Tilt Foundation

Photo by FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund

Who we are

Tilt Foundation was born from within Cultivating Leadership — a global leadership consultancy built on the belief that business can be a force for good and that leaders can be more effective in this both inside their organisations and beyond. From the outset, we’ve chosen to do things differently.

One of those choices was a simple but radical one: we transferred ownership of our companies from the four founders to a foundation committed to something bigger. There was enthusiasm within the Cultivating Leadership community and among the founders to put more of a focus on partnership, working together for good, and taking responsibility. Establishing the Tilt Foundation was one way to make this more tangible.

Today, Tilt Foundation owns the company that trades as Cultivating Leadership and Growth Edge Coaching globally. But how we hold that role is as important to us as what we do with it.

We aim to be light-touch owners, trusting the brilliant people within the Cultivating Leadership network to shape and run their own thriving community.

Beyond ownership, Tilt exists to tilt the odds toward good in a world that badly needs it. We practice trust-based philanthropy — leaning into long-term, authentic relationships with our partners, offering support without control, and doing our best to avoid the extractive demands often placed on grantees.

From the beginning, we grew as a learning network — a community drawn together by a shared passion for leadership, adult development, and helping people navigate complexity. We believed then, as we do now, that trust and connection can only thrive when power is held lightly and generously.

While we haven’t yet tapped into all the possibilities within this structure, we know it holds potential for new ventures, new experiments, and new ways of showing up in service of what matters most.

Photo by Whose Knowledge?

Why Tilt Foundation

Years ago, the four founders realised we didn’t want to be business owners in the traditional sense. Ownership tends to create dynamics where some hold power and others don’t — and that didn’t sit right with us.

So we made a decision: to transfer the ownership of our companies to a foundation.

At the same time, we recognised that we’re just a small organisation in the scheme of things. We weren’t going to achieve a big effect on human and environmental sustainability on our own. So we reckoned that what we could do was offer our support to people, programmes, and ideas already working to make a difference — and help tilting the odds, however slightly, in their favour.

That’s why we created the Tilt Foundation.

We imagined a space where profits would be used to support those doing the vital work of building a sustainable, humane future.

Who we support

Here’s where we focus our support:

Women

The research here is clear: supporting women’s development is one of the most powerful ways to nurture both human and environmental sustainability. We fund organisations led by and for women — because when women thrive, communities thrive.

Sustainability

Alongside our focus on women and systemic equity, we’re committed to environmental protection. We look for initiatives that combine both, and drive planetary health.

Shadow Side of Business

Like any human system, organisations have their shadow side. They all have things that are a consequence of the ways they operate. And because much of our work supports large, complex institutions — from tech companies to pharmaceuticals — we believe it’s our responsibility to notice the impacts these entities have on the world.

Our Grantees

Women

FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund

Supporting young women’s activism around the world.

https://youngfeministfund.org/

Sustainability

Georgie Badiel Foundation

Bringing clean water and opportunity to communities in Burkina Faso while training women technicians to maintain the wells and infrastructure they build.

https://www.georgiebadielfoundation.org/

The Shadow Side of Business

Whose Knowledge?

Centering the histories, knowledges, leadership and imaginations of the minoritized majority of the world online.

https://whoseknowledge.org/

Photos by <i>The George Badiel Foundation</i>

Photos by The George Badiel Foundation

Principles of philanthropy

At Tilt Foundation, we’re choosing to do philanthropy a little differently.
We’ve drawn inspiration from the principles of Trust-Based Philanthropy and shaped a way of working that feels more aligned with how we want to be in the world — with care, humility, and trust.

For us, philanthropy isn’t just about giving.
It’s about honouring interdependence, noticing where systems tilt toward harm, and offering what we can to help nudge them in a better direction.

Here’s what that looks like for us:

Get money out the door quickly, with as few strings attached as possible.
Fund the core — backing people and organisations, not just projects.
Back networks — because good things happen in connection.
Trust grantees to hold us to account too.
Expect stumbles, stay in relationship, and don’t pull the rug out.
Don’t fund or grow ourselves.
Keep roles fluid, and be ready to renegotiate.
Step aside when asked.
Invite, don’t demand.
Show up as part of the network, not above it.

We take an experimental approach learning as we go.

Tilt Foundation board trustees

Our board is currently made up of seven people — the four original co-founders, and three long standing colleagues from within Cultivating Leadership.

Our role includes two key functions:

We serve as the owners of Cultivating Leadership, We are responsible for distributing the dividends (profits) received from Cultivating Leadership
As a board, we stay committed to the mission of Tilt Foundation — working with trust, humility, and care, while continuing to learn and evolve in how we can best contribute to a more sustainable and humane future.