Delivering The Future Now

Our vision is to bring positive and lasting change, helping to
unlock natural potential and build a more inclusive and
environmentally conscious society

Education

We continue to promote the development of best practice in special needs education to deliver great outcomes for young people with learning difficulties, disabilities and autism.

Employability

We are positively influencing current practice so that young people with special educational needs and disabilities receive high quality work-related learning and improved access to long-term paid employment.

Healthcare

We are committed to improving survival rates of Myeloma and advancing cures through the strategic funding of high-quality research which will benefit patients and improve survival rates.

Conservation

We are working to ensure the survival of the British Butterfly, with the long-term goal of focusing efforts on the re-introduction of some of the rarer species of British Butterfly.

The DFN Foundation

A commissioning charity committed to transforming life outcomes for people throughout the country.

With the Foundation’s support, our delivery partners are able to influence sustainable change in special needs education, supported employment, healthcare and conservation. Our partnership model is business led and outcome driven. This enables us to obtain transformational results with very clear deliverables. Whether it is helping more young people with special needs through education and into full-time employment, advancing Myeloma research or supporting butterfly conservation. In any case, we at the Foundation are passionately committed to making our society a more environmentally conscious and inclusive place for all.

  • Creating world-class special needs education

    We have invested £7.5million in establishing the Stepping Stones School at Undershaw, which is providing world-class special needs facilities, supporting pupils to reach their full potential in life. We are the commissioner of one of the UK’s largest Social Impact Bonds; together with ThinkForward we have created the DFN MoveForward programme. This is an innovative education-based employability skills strategy that supports students with special needs by providing individualised coaching, creating ready for work opportunities whilst promoting greater employer awareness and engagement.

  • Helping young people with learning disabilities get great jobs

    We are transforming the lives of young people with learning disabilities through our collaboration with DFN Project SEARCH. This transition to work programme is making a huge impact, running over 60 schemes throughout the UK and supporting more than 1000 young people into full-time paid work.

  • Funding innovative myeloma research

    We are making a significant contribution in healthcare by funding a five year myeloma research programme at the Institute of Cancer Research in London. Under the leadership of Dr Martin Kaiser, we hope to understand the genetic factors that are responsible for the progression of myeloma cancer and then with this knowledge, work towards optimum treatment plans.

  • Supporting conservationists in saving the British Butterfly

    We are helping to save the British Butterfly and have been announced as the official sponsor of the Big Butterfly Count 2020 – 2023, the worlds largest butterfly survey. This data will support conservationists to protect butterflies from extinction and also understand the effect of climate change on wildlife.