What we do
The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund is an independent grant-giving charity established in September 1997 to continue the Princess's humanitarian work in the United Kingdom and overseas.
The Fund was established with donations given in memory of the Princess by people around the world in the days and months following her death on 31 August 1997. These totalled about £20 million. In addition, a further £80 million was generated through commercial activities - including a large donation from Sir Elton John and Polygram's Candle in the Wind '97, as well as the sale of products under the Fund's commercial licensing programme.
In the first nine years of its existence, the Fund pledged some £76 million in grants to over 350 organisations around the world. Charities with which the Princess had a close connection in her lifetime were invited to submit proposals for funding, and more than 90 such organisations received money from the Fund in the first year. Since then, the Fund has worked in the spirit of the Princess's humanitarian work by focusing on disadvantaged and marginalised people, providing them with support, a voice and an opportunity to realise their full potential.
Following the Princess' example, the Fund is not afraid to respond to emerging issues of the day and speak out on behalf of causes that are not widely recognised or popular. The Fund is proud to support groups and causes that would otherwise find it difficult to gain funding.
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