About us

We Are Maudsley Charity

We are a grant-making charity rooted in south London. Our vision is a world where everyone who experiences mental illness, without exception, has access to the right care and support for them.

We fund work led by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, research teams at King’s College London, and the voluntary and community sector to build a more equitable and effective mental health care system in south London. We share what we learn to promote change in other parts of the UK.

Driving Positive Change

Mental illness can have a profound impact on a person’s life – affecting their relationships, education, career, overall well-being, and sense of empowerment. The impact is even worse for people from marginalised communities and those who experience deprivation or discrimination, like many of the people in our local area.

We fund work that builds a mental health care system that listens and learns from diverse experiences and expertise, including the voices of the people who use it and supports more people to live well with their illness.

Funding Solutions

We fund the ideas and solutions that will make a meaningful difference in the lives of people who experience mental illness, enabling crucial research and improvements in care that may not otherwise be possible.

We’ve developed funding programmes to support a wide range of work from small grants for rapid, staff-led changes at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust to long-term multi-million-pound grants targeted at addressing complex mental health challenges across the communities we serve.

Rooted in our local area

We focus on the four boroughs served by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham, and Southwark). We aim to be an effective catalyst for positive change in the local mental health sector. We have strong relationships with our key partners and a wide range of local voluntary and community organisations and support them to work together to achieve our shared aims.

Advancing Equity

Experiences of racism, exclusion and poverty contribute to high levels of mental illness among people in our local area and negatively impact their access to the right treatment and support. For this reason, equity is more than a principle for us. It is a necessary tool for making genuine change. We prioritise work with a focus on those failed most by services, systems and society.

Maximising Impact Through Shared Knowledge

We want our funding to have maximum impact, so we look for projects with the potential to be taken up across the local area and the UK. We know the value of learning and evidence that includes diverse populations, so we work with grant holders and partners to share the outcomes of the initiatives we fund.

We provide space and opportunity for experts to connect and learn from each other, through hosting conferences and workshops at our ORTUS building, or through facilitating conversations with our connections across the mental health sector.

Our values

Passion & Purpose

We are passionate about improving mental health and motivated by our ability to make a difference​ for those most impacted by mental illness.

Integrity​

We will act with integrity. We will be objective and consistent in how we allocate funding and support. We will counter direct and indirect discrimination.

Knowledge

We value diversity of experience, expertise, and perspective. We will build into our organisation, and every aspect of our work, a range of voices, including those of people who experience mental illness.

Improvement​

We care about maintaining high standards and improvement. We will be open about where we could do better, learn from our successes and failures and expect those we work with to do the same​.

Appreciation​

We value relationships and show appreciation for support we get in whatever form that takes. We know that we influence change through the expertise and commitment of others.

Where we’ve come from

We can trace our history back to 1247 and the foundation of Bethlem Royal Hospital, the oldest psychiatric institution in the world.

In 1923 the Maudsley Hospital opened. Founded by Henry Maudsley, his vision was to create a centre where patient care, education and research came together to build knowledge and deliver the best possible treatment for patients.

In 1948 the Maudsley Hospital joined Bethlem Royal Hospital and later merged with Lewisham and Guy’s Mental Health Trust and Lambeth Mental Health services to become South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) in 1999. You can explore over 750 years of history by reading our timeline.

The hospital trust provides the widest range of mental health services in England including more than 50 national and specialist services for adults and children.

The Maudsley Hospital’s medical school, evolved to become the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), part of King’s College London. The IoPPN is a world leader in its field.

The unique and pioneering collaboration envisaged by Henry Maudsley continues today, supported by the Maudsley Charity.