Recent Grants


Grants made in last financial year 2020/21

Below is a report of the grants made in the last financial year to September 2021.

** Since September 2021 some further grants have been made, an update can be viewed at Recent Grants since September 2021.

1. Nutrition for Health and Wellbeing

Increasing the understanding of nutrition and its importance for health amongst health practitioners.

All the charities supported in this strategic area are funded from profits from Cytoplan, who in 2020/21 transferred a sum of £300,000 to The AIM Foundation.

Nutrition is often an overlooked aspect of medical training and care. Malnutrition problems are on the rise in the UK, making nutritional education more crucial than ever. AIM has funded several charitable and not-for-profit organisations that are leading the way in medical nutrition.

NNEdPro
NNEdPro is a not-for-profit think tank, training academy and knowledge network based at Cambridge University. NNEdPro aims to: develop, provide and evaluate impacts of nutritional education in healthcare; research and interpret data in current unexplored areas of how nutrition aids healthcare; and improve policymakers, and healthcare practitioners access to the information.

AIM has provided a second year of funding of £35,000, which has been distributed towards their core costs in developing the undergraduate curriculum around nutrition, how to engage patients in consultations around diet and self-care, and increasing the number of medical schools in their network.

Nutritank
Initially set up in 2017 by two medical students, Nutritank describes themselves as an information hub of food, nutrition and lifestyle medicine. AIM’s funding has helped them to campaign successfully for increased nutritional education at medical schools.

AIM has provided a second year of funding of £35,000, so that Nutritank can continue to deliver the medical student courses and start to adapt their work so that it can reach a wider audience.

Institute of Health Visiting (iHV)
iHV is a charity that delivers training and is actively involved with research and policy. Through training Nutrition Champions, iHV aims to positively impact families and children’s nutrition and the systems that support them.

AIM has committed to three years of grants. The second year’s funding of £34,917 has been distributed to cover costs of delivering and evaluating their new two-day e-learning events about oral health and two update events. They will scope the opportunity to provide training to GPs, Practice Nurses and SLTs.

Culinary Medicine (UK)
Culinary Medicine UK teaches health practitioners the foundation of clinical nutrition and how to cook themselves to help motivate their patients to lead healthier lives using food. They have developed and run a series of evidence-based courses for both medical students and qualified doctors.

AIM has provided a second year’s grant of £35,000, which Culinary Medicine has distributed to cover core costs of developing and delivering online practical nutrition courses materials to a wider audience. This audience includes nursing staff, allied health professionals, post-graduate junior doctors, and the general public.

College of Medicine and Integrated Health
The College of Medicine and Integrated Health focuses on improving the healthcare system by bringing together senior healthcare practitioners, scientists, medical students, patients and carers through events and courses.

AIM has given a grant to fund the development, delivery and evaluation of a short, easily available online course to 60 line workers this year.

Social prescribing link workers help people to unpick complex issues affecting their health and wellbeing. They connect people to community groups and help the person to develop skills, friendships and resilience.

ERimNN 
Based at the University of Brighton, the Education and Research in medical Nutrition Network (ERimNN) connects practitioners interested in nutritional education. ERimNN developed the nutrition curriculum for Brighton & Sussex medical school.

With previous funding from AIM, ERimNN are running a pilot project to research the food experiences of patients and how nutritional care is provided on hospital wards. The pilot will take place at four adult clinical areas and involve nurses, nursing associates and dietitians. The project will identify concerns and solutions, and finally, they will implement the changes needed to improve nutritional care.

Nutrition Implementation Coalition
AIM has committed to supporting the partnership costs of The Nutrition Implementation Coalition for a further two years. The coalition brings together organisations with a variety of educational, professional and research experiences who all share the same vision for the need to advocate for nutrition education for healthcare professionals and bridge the gap between knowledge and practice. They are combining their efforts to improve the ability of doctors, nurses, health, and social care professionals to deliver effective nutrition care.

Vitamin D Research Study 
AIM are helping to fund a ‘test and treat’ research study on correcting vitamin D deficiency in the UK population. The Queen Mary University of London will co-ordinate the research, investigating the risk factors for COVID-19 overlap of vitamin D deficiency. A total of 5,076 people are enrolled in the study; half will be tested for vitamin D deficiency and offered 6-months of supplements. Over those six months, the cases of COVID-19 and other respiratory infections will be recorded and compared against those not receiving supplements.

2.Early Years:

Improving the emotional and social development of young children from vulnerable families.

There is overwhelming evidence that support from conception to the start of school is critical in shaping a child’s early development and future prospects. At this time, brain connections form at an unrepeated speed, giving shape and depth to children’s cognitive, emotional and social development – influencing their capacity to learn, solve problems and relate to others. AIM has funded several charities to ensure that children from disadvantaged backgrounds get the best start in life.

Parent Infant Foundation 
Parent Infant Foundation is committed to ensuring every baby has a loving and nurturing relationship laying the foundation for their emotional and physical wellbeing. They want to strengthen their First 1001 days Movement.

AIM has committed to a three-year grant of £25,000 per year towards the policy work supporting the growth and quality of specialised parent-infant relationship teams across the UK.

Best Beginnings – Parent Leaders Project 
Best Beginnings works towards helping parents to give their children the nurturing, loving care and attention that provides healthy development. They developed an NHS approved, evidence-based, award-winning app called Baby Buddy. The app provides understandable information on child development, answers questions, signposts support and helps to make parents feel less alone.

With the third-year grant of £25,000 from AIM, Best Beginnings will continue to work with grassroots groups in Birmingham and Newham to support the most disadvantaged families at risk of poor outcomes to adopt healthy behaviours. They will train community workers, peer supporters and volunteers, building on strengths in the community. Some Parent Leaders will be given extra training so that their views can inform decision-making platforms locally and nationally.

AIM has also awarded an additional grant of £40,000 towards the partnership work of Best Beginnings, Fatherhood Institute and Future Men to write new father’s content within the updated version of the Baby Buddy app.

iHV – Perinatal Infant Mental Health Champions
The Institute of Health Visiting’s (iHV) core mission is improving the lives of all infants and their families through excellence in practice and reducing health inequalities. Over the next three years, AIM will contribute to the core costs of their Perinatal Mental Health Team.

iHV train ‘Champions’ for perinatal and infant mental health in their local area. iHV’s Champions training program has had fantastic feedback:

“I couldn’t even start with what was most beneficial. Very engaging, interesting and informative. Most interactive training I’ve had to date, delivered by two specular facilitators.”
– Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Nurse

Association of Infant Mental Health (AIMH)
AIM further supported the Association of Infant Mental Health in 2021 to develop and launch the infant mental health competency framework. This framework sets the standard for all infant mental health practitioners to work towards to become accredited. It will raise awareness and knowledge of infant mental health amongst practitioners working with at-risk pregnant parents and their infants to strengthen attachment and improve emotional and social development.

Association of Video Interactive Guidance (AVIGUK)
The Association of Video Interactive Guidance, UK (AVIGUK) provides video interactive guidance, which are interventions in which a practitioner aims to enhance communication within relationships.

AIM has awarded a grant of £25,000 towards establishing a new national data collection system. AVIGUK want to provide evidence that this intervention promotes sensitivity and atonement in interactions between parents and infants.

3.Young people:

Improving their life chances, especially around the transition from school to employment, and their emotional and mental wellbeing.

Mental health is a massive issue for our young people. In the UK today, an estimated five children in every classroom have a mental health problem. A quarter of 17-year-old girls have self-harmed in the last year. And suicide remains the single biggest killer of boys and young men. Studies on the impact of the pandemic have shown an increase in levels of distress, worry and anxiety in young people. Especially amongst those with additional challenges, including young people with disabilities, from communities affected by racial injustice and who are LGBTQI+.

Impetus
Impetus works with their charity partners to give young people from disadvantaged backgrounds the support they need to succeed. AIM has been a long-time funder of Impetus, and in recent years has focused its financial support towards research and policy. They work on policy in education attainment, widening participation and youth unemployment.

Acknowledging that young people would be hit hardest by the impacts of COVID-19, AIM brought forward our 20/21 funding for Impetus, and in Autumn 2020, gave an extra £25,000. This funding has allowed Impetus to plan with decision-makers to diminish the impact of COVID-19.

Young Minds
Young Minds focuses on influencing policy about young people’s mental health and wellbeing. They have driven changes in mental health units in the NHS and schools. Young Minds listens and actively involves Young Activists in its work.

In 2020 AIM made a further three-year award towards the core costs of the policy team at Young Minds, allowing them to make significant and continuous strides in influencing government and policy.

“What your support meant was we could really focus on our policy and influencing work that was never more critical than during this time.”

Emma Thomas 
CEO of Young Minds

MAC-UK
MAC-UK works to develop and implement mental health services for excluded young people, using the input and guidance of young people. AIM has committed to three years of funding so MAC-UK can have a Public Health and Prevention team.

Their third-year grant of £24,021 was distributed that helps enable the Public Health and Prevention Team to influence various policy forums by increasing the understanding of the social determinants that affect youth violence and mental health.

CYPMHC 
The Children’s and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition has brought together leading charities to campaign jointly on the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people for ten years. CYPMHC has helped to ensure a greater focus on mental health in Ofsted’s inspection framework, making schools focus on their pupils’ mental health.

CYMHC has recently launched a second annual report with policy recommendations based on extensive consultation with 200 member organisations and views from diverse young people.

42nd Street
With 40 years of experience, 42nd Street aims to provide accessible mental health services for all young people. They support young people with their emotional wellbeing and mental health-promoting choices and creativity. AIM is funding their training coordinator for a second year to work with young people to develop their training programme, including courses for those working with young people on how to de-escalate critical situations.

“Useful, interactive, real, enjoyed the mindfulness, good chatting to other parents, helpful suggestions.”
(Parent accessing exam stress workshop)

Papyrus
Papyrus aims to shatter the stigma around suicide and give young people and their communities the knowledge and skills to recognise and respond to suicidal behaviour. AIM has committed three years of funding so that more young people get the help they need.

Their third-year grant of £23,280 was distributed to continue to deliver their work to raise awareness and reduce stigma around suicide and give young people and their support networks the knowledge and skills to recognise and respond to suicidal behaviour in West Midlands.

 “The training has given me an added confidence to ask [about] and prevent suicide.”
(Youth trainer)

Youthscape
Guided by an advisory board of health care practitioners and teachers, Youthscape aims to help young people with their wellbeing. AIM has committed to three years of grants for the Alumina program, a live online service for young people to seek help with self-harm. The third-year grant of £25,000 was distributed to continue providing live online small support groups for 14-19 year-olds to help reduce self-harm and develop accompanying written materials.

“Alumina has made me feel better about myself… and I know who I can get further support from. I have loads of coping strategies that are starting to help me see a better future.”

The Children’s Society
AIM continues to support the Children’s Society East. AIM has funded the role of a Young Carer Support Worker. This role provides one-to-one and group sessions, organising and supporting family activities and developing self-care resources to support hidden young carers. Hidden young carers a weight of extra responsibilities, such as caring for family members due to parental mental illnesses or substance dependency. In response to COVID-19, AIM funded extra training for the staff to conduct online sessions, including the tools they can use and provide additional staff support during this challenging time.

The Prince’s Trust
The Prince’s Trust helps vulnerable young people get their lives back on track. Focusing on young people aged 11 to 30, the Prince’s Trust helps those who are unemployed, struggling at school and at risk of exclusion. AIM has committed to a new three-year grant of £75,000 for training young people in Essex around self-employment and apprenticeships.

4. Environment

AIM has responded to the urgent need to increase funding for environmental issues and have signed up to the Funder Commitment on Climate Change. This is a new funding area for us, and initially grants will be focused on restoring and protecting Global Oceans and Coastal Waters and UK Rivers and Coastal Waters.

Oceans – Healthy oceans and seas are essential to our existence. They cover 70 percent of our planet, and we rely on them for food, energy and water. Yet, we have managed to do tremendous damage to these precious resources. There is a need to protect them by eliminating pollution and overfishing and start to responsibly manage and protect marine life.

UK Rivers – Freshwater systems are home to over one-third of all vertebrate species and are essential to supporting life on earth through the drinking water supply, food production, photosynthesis and sanitation. Species that depend on these habitats face catastrophic population declines, with one in three freshwater species being faced with extinction. These declines are being caused by numerous global pressures, including pollution, overfishing, invasive species, dam construction, abstraction and dredging. The UN recognises water pollution as a widespread global issue and estimate that 80% of global wastewater is untreated and released directly into the environment, including human waste and toxic industrial waste products.

Essex Wildlife Trust
Essex Wildlife Trust is committed to protecting wildlife and inspiring the love of nature. They focus their conservation and educational effects in Essex. AIM has provided a grant of £15,000 towards a citizen science survey to raise the profile of seagrass habitat and better understand and reduce coastal recreational pressure on seagrass meadows and coastal wildlife on Blackwater Estuary.

5. Other Wellbeing & Community Support

Wellbeing Economy Alliance
WEAll is a new global collaboration to influence policy and narratives between environmental sustainability and human wellbeing.

AIM has awarded a new grant of £26,500 to this project to cover the costs of producing a further Happy Planet Index in advance of the Global Climate Summit in November 2021.

Worcester Charities

Cytoplan Ltd, based near Worcester, was classified as an essential business providing vitamins and supplements that has continued to operate during the pandemic lockdowns.

The following local organisations were suggested by Cytoplan staff to receive unrestricted donations, as they continue to suffer from extra demand, reduction in their normal fundraising capacity, and need to adapt their services to serve those disproportionately affected by the pandemic and lockdown restrictions.

6. Family Fund

In addition to our strategic areas, AIM Foundation awards small grants through our Family Fund. This enables members of the family to support a range of causes they care about and helps us to learn about new areas of interest whilst supporting valuable work in the community.