The Happold Foundation is a charity dedicated to using engineering skills and experience to make a positive impact on people’s lives. We work with young people, educators and researchers to shape a community who want to improve the built environment.
Our Mission
At The Happold Foundation, we know the huge contribution that engineering can have on all corners of society. So, we are creating a community of talented people who will help to shape the future for everybody.
From helping schools to introduce engineering to pupils to creating life-changing spaces for under privileged communities, we provide support and inspiration. We help students in the sector take the next step in their education, and we help engineers work in the most challenging environments. We are a source of know-how, encouragement and funding for those who are excited about engineering and want to be part of the next big steps in the industry.
Understanding how engineering can make a difference, we talk about the key issues that affect us today and will affect us even more greatly tomorrow. At The Happold Foundation, we work with the people who care about the same things we do, coming together to improve the built environment for all.
What we do
The Happold Foundation has four key focus areas – Futures, Education, Thinking and Human Development – where we allocate our resources and plan our future initiatives.
Our work in Human Development seeks to provide aid to people and communities at disadvantage. We help engineers and organisations to access the training and funds they need to get involved with humanitarian projects across the globe.
Our Futures focus introduces pupils age 6-11 to Engineering, Maths, Science and Technology. We work with teachers and schools to design exciting, hands on education programmes that will inspire children.
Our Education work helps students who want to pursue a career in engineering to access scholarships and work experience opportunities. Initiatives include working with educators to enrich their teaching and celebrate academic excellence.
Our Thinking offer brings together the most talented people in our industry to suggest solutions for some of the world’s most challenging issues. We facilitate events, workshops and lectures to unite a community of engineers, designers, builders, owners and users.
We work to promote the work our community can do to improve our world and build stronger communities.
Our Trustees and Executives
To ensure a consistently fresh and well-balanced approach to our work, The Happold Foundation’s trustees change from time to time.
Our Community Ambassadors
Our Community Ambassadors provide invaluable support, representing the Happold Foundation and the work that we do. Our volunteers are the key contacts for our alumni and young professional groups, and play an integral role in arranging our workshop and design sprint events.
Our History
Our story began in 1995 when the late Ted Happold, along with the other founding partners of BuroHappold Engineering, decided to start a charity that would enable engineering to support the needs of our global society. With the firm belief that engineering firms have a responsibility beyond their professional practice, the partners saw the Happold Foundation as a charity that would go further in shaping a community dedicated to improving the built environment. The Happold Foundation is a registered charity with an independent Board of Trustees from a number of different organisations.
Originally funded from shares transferred by Ted Happold, the charity continues to be supported by donation from the current partners of BuroHappold. Now established for more than two decades, we have been able to support hundreds of students, researchers and engineers in their aspirations to improve the built environment for all.
A lot has changed for us since our early days – now better resourced and with growing strategic direction, we have an increasing opportunity to make an impact. We now partner with other charities and organisations who believe in the same things we do, helping us to reach more people and have greater influence on a worldwide scale.
Get in touch
We’d love to hear from you about your ideas, offers of support or requests for support. For all enquiries please contact info@happoldfoundation.org.
If you prefer to chat, call us on +44 (0)207 927 9745.
For all funding applications please use the relevant forms around the website.
You can also find us on LinkedIn.