The Lightmongers Charity supports people with sight and hearing impairments and invests in the next generation of lighting professionals. Through grants, student awards and practical support, we help the lighting industry and our members give back to society under our theme of Making Lives Brighter.
The Lightmongers Charitable Trust Ltd funds the charitable and lighting education activities of the Worshipful Company of Lightmongers. It is a separate legal entity registered with the Charity Commission, charity number 1153557.
A tradition of giving
Charitable giving has been part of the City of London’s guilds and livery companies since their beginnings in the 12th century. They trained members through apprenticeships and supported them during sickness and in older age.
The Lightmongers continue this tradition through charitable grants, education awards and the generosity of members who make donations and support fundraising events.
Who we support
Our main focus is on charities working with people who have sight or hearing impairments alongside our commitment to education in the lighting and electrical industry. Our grants support day-to-day living, academic and life-skills education, and research that helps improve lives in many different ways.
This focus reflects our industry’s passion for lighting and the connection between lighting and sensory needs, and the difference good lighting can make to everyday life for those affected.
We have affiliations with two specialist schools:
- New College Worcester, for students who are blind or have sight impairments.
- Mary Hare School, for students who are deaf or have hearing impairments.
Alongside financial grants, we support these schools by with awards and arranging events and experiences for students.
We also make grants to selected City of London charities, including those supporting people with sight or hearing impairments, and we provide grants and awards to affiliated organisations, including our military affiliations.
Supporting lighting education
We provide financial awards to high-achieving students across a range of lighting education courses, helping to support future lighting and lighting design engineers.
Visit our Education pages to learn more about our student awards.
How you can help
Your support helps us fund grants and awards. You can:
- Make an annual/monthly donation plus make one-off donations.
- Take part in a fundraising event.
- Get involved in activities with the organizations we support.
- Contribute to the charity’s capital through a legacy or through a donation – see the Lightmongers justgiving page.
How we use our funds
We aim to increase the grants and awards we make each year while also building up our invested capital to generate income for future giving. An independent professional investment management company manages this capital.
50% of our annual interest on the invested capital is distributed as grants to charities. Our capital base grows through donations, legacies, fund-raising events intended for the capital fund and the reinvestment of the remaining 50% of the interest from the invested capital after costs have been covered.
Member donations and fundraising income raised for specific charities are distributed to the charities we support and are not added to the capital fund.
We keep administration costs to a minimum, covering only essential expenses such as accounting and the costs of fundraising events. Trustees and other members volunteer their time without payment.
Governance and trustees
The charity is managed by a Board of Trustees. All trustees are members of the Worshipful Company of Lightmongers and serve terms of three or six years.
Our current trustees are:
- Liveryman Bob Kronman, Chair
- Liveryman Stuart Carter
- Liveryman Mike Collett
- Liveryman Mark Ellis
- Liveryman Norman Emery
- Liveryman John Rowsell
- Liveryman Peter Scott