THE BORNE FOUNDATION 

Overview

The worldwide incidence of premature births has remained broadly constant for over 50 years, leading to a massive number of babies born with severe disabilities. The Borne Foundation has been set up by leading obstetrician Mark Johnson to promote targeted research and co-ordinate feedback from specialists.

Amongst their research projects hoping to provide treatment and prevention of premature birth, their major initiative, Borne's Uterine Mapping Project (BUMP), hopes to bridge gaps between siloed areas of specialisation and spark major breakthroughs in understanding that could bring about research impacting millions globally.

Source: Giving is Great

Mission:

Identifying the causes of premature birth to save lives, reduce disability and create lifelong health for mothers and babies
Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

  • The charity has received Government grants
  • Spending has increased over the last 3 years relative to the previous period, despite a decline more recently
  • The Board appears to be well diversified in terms of age and gender

Regulatory & Governance issues to consider:

  • The Board composition appears to be rather static

Financial issues to consider:

  • Income has been volatile and was significantly lower than spending in the latest year
  • Fundraising costs are high relative to funds raised
  • Liquidity appeared to be in excess of CC guidelines at the latest year end but spending has been increasing rapidly

How you can help

Established: 8 years

http://www.borne.org.uk/

hello@borne.org.uk

07821 681 058

Charity Commission for England and WalesCompanies HouseTwitterFacebookInstagramYouTube
UN SDGs
?

Financial Data ?

Income & Spending ?
Sources of Income ?
Y/E Income
£k
Spending
£k
Surplus/
Deficit
Fundraising
Cost £k
Total
Funds £k
Unrestricted
Funds £k
Mths
Rsrvs
Staff Volun-
teers
31/03/22£846£1,288£-442£189£1,800£1,8001750
31/03/21£1,093£827£266£174£2,242£2,1223150
31/03/20£1,562£1,529£33£430£1,976£535460
31/03/19£2,328£1,899£429£762£1,942£301250
31/03/18£1,944£1,271£673£533£1,513£1,4311440
31/03/17£1,353£513£840£238£840£7431730

Financial Ratios
Fundraising Costs/Voluntary Income: 26%
Fundraising Costs/Total Spending: 15%
Senior Staff Costs/Total Spending: 12%
Liabilities/Assets: 38%
Liabilities/Income: 129%
Unrestricted Funds/Total Funds: 100%
Reserves/Spending: 16.8 months
Net Current Assets/Spending: 17 months
Quick Ratio: 1.2
Asset Split ?
What it does
  • The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives
The Borne Foundation is a medical research charity based in Imperial College School of Medicine's facilities at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. Their aim is to identify the causes of premature birth to save lives, prevent disability and create lifelong health for mothers and babies through clinical studies and funding of expert research in the field.
Who works here?
  • 5 employees
Who it helps
  • Children/Young People
  • The General Public/Mankind
How it operates
  • Makes Grants to Individuals
  • Makes Grants to Organisations
  • Other charitable activities
Where it operates
  • Scotland, Throughout England And Wales,

Who's supporting them? ?

Donations from Grant Makers ?

We have details on the following significant donations. Multi-year donations are allocated to the years for which they are earmarked.

Donor
Amount/When/Months
To be used for
The EQ Foundation
£25,000 06/03/2023
Big Give Champion Pledge
The EQ Foundation
£25,000 15/02/2022
Big Give Champion Pledge
The EQ Foundation
£25,000 05/02/2021
Big Give Christmas Challenge 2020

Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

How do they operate?

BUMP (Borne's Uterine Mapping Project) with Borne's Expert Collaborative

Objectives: To reduce the incidence of premature births

Beneficiaries: Pregnant women and babies

Description: Borne has established a scientific collaboration with preterm birth experts from around the world to advance understanding of term and dysfunctional labour. They hope to accelerate the translation of discoveries into new treatments to delay preterm labour and improve outcomes for babies.

At the heart of this collaboration is the recruitment of pregnant women to join the BUMP initiative and contribute samples throughout their pregnancy and a variety of maternal tissue when they deliver their babies. These women’s

....more
Clinical Studies - ProgrAm

Objectives: To provide a new treatment that prevents premature labour

Beneficiaries: Pregnant women and babies

Description: ProgrAm involves the investigation of a combined drug treatment to delay preterm labour with high risk women. 70 pregnant women considered 'high risk' for preterm labour (women who have previously lost or had a premature baby) will be involved in the trial, with 35 women receiving the new combined drug treatment and a control group receiving a non-combined drug only. The study hopes to transform clinical protocol with a new application for a readily available drug which may be the first new treatment to prevent premature birth in over 50 years. While the

....more
Clinical Studies - 2,000 Women Sampling Study

Objectives: To provide samples to be used in discovery science

Beneficiaries: Pregnant women and babies

Description: A large scale, diverse biobank of samples is necessary for the generation of reliable, replicable results. This study aims to recruit 2,000 women to provide samples to be used in discovery science. Over 600 women have now been recruited to this study, which monitors and collects samples from women from week 12 of their first pregnancy and follows their development through to birth. At each point, the maternal immune system will be investigated, as well as the fatty acid, metabolomics and proteomic profiles, harnessing discovery science to

....more
Comment: The Borne Foundation funds research programmes and projects in their entirety, and also contributes part funding to projects in partnership with others which include:

- The core salary costs of professorships, scientists and clinicians that lead the research originating from Borne’s laboratory in Chelsea and Westminster

- Technical staff and research midwives involved with clinical work and sample collection

- Postgraduate studentships, fellowships and lectureships

- Laboratory consumables and equipment that are required to conduct the research studies

Research programmes proposed by the Chief Scientific Officer, Professor Mark Johnson, are critically evaluated for scientific merit by Borne’s Scientific Advisory Board comprised of independent scientific experts. They provide comment to the Borne Board on the research team’s ability to deliver its scientific mission and maintain scientific excellence.

Source: Giving is Great

How effective are they?
Main mission: Identifying the causes of premature birth to save lives, reduce disability and create lifelong health for mothers and babies
Commentary: Bringing together experts in Borne Foundations collaborative research has the potential to provide life changing impacts to premature births and new families. The introduction of new treatments in the field have been slow to progress over the last 50 years so finding medical breakthroughs will hold great merit. However, the necessity of studies to be longer term due to factors like patient availability and limited comparative analysis mean outcomes may not be available until projects have matured. Though results are steady to develop, there is evidence to say significant medical advancements could be possible to impact on a global scale
Documents

Who works here?

  • PROFESSOR MARK JOHNSON
    Chief Scientific Officer
    Appointed: January 2016
As a physician and obstetrician, Mark saw the effects of prematurity first hand and with his expertise in obstetrics and research was in a unique position to set up Borne as a research appeal with Chelsea and Westminster Hospital before the charity became independent in 2016. As Borne’s Chief Scientific Officer, Mark is responsible for framing and delivering the strategy for research funded by Borne. This is in support of a Scientific ....more
  • CELINE HOTONNIER
    Finance and Operations
    Appointed: May 2020
Celine is Head of Finance and Operations and is responsible for the financial, administrative and organisational support to the Chief Operating Officer and Executive team, enabling the effective running of the charity. She worked as a senior member of the Finance team at St Paul’s Cathedral for over 20 years, managing the Fabric grants and finances of four trusts which fundraise for and make grants to the Cathedral, and then took on the role ....more
  • JULIE SHIELD
    Director of Fundraising
Having started her career in the City, Julie then transferred to the charity sector and now has over 13 years’ experience in leading diverse teams within the space. She has worked at senior levels within several pregnancy and baby charities, including Bliss and the National Childbirth Trust. She is also a Trustee at Autism Unlimited; a charity that supports and empowers autistic children, adults and their families and is driven by a firm ....more
  • DAVID BADCOCK
    CEO
    Appointed: May 2023
Before joining Borne, David was the Chief Executive of Drug Science, the leading independent scientific body on drugs in the UK, working to provide clear, evidence-based information without political or commercial interference.Previously he was the Chief Executive of Mainliners, a national drug treatment charity providing services that focused on harm reduction and preventing the spread of blood borne viruses. His work in the charity sector ....more
Commentary: Borne Foundation also work with a Scientific Advisory Board that review all research studies proposed to the charity to aid in decisions on projects funded

Source: Giving is Great

How is it governed?

Trustees (6)
Current Trustees appointed
Gender Split

Age Range of Trustees: 39-72
  • RAZAN JAFAR
    Appointed: 2018, Occupation: Company Secretary/Director
Legal constitution
  • Charitable company registered in England & Wales on 13/05/2016, number: 1167073
  • Registered at Companies House on 22/09/2015, number: 09788534
  • Registered with HMRC for Gift Aid
Policies in force
  • Complaints handling
  • Conflicting interests
  • Investment
  • Paying staff
  • Risk management
  • Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
Main office

315-317
New Kings Road
LONDON
SW6 4RF

Objectives

THE OBJECTS OF THE CHARITY ARE TO ADVANCE EDUCATION AND ADVANCE, PROMOTE AND SUPPORT RESEARCH, WITH ANY USEFUL RESULTS OF SUCH RESEARCH BEING PUBLISHED, SO AS TO:2.1 PREVENT DEATH AND DISABILITY IN PREGNANCY AND CHILDBIRTH; AND2.2 CREATE LIFELONG HEALTH FOR MOTHERS AND BABIES.

Data Sources

Charity Commission for England and Wales
360 Giving
CharityBase

Tips for Selecting Charities

Which areas of philanthropy are most effective?
The text of this post is taken from an article on the Effective Altruism forum. It suggests that you can achieve the most impact by supporting causes that fight extreme poverty, improving animal welfare....more
Our Top Tips for Philanthropy
Here are some ideas to help you gain more satisfaction from your philanthropy and confidence that the causes you have selected are impactful. Engage your brain, as well as your heart You....more
How to become a Philanthropist
In this Blog we outline a strategy to help people who are new to philanthropy and for those who feel dissatisfied with the impact they are having. Effective philanthropy is immensely rewarding for donors,....more