Projects
Here is an overview of the projects we’ve taken on and supported over the years.
Youth Outreach (2009 - Present)
We are regular donors to, and work with, XLP – a youth work charity focused on creating positive futures for young people across London. XLP stand with young people with dedication and genuine care, build long-term lasting relationships, creating safe spaces for growth and opportunity. Coming up to their 30th year, they serve young people and their families in schools and communities across nine inner-London boroughs, working with over 3,500 young people each year.
XLP have a wide range of programmes to support youth across London. These include mentoring, tutoring, and employability training to help young people gain confidence in and find work, Mobile Youth Centre buses providing fun, safe spaces after school, and sports, drama, music, and dance activities that build personal confidence, encourage self-expression, and inspire young people to see their potential.
The XLP team is passionate and committed, with many volunteers and youth workers having once been young people supported by XLP themselves.
Find out more at www.xlp.org.uk.




Landmark Trust Apprenticeship (2021 - Present)
The Landmark Trust is a charity that rescues historically significant buildings that would otherwise be lost, restoring them into self-catering holiday accommodation available to everyone so that they can be enjoyed and are protected for the future. FINHUMF is delighted to contribute to this valuable effort by funding their two-year-long training apprenticeship - this will be a joinery apprenticeship working in the Historic Estates team at the Trust, training under Mark Smitten their highly skilled and experienced Workshop Manager based in Honeybourne. This apprenticeship will also include a formal qualification at the highly regarded Rycotewood Furniture Centre in Oxford.
"For us at Landmark, our work is all about outcomes for people, not just bricks and mortar" commented Bruce Hall, Head of Development at the Landmark Trust " we have had experience with informal sponsorship of talented individuals like Bill Barkley, who now is a full-time member of our team, and this project will, we hope, allow us to facilitate more formalized and organised training, in partnership with other organizations, to benefit the overall effort at the Trust"
Leslie Hill, Trustee at FINHUMF added "Innovative and exciting training programs are what FINHUMF is all about, giving people a chance to find their niche in the world and be empowered to live a good life is our goal. We see the Landmark Trust as an excellent example of what we stand for, and are very excited to be a part of their work."
Queen Mary University Bursary Programme (2024 - Present)
Queen Mary University of London is a university that commits itself to inclusion and opportunity; an education that can build a career and a future for our youth is something very important to us.
QMUL takes pride in the great diversity of their community, with over 32,000 students on degree programmes, among them 170 nationalities are represented, and 72% are BAME.
Their aim is to be the most inclusive university of their kind anywhere in the world by 2030.
Queen Mary has a proud history of promoting social mobility which began with the university’s founding institutions, each of which were created to improve the lives of people with less privilege. Today, the university continues to have social mobility at its core and serves a diverse area. Over 93% of their home undergraduate students are from state schools, 46% are the first in their family to go into higher education, and 36% are from households with an income of less than £35,000. The 2025 Daily Mail University Guide described Queen Mary as “the most socially inclusive of the research-intensive Russell Group universities by some distance”.
With support like ours, Queen Mary University is able to offer a bursary program to talented Humanities and Social Sciences students facing financial difficulties. These bursaries help to ensure that these bright young students are equipped with the means to succeed.
Learn more about Queen Mary University of London at their website: https://www.qmul.ac.uk/.
OK Music School and other Projects (2025-Present)
The Otakar Kraus Music Trust (OKMT) is an award-winning music therapy charity based in Richmond upon Thames, South West London. Music therapy, an NHS-approved psychological therapy, has a remarkable ability to enhance communication, social interaction, and emotional well-being. Since 1991, OKMT has been dedicated to transforming the lives of some of society’s most vulnerable and isolated individuals.
Through one-to-one and small-group music therapy, they support toddlers, children, and young people with communication delays or disabilities, young adults with learning disabilities, adults with neurological conditions such as stroke or Parkinson’s, and elderly people with dementia—helping them build confidence and create meaningful connections.
A key initiative is OK Music School, where 75 children and young people with disabilities are taught, through specialist teaching techniques, to play a musical instrument or sing. Students flourish as they develop musical skills, perform with pride in two annual concerts and other community events, and gain essential life skills such as communication, socialisation, and focus. Several students have successfully passed music exams, while older participants can join the OK Music School Band for monthly rehearsals. This project removes barriers and creates opportunities for young people with disabilities to grow in confidence, engage more fully in their education and social lives, pursue their passions and live independently.
FINHUMF is delighted to provide support for this cause; as some of our Trustees have attended, and can speak for how inspiring the efforts leading up to and during these concerts are themselves!
Find out more, including information about their upcoming events, at okmtrust.org.uk.
Former Projects

Teachfirst Career Leaders Program (2021 - 2023)
COVID-19 had a devastating impact on the poorest members of our society. Across the UK, schools closed their doors for six months only to briefly return and be closed again, impacting the learning of thousands of children. Our most disadvantaged pupils were unable to access learning without laptops or the internet and some even struggled to find enough food. The Education Endowment Foundation reported that because of the disruption to learning, gains made in closing the learning gap between rich and poor pupils were at risk of being lost. Teach First invest in programmes that support the whole school and all programmes are rooted in evidence. These programmes are based on expertise developed over the last 20 years about how best to improve the life chances of the pupils we serve and the schools we work with.
“Problems like this won’t go away once we’re out of lockdown. The school system will need support for at least seven more years. So, whilst the world will go back to normality on the surface there will be much to be done for those who are disadvantaged.”
Jason Ashley, Headteacher at Redbridge Community School. Southampton.
We decided to allocate a significant amount to assist Teach First make a real difference to the education of the most vulnerable and help them prepare to become valuable and valued members of society. Specifically, the Careers Leader Programme which directly supports and helps prepare disadvantaged young people to thrive at work.
Forestry Management and Education (2015-2019)
The Goteley Wood project combined the desire to sustainably manage a woodland in SE England with short visits and classes held for kids who do not have access to the countryside. Some of these children had never been in a woodland before, and they were able to experience what working in the open air managing a woodland might be like.
Regreening the Sahel (2009 - 2013)
Under the leadership of Professor Chris Reij a Senior Fellow of the World Resources Institute in Washington we funded farmers in the Sahel, notably in Mali and Burkina Faso (including the venerable Yacouba Sawadogo) to help educate skeptics on the benefits of diversified planting and soil conservation. Yacouba Sawadogo has since received a Right Livelihood Award in 2018, for "exemplary answers to some of the most urgent challenges facing us today"
This project culminated in our sponsoring the short film about Yacouba, "The Man Who Stopped the Desert" made by the award-winning documentary producer and director Mark Dodd, which is still available on Amazon.