Who We Are
The Orp Foundation Trustees consult with their families to identify appropriate charities and undertake research on those charities before presenting their suggestions to the Board of Trustees for decision. The Trustees generally fund small to medium charities where a relatively small contribution will make a difference. The Orp Foundation has one part time member of staff, and our Trustees meet as a formal Grant Panel twice a year to decide which projects to support.
Our Trustees
Sue Oppenheimer – Chair of Trustees
Sue Oppenheimer is currently Chair of the Trustees and leads on Governance. She has over 40 years’ experience, both in the not-for-profit sector and within Local Government, working with communities at the coalface and at senior level. Now retired, she volunteers with two local refugee charities in Gloucestershire, and is an active campaigner on the climate and ecological emergency.
Russell Oppenheimer - Trustee
Russell leads on the Foundation’s investments and is currently a Company Director and County Councillor. Russell has recently served on the board of the South Downs National Park Authority and founded a climate charity, PeCAN. Russell started his career as a Civil Servant in the Cabinet Office.
Zack Newman - Trustee
Zack leads on the Foundation’s website and is a company director who lives in Sussex. He has a degree in music, an HND in Forestry and an MSc International Business. Zack has lived and worked in Brazil and the USA. He specialises in commodities, raw materials, and international trade. Zack’s NGO experience includes teaching children with behavioural problems and running capacity building workshops for farmers commercialising organic production.
Jennifer Edmonds - Trustee
Jennifer has worked in organisations focused on education systems in the United States. She has a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts and a Masters in Public Administration. She is retired and lives in New Yrok City with her family.
Amy Hodge – Trustee
Amy leads on the Foundation’s family liaison activities. Amy works in theatre and film. She has worked extensively with young people across the globe and in the prison system in the UK.
Our Staff
Catherine Stuart-Jervis – Grants Manager
Catherine has an MA in Applied Social Studies and a background working in social work, the NHS, and the Third Sector. Catherine lives in Derbyshire, her experience includes working as a charity CEO for regional and national charities together with having managed grant programmes for philanthropic trusts, the University of Derby and the NHS.
The Orp Foundation - Recent Grant Awards
The Anna Freud Centre delivers a broad range of programmes from research to specialist clinical interventions in supporting children and young people to protect mental health and promote resilience. Their approach across all their work is close the gap between evidence and practice.
The Circularity Foundation advances education for the public benefit in the circular economy and related topics of sustainable and prudent resource use, in particular but not exclusively through workshops, conferences, seminars, lectures and undertaking and disseminating research.
The Govan Community Project run a variety of services for the needs of newly arrived asylum seekers in Glasgow. Our grant supports the Homework Club to ensure capacity for supporting volunteers and staff.
There is now widespread acceptance that rewilding has a vital role in addressing the climate and nature crises, as well as the cascade of benefits it offers individuals, communities, and the economy. Four in five Britons now support rewilding. Rewilding Britain is proud to have played a part in this significant breakthrough.
Trees for Life have always been ambitious in their aspiration to restore nature and reverse biodiversity decline. Rewilding requires us to be ground-breaking in our approaches to land management, biodiversity, food security, livelihoods, and climate change. Ultimately, it is about leaving a landscape in better health than we inherited it, and better able to face the challenges of the future.
CHEM Trust is a collaboration between CHEM Trust, a UK-registered charity, and CHEM Trust Europe, a charity based in Germany. Both charities work together closely to achieve our primary aim – to prevent hazardous chemicals from causing long-term damage to wildlife or humans.
The IRT is a UK based NGO that supports refugees across Uganda by working with local partners. Our UK Foundation partner is the JA Clark Trust. Our grant will provide support for smallholder farmers with a focus on female empowerment through the purchase of ovens and solar powered initiatives.
The primary purpose is to set up renewable energy projects which local communities can invest in and own. Any profit goes back into the local community. Our grant funds a Project Officer to assist with stakeholder liaison, installation quotes and negotiating power purchase agreements.
The UK’s leading ocean research charity. Our grant will help fund their educational outreach programme and prioritise STEM engagement as their first partner for the Ocean Education Bursary. 100 educational visits will be made to inspire a diverse world of future scientists.
A UK Charity fighting for a cleaner, better protected, healthier ocean. Our grant will fund a project called The Hidden Pollutant, researching and campaigning to prevent the river and marine pollution from tyre particles.
School Food Matters teach children about food and improve access to healthy, sustainable food during their time at school. Our grant will assist with funding their core activities including policy , awareness raising and campaigns – advocating for children and their families.
In collaboration with SOS-UK, Teach The Future aim to mobilise the Youth Vote to embed solutions focussed, quality climate education into the national curriculum. The campaign was founded in 2019 by secondary school students who have had significant impact, including introducing the first ever bill written by children and securing cross party support.
Offer a wide range of transformational, educational, nature connection experiences. Our grant will fund The Forest School initiative in Islington prioritising disadvantaged children through a long term approach to learning that supports play, exploration and supported risk taking through hands-on experiences in nature.
Our grant will support a three year project aimed at expanding the Schools Programme and providing employment opportunities for Ukrainian Chess Tutors living in the UK. Chess will be introduced to 21 new schools together with opportunities to compete in tournaments.