Mission/History

About us
The Rayne Foundation and The Rayne Trust build bridges to connect people and communities.

History

For over fifty years The Rayne Foundation has given to many different causes and organisations. As well as being a traditional philanthropist, Lord Rayne (1918-2003) made great efforts to ensure that the Rayne Foundation was engaged with the needs of society. Early grants included help towards creating the Rayne Institutes – in London, Edinburgh, and Paris in the 1960s and 1970s – which built a bridge between medical research and hospitals where researchers and doctors could work alongside each other. Other grants included the Theatre Museum in Covent Garden, University College London, the London Library and Darwin College, Cambridge, which he helped to found. He gave his time to many organisations, including The National Theatre, where he served as Chairman for eighteen years; as well as RADA, the London Festival Ballet, the Yehudi Menuhin school and St Thomas's Hospital.

The government, universities and hospitals drew on his deep experience in business and the public sector. In 1965, Lord Rayne founded The Rayne Trust to increase coexistence and to reduce conflict and exclusion for vulnerable or disadvantaged communities.

Lord Rayne was one of the few post-war property developers who helped to rebuild central London after the Blitz. For over forty years he built up London Merchant Securities plc (LMS) a property group which specialised in prime developments with partners such as the Church Commissioners and The Crown Estate. His interests spread around the world, including the development of General Motors building in New York.

The work of The Rayne Foundation continuously evolves to meet new needs and to build bridges between communities.