Philanthropy in action: 2025 highlights

2025 marked a year of significant progress for the Steve Morgan Foundation as we scaled up efforts to break cycles of social disadvantage and deliver lasting impact in our region.

£100 million funding pledge

We committed £100m over five years to projects improving education outcomes, creating employment opportunities and expanding access to health, housing and youth services. We also continued investing in groundbreaking international research towards a cure for type 1 diabetes.

Supercharging Cradle to Career

An additional £5.65m was awarded to Liverpool City Region’s Cradle to Career partnership, tackling root causes of disadvantage affecting children, young people, and families.

New partnerships

We partnered with outstanding organisations across the region:

OnSide – £650,000 multi-year funding for Youth Zones, safe spaces offering trusted support and opportunities.
UBS Optimus Foundation – £1.3m of additional support for organisations addressing root issues in our region.
Wrexham AFC Foundation – £300,000 to expand Street Dragons and Young Leaders programmes, regenerate community pitches, and create safer spaces.
Whizz Kidz – £750,000 over three years to provide bespoke wheelchairs for children and young people.
Crewe Alexandra in the Community – £250,000 to scale programmes supporting at-risk youth and vulnerable adults.

Maggie’s North Wales

Steve and Sally Morgan opened the new cancer support centre in Denbighshire, commissioned, designed and funded by the Foundation’s £4m investment.

Tackling homelessness

We commissioned the Centre for Social Justice’s policy work to end homelessness, launching a report with a fully costed proposal to expand Housing First nationally.

Grand Challenge breakthrough

Our £50m Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge funded research revealing why the condition is more aggressive in young children, paving the way for targeted treatments.

Celebrating success

Steve Morgan received an honorary doctorate from the University of Liverpool, and the Foundation won the Charity Awards’ top prize for the Cradle to Career programme.

As we approach our 25th anniversary in 2026, we look forward to changing even more lives for good.

Type 1 diabetes: celebrating success at the 2025 Symposium

The 2025 Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge Symposium highlighted the incredible progress and impact, as Steve Morgan laid down the challenge for the next chapter.

Nearly 200 delegates from nine countries came together at this year’s Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge Symposium for updates on the world-leading science and research funded by the Steve Morgan Foundation, in partnership with Diabetes UK and Breakthrough T1D.

Turning discovery into impact, with lived experience at the heart

Throughout the Symposium, delegates heard about the latest research exploring new immunotherapy regimens, beta cell replacement and regeneration techniques, and innovative strategies to protect and support transplanted beta cells.

Further and faster

Speaking at the Symposium Dinner, Steve Morgan committed more funding to chapter two of the Grand Challenge, noting that there is “still much more to be done”.

He urged the community “to go even further and faster” in breaking new ground to find treatments and a cure for type 1 diabetes.

Other speakers included ‘experts by experience’ – adults living with type 1, parents of children with the condition, and members of the Grand Challenge’s public and patient involvement (PPI) groups. These insights are fundamental to the science and put people affected by type 1 at the heart of every decision.

The event also celebrated the exceptional scientists funded through the Grand Challenge, with a series of awards presented by Steve and Sally Morgan.

Speaking at the close of the symposium, Liam Eaglestone, CEO of the Steve Morgan Foundation highlighted how the Grand Challenge was founded on the belief that collaboration is essential to rapid progress:

“We’ve created a community that is making a difference. What was a risky hope three and a half years ago is starting to deliver. This will only happen if we continue to bring all the different partnerships and expertise together to achieve something remarkable.”

More information

The Grand Challenge Symposium was held at the Royal College of Surgeons on the 4^th and 5^th December 2025. Read the full report on the Grand Challenge website here.

The Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge 2025 Sympoisum

SMF announces UBS Optimus Foundation as a strategic partner

The Steve Morgan Foundation and UBS Optimus Foundation have launched a strategic partnership to boost regional impact.

We are proud to announce a new strategic partnership with UBS Optimus Foundation, a grant-making charitable foundation founded by UBS. This formal collaboration builds on a long-standing relationship and a shared commitment to tackling social disadvantage.

By working together, we have already helped bring more than £1.3 million of additional support for organisations addressing root issues in our region, thanks to match funding provided by UBS to charities in the UBS Optimus Foundation UK Education Portfolio.

Liam Eaglestone, CEO of the Steve Morgan Foundation, said:

“We’re thrilled to formalise our partnership with UBS Optimus Foundation. Together, we’ve already amplified the impact of key programmes like Cradle to Career (Right to Succeed), IntoUniversity, and OnSide. This joint approach is helping our funding go further and driving lasting change for children, young people, and families across the region.”

Over the next six years, UBS Optimus Foundation will deepen involvement in the region, working with SMF to accelerate progress in education, improve access to services, and increase employment opportunities in the region.

Sarah Payne UK Head of Social Impact & Philanthropy at UBS said:

“We’re proud to become a strategic partner of the Steve Morgan Foundation. They play a vital role in enabling effective collaboration in their region and ensuring that local communities have a strong voice in shaping the solutions needed. The UBS Optimus Foundation is committed to supporting this kind of philanthropy to help drive lasting impact.”

UBS Optimus Foundation in the UK looks to partner with organisations focused on early intervention and long-term impact, particularly within the areas of education, mental health, climate, and health. It joins SMF’s existing strategic partners Maggie’s, Liverpool FC Foundation, Everton in the Community, Right to Succeed, Diabetes UK, Breakthrough T1D and Onside.