Our Mission

Innox Foundation exists to improve the mental health of young adults across the UK

We fund organisations working to improve the mental health of young people aged 18 to 25. We prioritise supporting initiatives that take a preventative approach to this growing area of need, with a particular focus on addressing loneliness and social isolation among the UK’s young adult population.

The Background

What does loneliness mean? It can mean different things to different people: from having no-one to talk to and feeling disconnected from the world to feeling left out and misunderstood.

In 2016, according to the British Red Cross, over 9 million adults in the UK said they were always or often lonely. In 2018 a study by The Loneliness Experiment* found that 40% of all 16-24 year olds said they sometimes or often felt lonely, compared to 27% of adults aged over 75.

*The Loneliness Experiment, published October 2018, is a nationwide survey amongst 55,000 people conducted by BBC Radio 4’s ‘All In The Mind’ in collaboration with the Wellcome Collection.

There are many reasons that contribute to why a young adult might feel lonely: from poverty and deprivation to maltreatment and neglect; parental mental health or addiction problems to the pressure of caring for others, right through to leaving home and living independently for the first time. And they affect everyone differently.

In 2020, things have only got worse. The COVID-19 crisis and the enforced isolation that the pandemic has meant for many has had and continues to have a devastating impact on the mental health of young adults, exacerbating some of the scenarios outlined above and creating new areas of concern. Physical isolation and disruption of social networks, along with an economic fallout we have yet to fully realise, have created huge insecurity and uncertainty about the immediate and longer-term future.

The need for effective understanding of what works to help this population is greater than ever.

About Us

Whilst there is a growing awareness of loneliness, there are still many more organisations set up to deal with loneliness in our ageing population than our younger one. But that is changing. 

Innox Foundation seeks to identify and support those organisations who have the mental wellbeing of our young adults at the core of what they do. We identify and fund exceptional organisations that support young adults to improve their mental health, particularly those that do so through the lens of loneliness.

Our grants either fund the core costs of non-profit organisations or projects that meet our specific interests. The foundation does not have a formal grant application process, choosing instead to proactively identify opportunities where our funding will make the biggest difference.

OUR TEAM

We are a small team, with a variety of work and life experience amassed between us. Jacqui and Andy set up Innox Foundation as a charitable ‘vehicle’ for our own family giving; Daniel represents the younger generation in our own family and Tine is a close and valued family friend whose opinions and clear thinking we hold in great esteem. It is our hope that future generations of our families will continue the work we have started and that together we can affect some real change in this vital area.

We all share a common desire to positively affect young people’s mental health in whatever way we can – whether that’s by supporting the work that others do or pioneering projects of our own.

We believe in collaboration and partnership and hope that our modest efforts can reap benefits that will improve the lives of a generation.

Jacqui Edmiston - Co-Founder

Jacqui has had a varied career in sales and communication, spanning three decades and three continents, with the common thread being a fascination with people. She set up Innox Foundation in 2019 having decided that her last career move would be into the world of philanthropy, where she hopes to be able to make a difference to the way young people experience life.

She is fiercely committed to the concept of ‘mental health’ as a positive term which she believes should be referred to as commonly as we do physical health. With 4 young adult children, she is acutely aware of the pressures affecting young people everywhere, along with the need for genuine connection which so many lack.

After almost 30 years working in the oil industry and an economist by training, Andy now divides his time between his fledgling investment business and Innox Foundation, where he provides a much needed sounding board to Jacquis’ ideas and enthusiasm.

Possessed of a keen analytical brain, along with a strong sense of justice and a desire for equality, Andy is very much the backbone that has allowed Innox Foundation to exist. He is married to Jacqui and father of their four young adult children.

Dan has first-hand experience of the hardship many young people experience at points of transition: at age 13, he left Singapore where he was born to live in the UK and faced head on the challenges that a new country, school, friendships and culture brings. He graduated in 2019 from Leeds University and is now pursuing a career in renewable energy, but retains a keen awareness of the struggles many of his generation face making their way in the world, particularly in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

Tine is Danish, has lived all over the world, and now resides back in Copenhagen. With an initial career in banking, some ten years ago Tine turned her considerable talents to the world of education and currently heads up the international section of a well known school in Denmark. Tine has direct personal experience of the crisis point which some young people reach, having tragically lost her oldest son to suicide earlier in 2020.  She is as energetic and highly motivated about wanting to help young people who struggle with their mental health and brings invaluable experience gained from working within different international systems and cultures.

Our Work

We are a young foundation and are cautious in our approach, conscious that we are learning all the time. Proud to have partnered with some outstanding organisations, we are confident there will soon be more to follow. Below are some examples of the charities and other non-profit organisations that we have supported thus far:

The Cares Family
The Wave Project
Young Roots

Grants

We fund exceptional organisations across the UK whose work improves the mental health of young adults. We do not run a formal grant application process. Instead, we actively seek out organisations to support. However, if you meet our criteria feel free to tell us about your work by completing our contact form. As we are a small team we will only respond to organisations that we consider suitable for our support.

OUR APPROACH

Our approach to making grants is characterised by the following principles:

Partnership

We consider those that we support partners in our joint mission to improve young people’s mental health

Informal

We place more emphasis on conversations than application forms

Flexible

We want to provide whatever is best for our partners and so offer both core and project funding

Proactive

We actively seek out organisations that meet our core criteria

GOOD TO KNOW…

Our selection process can be summarised into four main points

One

We look for organisations that:

  • Operate in England, Scotland and Wales
  • Support young adults aged 18 to 25
  • Work to improve young people’s mental health and wellbeing
  • Recognise the importance of loneliness to young people’s mental health
  • Take a preventative approach to improving mental health and wellbeing
  • Use non-therapeutic delivery models, including those that build connections and a sense of community for young people
  • Are driven to achieve impact and committed to understanding the difference that they are making to young lives.

Exclusions:

The Innox Foundation will not fund the following:

  • Grants to individuals
  • Work that does not have a direct benefit to young people
  • Work that is the responsibility of the state
  • The promotion of religion
  • Activity that is not legally charitable
  • Activity that involves breaking any UK laws
  • Work that has already been delivered
  • Work that benefits people outside of the UK.

How we make decisions:

Multiple organisations will meet the above criteria. Innox Foundation will make decisions on who to fund based on the following:

  • Fit with our interest in loneliness and preventative approaches
  • The added value that a grant from us will make
  • Strength of the organisation’s team and particularly the leadership team
  • Financial health, including in the short and longer term
  • Understanding of issues experienced by young people
  • Quality of services and projects to improve mental health and wellbeing for young people
  • Involvement of young people in the design and delivery of the organisation’s work
  • Level of impact that the organisation is achieving to improve young people’s mental health and wellbeing
  • Potential to work well with the organisation – is Innox Foundation likely to be able to build a productive relationship?

Types of organisation:

Most partners are likely to fall into one of the following categories:

  • Specialist mental health organisations who offer a broad range of services and projects
  • Youth organisations who work with a range of young people to address a broad range of issues. These organisations must have expertise in mental health and have created projects and services that improve young people’s mental health
  • Organisations that work with those most at risk of loneliness, eg university students, LGBTQ+ young people, care leavers, homeless young people, young refugees and asylum seekers. They are likely to work on several issues, including mental health.

WHAT A PARTNERSHIP WITH US LOOKS LIKE

We like to stay connected during the grant period so we can find out more about the work of our grantees and the issues young people face. Where possible, we visit our partners to deepen our understanding. We ask for a report at the end of the grant period and are particularly interested in the impact a grantee’s work has had and the learning that has been acquired.

How To Apply

We are committed to upholding our most cherished values in every project and task we take on.

Whilst we actively choose to identify organisations we can partner with, if you feel you meet our criteria and would like to tell us about your work, please complete our Contact Form.