I help you make change
not just grants
Charles Keidan gives philanthropists, funders and families the advice they need to realise the full potential of philanthropy for social change.
Drawing on 20 years of accumulated expertise across philanthropy, politics, media, law, and campaigning, Charles advises philanthropists, institutions and charities who challenge injustice and make society fairer.
Charles has advised leading philanthropists and philanthropic foundations including:
Advising the Pears family for a decade as director of the Pears Foundation
Mentoring the CEO of a major new family foundation committed to social change
Supporting Changing Ideas to build, run and fund initiatives with the potential to change society for the better.
His support has been instrumental in founding many philanthropic initiatives, including:
Setting up a pooled fund backing legal actions in the public interest alongside philanthropists Stephen Kinsella and David Graham
Building the network pulling public interest campaigners, journalists and lawyers out of their silos to unleash their catalytic potential
Providing money and mentoring to the UK’s most tenacious campaigners and journalists
Campaign for Equal Civil Partnerships
In 2014, Charles Keidan and Rebecca Steinfeld walked into a central London registry office to form a civil partnership, only to be told they were only available for same-sex couples. This difference in treatment seemed wrong and unjustified.
It turned out that barring over 3 million cohabitating couples in the UK the choice of a civil partnership was unlawful - an act of unjustifiable discrimination. This 2018 legal ruling by Lady Hale’s Supreme Court made history and paved the way for change. It pushed the government to back new legislation giving different sex couples the choice of a civil partnership. Rebecca and Charles became civil partners at the end of 2019.
Today more than 25,000 couples have formed civil partnerships giving them legal security and protections in a formalised relationship.
The campaign for equal civil partnerships was hard won through building alliances across the political spectrum and civil society, using legal action, petitions, public interest journalism, crowd funding and philanthropic funding to achieve social and political change for the benefit of society.
Conservative Equalities minister Penny Mourdant called the campaign an act of “civic virtue”. According to veteran campaigner Peter Tatchell, whose campaigning for same sex marriage paved the way for this victory, it was “a model of effective activism”.
The experience taught Charles a lot about the strengths and shortcomings of mainline philanthropy. He now has unique insight into what holds philanthropists back from achieving change. Charles can help others be both bolder and more strategic, working together to tackle today’s challenges and injustices.
PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo
