Individually, Fellows pursue their own vision for change in their sector or community, often starting in their local area or workplace and then building influence to regional and national level.

Collectively, a cohort of Fellows in one of our thematic programmes can achieve sufficient momentum to affect an entire area of society. An example of this is the field of creative ageing, in which a three-year cohort of Churchill Fellows is credited with creating a professional sector in the UK that now leads the world. Another example is the area of early years intervention, where our three-year cohort has created an influential cohort of innovators in this field, whose findings were gathered in a national conference in London attended by practitioners and stakeholders.

Personally, many Fellows say that the impact on their own life has been transformational, with gains in their knowledge, abilities and direction which can last a lifetime.

Supporting this UK impact is a key focus for us and in 2020 we launched the Activate Fund, a pilot project to offer substantial grants to Fellows whose projects have the greatest potential to transform lives in the UK.

Fellowships can address every issue in society because of our universal grantmaking framework which covers every aspect of modern life, and because Fellows themselves come from every group and area in the UK, often from the frontline of the issues they wish to change.

Together the Fellows form a community of 3,800 changemakers who are champions of professional innovation, global exchange and practical action.