The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has published Our Place to Give, a government roadmap to expand place‑based philanthropy in England and reduce the concentration of major donations in London. The plan, released on 13 April 2026, sets out mechanisms to connect high‑net‑worth donors with organisations rooted in disadvantaged areas. DCMS frames the package as a practical route to ensure private generosity complements public investment already flowing into neighbourhood renewal programmes. (gov.uk)
Operationally, the roadmap confirms three design choices: seed funding to build capacity and pilot match‑funding; a new network of regional philanthropic ambassadors to broker introductions between donors, local institutions and central government; and collaboration with the financial services sector so advisers can provide structured philanthropy advice to clients. An MPs’ toolkit will support constituency‑level convening and help align local projects with donor interest. (gov.uk)
Funding is modest but targeted. DCMS will provide £1 million over three years from 2026/27 to create a community of practice that shares expertise across places and helps institutions develop investable propositions. Officials say detailed allocations will be confirmed by Summer 2026, giving local leaders a defined window to assemble pipelines and partnership governance. (gov.uk)
The government argues intervention is needed because philanthropy is unevenly distributed. London attracts more than a third of large‑foundation funding and around four times the average per‑capita Gift Aid value seen elsewhere. At the same time, total public donations fell from £15.4 billion in 2024 to £14 billion in 2025, according to the Charities Aid Foundation’s UK Giving 2026 report, shrinking the pool of support available to charities nationwide. (gov.uk)
Our Place to Give is designed to plug into the government’s neighbourhood renewal offer. DCMS points explicitly to Pride in Place, where up to £5.8 billion is being directed over the decade to hundreds of communities, as the anchor for aligning philanthropic capital with local priorities set by residents and boards. Positioning philanthropy alongside this public spend should widen the range of projects that can reach scale in places facing the steepest social challenges. (mhclgmedia.blog.gov.uk)
The policy also sits within a wider ‘impact economy’ agenda. The new Office for the Impact Economy has been tasked with bringing philanthropists, social investors and business into closer partnership with government, with an emphasis on channelling private capital to community outcomes. Today’s roadmap is presented as one strand of that programme architecture. (gov.uk)
Linked initiatives offer pathways for blended finance. The Treasury’s ten‑year Better Futures Fund, launched in July 2025 with a goal to raise private and philanthropic co‑investment alongside £500 million of public money, signals how match‑funding can be structured. Meanwhile, the rollout of Best Start Family Hubs across England from April 2026 creates a national network of place‑based delivery partners able to host donor‑backed services for families. (gov.uk)
For local authorities and combined authorities, the immediate task is organisational: identify a single contact point for the regional ambassador; map projects against Pride in Place and other local strategies; and firm up governance so donations can be accepted and monitored with clear impact metrics. The Pride in Place prospectus sets expectations around neighbourhood decision‑making that philanthropic partners will be asked to respect. (gov.uk)
For donors and their advisers, the roadmap responds to a documented advice gap. Research associated with Barclays Private Bank’s 2025 philanthropy work found that while 81% of high‑net‑worth individuals want advisers to raise philanthropy proactively, only around a third report having those conversations. The government’s intent to work with the financial services sector is therefore material to increasing the volume and quality of advice that channels giving to local needs. (bayes.citystgeorges.ac.uk)
Timelines matter. With the £1 million community of practice scheduled for 2026/27 to 2028/29 and allocation details due by Summer 2026, voluntary sector leaders have a short window to prepare investable proposals, evidence local demand, and set out match‑funding terms. Appointments to the ambassador network and any central guidance on due diligence or evaluation will be key markers to watch. (gov.uk)
Sector responses collected by DCMS emphasise the potential to stabilise local charities and widen donor participation beyond traditional hotspots, while warning that success depends on real capital flowing, not only coordination. Foundations and infrastructure bodies including the Association of Charitable Foundations and UK Community Foundations welcomed the emphasis on local partners who understand what works. (gov.uk)
The roadmap also references intergenerational trends, noting that up to £7 trillion could change hands by 2050, underlining the importance of connecting the next generation of wealth holders to place‑based giving pathways. If government, donors and local institutions use the coming months to align pipelines, governance and advice, Our Place to Give could help translate that transfer into tangible outcomes in communities that have historically missed out. (gov.uk)