John Whitgift Foundation
John Whitgift Foundation has been based in Croydon for over 425 years and we’re proud of our long charitable history of serving the people of Croydon. Through the different branches of the foundation, we educate the young, care for the most vulnerable and assist the elderly in line with our founder Archbishop John Whitgift’s wishes. So how does the foundation work?
Over the last 426 years, we’ve been using the land and assets set aside by our founder to generate income which we reinvest into the local community through the various branches of the foundation. By doing this we continue to serve our founder’s wishes to care for Croydon and its local communities. The money generated through the foundation is used in a variety of ways. We fund one of the largest bursary programmes in the country for local students to attend our outstanding independent schools, Old Palace School, Trinity School & Whitgift School. We subsidise care home costs for the elderly to ensure a great sense of community, comfort and joy in later life through the Whitgift Care branch of the foundation which includes Whitgift House, Wilhelmina House and the Whitgift Almshouses. Our funding also allows us to operate the Carers Information Service at the Carers Information Centre. In a partnership with Croydon Council, we provide free help, support and assistance to the 34,000 unpaid carers in the Croydon area.
Historically John Whitgift Foundation has a large legacy of responsibilities throughout Croydon. To help guide and steer our foundation we have our Court Governors. With a range of educational, care and business backgrounds they oversee the management of the charity and ensure the Foundation fulfils the founder’s wishes. Our governors meet four times a year to make key decisions, and Court subcommittees meet a further three times a year relating to aspects of the Foundation’s work.