TELUS brings its community board model to the UK with £1 million for good causes
Howard Lake | 2 October 2025 | News
Global communications and technology company TELUS is launching its first Community Board in the UK in London, together with £1 million of investment for charities.
The funding is expected to benefit thousands of young people through dozens of grassroots non-profits across Greater London, with a focus on health, education, the environment, and digital inclusion for youth.
The funding from the TELUS Great London Community Board will be awarded by mid-2027.
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TELUS Community Boards
TELUS describe its Community Boards as a proven model of community-led philanthropy “putting funding decisions in the hands of local community leaders”.
Since 2000 TELUS and its staff have contributed over £1 billion and 2.4 million volunteer days globally. Its Community Boards have supported more than 11,000 programmes, supporting over 35 million children and young people.
The Greater London board is the 21st TELUS Community Board worldwide.
The funding will be awarded by mid-2027 and funding decisions will be made by a newly established local group of respected community leaders, ensuring support reaches organisations that can make the greatest impact on young lives.
“Social capitalism”
Darren Entwistle, President and CEO of TELUS, describes the company’s approach as “social capitalism”.
He explained:
“For more than two decades, our TELUS team members around the world have passionately embraced our give-where-we-live philosophy and made TELUS the most giving company on the planet”.
“Our… TELUS Community Boards truly embody this philosophy and contribute significantly to the legacy of giving we are building for the benefit of our communities and citizens, globally.
“With the introduction of our Greater London Community Board our team is honoured to launch this board with an inaugural £1 million in support of grassroots organisations across Greater London, empowering local leaders to deliver programmes that will help thousands of young people reach their full potential.
TELUS Great London Community Board
Chaired by Johnny Hornby, Founder & CEO of T&P and member of WPP’s Executive Committee, the inaugural board includes leaders from across the public, private, and social sectors:
- Fiona Adams, Executive Vice President, Managing Shareholder and Co-Chair of the Global Corporate Practice, GreenbergTraurig
- Austin Daboh OBE, Executive Vice President, Atlantic Records UK
- Mark Fabes, CIO, pladis
- Dr. Julia Fan Li, Co-Founder & CEO of Micrographia Bio
- Jenny Halpern Prince MBE, Founder & CEO, Halpern
- Alice Harrison, Director, Sales & Customer (International), TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods
- Simon Le Bon MBE, Lead Singer, Duran Duran and philanthropist
- Brad McCallum, Director Sales, EMEA, TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods
- Sophie Pender, Founder, 93% Club Charity
- June Sarpong OBE, TV Broadcaster, Speaker, NED, Author and Founder of Corporate Cinc
- Olivia Spencer, Marketing Manager, TELUS Health
- Dr. Nick Taylor, CEO & Co-Founder, Unmind
- Stephen Galliano, Chief Customer Officer, Workplace Options
Johnny Hornby, Founder & CEO of T&P and member of WPP’s Executive Committee said:
“The TELUS Community Board model is unlike anything I’ve seen in UK philanthropy. It brings decision-making closer to the ground, ensuring local organisations, often overlooked by traditional funding models, get the support they need to thrive”.
Following its first meeting, the Board has announced initial grants to 18 organisations, including:
- Lady Garden Foundation – Expanding gynecological cancer awareness and education among young women across Greater London;
- Enter Tech Opportunities CIC – Empowers neurodivergent females and non-binary young people with tech training, soft skills, and mentorship for employability;
- Orange Bow – Providing young men with peer support networks and digital resources to address mental health and promote social connection;
- The Amos Bursary – Equipping students from low-income backgrounds with digital and employment skills for academic and professional success; and
- The Great London Friendship Project – Helps young adults outside of education, employment, or training build confidence, reduce loneliness, and gain skills, structure, and peer networks to re-engage with training and employment.
To mark the launch, TELUS team members joined grant recipients and guests for a TELUS Day of Giving, a hands-on volunteer event.
How to apply for funding
Registered not-for-profits working with youth in Greater London are invited to submit grant applications that align with the Board’s funding priorities and demonstrate measurable impact.
Eligible organisations include:
- Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
- Company Limited by Guarantee (CLG) – may also be registered as a Charity or a Community Interest Company Limited by Guarantee (CICLG)
- Trust
- Unincorporated Association
- Community Benefit Societies (CBS). “Ideally, the CBS will also be registered as charitable with HMRC, however this is not essential”.
Funding available is single year grant funding, up to £20,000.
The board states “please allow 12 weeks following the application deadline to receive a response”.
- Corporate fundraising partnerships in March 2025 (7 March 2025)
- Corporate charity partnerships in October 2025 (1 October 2025)
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.