The CareTech Foundation today published its 2020-21 ‘Annual report and impact report’, highlighting its achievements and milestones over the past year. The Foundation was established just over four years ago, as a grant-making corporate foundation in the social care sector.

It says a record number of 1,550,000 people were directly supported in 2020-21, plus an additional 16.8 million people being reached by a social media mental health campaign in Pakistan.

Seven major new strategic funding partnerships were established, bringing the total up to 14 strategic partnerships and the Foundation helped 65 charities to deliver programmes over the year through its smaller grants. Since 2017, the Foundation has provided almost £2.5million in grants, with some £700,000 in just the past year.

The commitment from CareTech to support the Foundation is backed-up with a financial investment of 2.5% of its pre-tax profits and support by the company’s staff.

Additions to the Foundation’s portfolio of strategic partnerships included:

• Autistica – The Social Care Action Fund, which catalyses new research into social care for autistic adults and how it can be delivered well in the real word.

• OnSide Youth Zones – Bridging the Gap, is a mental health project providing accessible, stigma-free, multidisciplinary mental health care to young people.

• The Open University – Carers’ Scholarship Fund aims to offer 50 full-fee waiver scholarships for carers, within which they will be able to flexibly study towards a higher education qualification.

• The Prince’s Trust – over the next four years the Trust, together with the NHS and Health Education England aims to support thousands of young people into careers with the NHS and wider health and social care sector.

The Foundation’s small grants programmes provided support for issues affecting local communities and to the families and friends of CareTech facing challenges. Over the period of the report, the Foundation awarded community grants of almost £75,000 to 50 initiatives.

CareTech Foundation’s chief executive Jonathan Freeman said: “The Foundation has come a long way in four years and reached important milestones. We have met the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic head-on and moved to new heights by supporting an increasing number of organisations.  We have also impacted an increasing number of people’s lives in the UK and overseas. I am excited by the future, by all its challenges and the milestones we will continue to reach as the Foundation continues to go from strength to strength.”