmingham Wholesale Market, responsible for identifying sources of edible food waste and co-ordinating its distribution to frontline community food projects across Birmingham.

Cystic Fibrosis Care, a charity that supports people with cystic fibrosis, their families and specialist cystic fibrosis centres, was awarded £2,690 to fund the purchase of 10 Bluetooth Spirometers for children and young people that attend Birmingham Children’s Hospital, allowing them the freedom to enjoy a near normal lifestyle that many take for granted.

Cardiff

Velindre, a cancer charity based in Cardiff that funds a wide range of roles, resources and services supporting cancer patients and their families, was awarded £2,000 towards the cost of organising an orchestra concert to raise funds for the Velindre Cancer Centre.

Exeter

Daisy Garland, a charity based in Devon that works exclusively for children and families whose lives have been touched by drug-resistant epilepsy and provides positive support for some of the 18,000 children in the UK who suffer from drug-resistant epilepsy, was awarded a donation of £1,325 to fund a night-time epilepsy monitor and a SAT monitor.

Jay’s Aim- Helping Young Hearts, an Exeter charity set up to try and reduce the number of young people that die of sudden cardiac arrests in the South West of England, was awarded £3,000 to help fund a defibrillator scheme, which will provide six defibrillators plus training to places in need such as sports clubs and community spaces.

London

Inside Out Wellbeing, a leading provider of culturally informed wellbeing support in the UK, based in London, that addresses aspects of mental wellbeing that others neglect, particularly identity and culture, was awarded £2,470 to help fund sessions for the Inside Out Wellbeing Programme, a personal development initiative designed for 30 young beneficiaries aged 18-25 from racialised communities. The project aims to address key mental health and wellbeing challenges these individuals face while providing practical tools for their long-term well-being management.

Bike Project, a charity based in London that supports refugees and people seeking asylum in the UK by providing refurbished bicycles, cycling accessories and training, was awarded £1,000 to purchase complete cycle safety kits for 50 refugees. The charity’s mission is uniquely focussed on helping refugees overcome transport poverty, enabling them to access essential services, employment, and education while promoting physical and mental wellbeing.

Manchester

Dementia Disco, a charity based in Stockport and Greater Manchester whose mission is to use music to inspire memories, conversation, and friendships in and between people living with dementia, was awarded £2,000 to help fund a large fundraiser whose objective is to raise funds to grow the charity and, among other aims, begin to trial mobile discos in care homes.

Give a Duck Foundation, a lived experience-led children’s cancer charity that supports children who have been diagnosed with cancer, their siblings, relatives and friends throughout the North West, was awarded £600 to purchase 20 “chemo ducks”, cuddly toys that help the children better understand their cancer treatment, feel less scared about the medical procedures they face and offer comfort at one of the most difficult times of their lives.

Reuben’s Retreat, a charity based near Manchester that supports families who have suffered the loss of a child or have a child living with medical complexities, was awarded £1,000 to provide sound bath therapy for adults and children as an alternative to, or in addition to, talking therapies. The donation will pay for a qualified therapist for 12 monthly sessions and refreshments.

Venture Arts, a visual arts organisation working with learning disabled artists in Manchester, was awarded £2,000 to fund 24 Young Peoples Art Club sessions, a biweekly club that allows learning disabled artists to express themselves through art and to socialise, instilling a sense of wellbeing and confidence in the artists.

Nottingham

Headway Nottingham, a charity that supports those affected brain injuries, providing rehabilitation programmes, support groups and respite to carers, was awarded £2,000 to fund three terms of maths and English functional skills to the service users.

National Literacy Trust Nottingham, the Nottingham hub of the social justice charity that aims to improve the life chances of children and young people through innovative and creative development of literacy skills, which includes speech, language and communication, was awarded £1,500 for the development and creation of six “literacy sacks” with training and resources for volunteer literacy champions and community organisers. This will enable volunteers to run their own sessions at groups and events with children aged up to five, who will be able to participate in fun story and rhyme time activities, while their parents or carers are provided with tips and ideas to support their children’s literacy skills in the home.

Our Dementia Choir, a Nottingham-based charity that aims to use the power of music to support people living with dementia, was awarded £1,600 to enable the charity to fund being a silver partner in the Robin Hood Marathon.

Ignite Futures, an education charity unleashing the unique creative spark in every young person, equipping them for a rapidly-changing world, was awarded £3,000 to fund Primary Parliament, a termly opportunity for pupil representatives from primary schools across Nottingham to come together and have their voices heard. Pupils explore a wide range of global and local issues that matter to them. Primary Parliament is all about children's voices and the utmost emphasis is placed on collaboration, creativity and communication.

Nottinghamshire Hospice, a Nottingham-based charity that provides end-of-life care in patients’ preferred place to die- their own homes, was awarded £2,000 to fund 150 bereavement sessions and support 25 people who are struggling to cope with grief.

Children’s Bereavement Centre, a Nottinghamshire charity that supports three to 18-year-olds experiencing life-changing trauma due to the death or terminal illness of someone they love, often one or both parents, was awarded £2,000 to fund 80 free one-to-one art therapy sessions that focus on educating children through increasing their understanding of their feelings relating to bereavement.

Nottinghamshire Search and Rescue Team, a charity comprising highly-trained volunteers working alongside Nottinghamshire Police to search for and rescue vulnerable, high-risk missing people, was awarded £1,920 to purchase new equipment to search safely alongside riverbanks and other bodies of water. The kit consists of life jackets, throw lines, helmets and floating poles, along with a radio for the team leader to communicate with search control.

Browne Jacobson’s 2024/25 financial year ran for 11 months from May 2024 to March 2025.