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British foundation From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Leverhulme Trust (/ˈliːvərhjuːm/) is a large national grant-making organisation in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1925 under the will of the 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), with the instruction that its resources should be used to cover certain trade charities and support "scholarships for the purposes of research and education."[1][2] Over time, it has come to focus on the latter aim.
It is based in London and is a registered charity under English law.[3]
Since its foundation in 1925, the Trust has provided funding for research projects, fellowships, studentships, bursaries and prizes. It operates across all academic disciplines with the intention of supporting individuals in research and professional training.
Dispensing over £100 million a year, the Trust is one of the largest providers of research funding in the UK.[1][4]
The Trust places special weight on:[5]
Victorian businessman and entrepreneur William Hesketh Lever manufactured and marketed Sunlight soap. In order to produce cheap soap and undercut competition, he controlled large concessionary areas in the Congo. These were granted to him by King Leopold, with whom he was a close friend. Many Congolese were exploited for use in forced labour which was allowed to continue for many decades before coming to light.[6][7]
Lever extended his business activities in ways that both served and profited from the rapid rise of a mass market for basic consumer products. He was also a philanthropist, supporting a variety of educational, religious, civic, community and medical causes. His achievements were recognised in 1922 when the title of Lord Leverhulme of the Western Isles was conferred upon him.
On his death in 1925, Lord Leverhulme left a proportion of his interest in the company he had founded, Lever Brothers, in trust for specific beneficiaries: to include first certain trade charities and secondly the provision of "scholarships for the purposes of research and education". The Leverhulme Trust was established. In the succeeding years, Lever Brothers became a cornerstone of Unilever, created in 1930 by the merger of Lever Brothers with Margarine Unie of the Netherlands. The Leverhulme Trust's shareholding thus became part of Unilever plc. November 1983 saw an evolution in the arrangements for the two charitable objectives. Subsequently, the Leverhulme Trust has been able to give concentrated attention to research and education.[8]
The Trust seeks to provide mechanisms for the support of researchers and students, and currently offers the following schemes:[9]
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