The co-founder of one the UK’s largest charitable grant-makers has died at the age of 63.
Julia Rausing, who set up the Julia and Hans Rausing Trust with her husband in 2014, died yesterday after an extended illness.
The charity is close to being in the top 10 largest charitable grant-making trusts in the UK by funds distributed, giving about £50m a year to a range of causes.
A statement from the trust said: “Julia was widely known for her unwavering commitment to philanthropy and her impactful contributions to various charitable causes.
“She was instrumental in building the trust into one of the largest philanthropic funds in the country donating to causes across health, welfare, and the arts.
“She took a keen interest in all the trust’s giving, no matter how large or small the grant,” the charity said.
The trust, which has given more than 1,000 grants worth more than £330m over the past 10 years, said Rausing led an initiative to provide more than £35m in additional funding to charities during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sally Orlopp, director of people, property and independent living at the homelessness charity Centrepoint, said Rausing’s approach to philanthropy was “exceptional and exemplary”.
Orlopp said: “She understood that funding is just one piece of the puzzle that creates sustained impact, and she was passionately committed to helping orchestrate systemic change in the UK for good.
“We will miss her encouraging hands-on approach and her energy. We mourn her loss along with her loved ones, but we also celebrate a wonderful life of significant influence.”
Ellie Orton, chief executive of NHS Charities Together, said: “Julia and Hans Rausing stood alongside us during the darkest days of the pandemic and thanks to their support we were able to offer a beacon of light to NHS staff and patients during the most unimaginable times.
“I know Julia’s philanthropic legacy will live on through the charities she supported, and we are very grateful to be among that number.”
Carol Mack, chief executive of the Association of Charitable Foundations, said Rausing would leave a “lasting legacy to the arts, to the health and wellbeing of the nation and to education”.
Mack said: “While I didn’t know Julia personally, her generosity and commitment to the causes supported by the Julia and Hans Rausing Trust demonstrates her valuable contribution to philanthropy since the trust’s establishment in 2014.
“The trust is an example of the ability of charitable foundations to offer dedicated philanthropists like Julia a deeply personal engagement with the causes she supported so generously over the years.
“My deepest sympathies to her family, to all at the trust and those who her life touched.”
Hans Rausing said: “We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of my beloved wife Julia after an extended illness.
“Julia dedicated her life to her family and charitable causes, and she will be missed by all who knew her.
“She leaves behind an extraordinary legacy across many charities which we will continue in her name.”
She is survived by her husband, four stepchildren, her sister and her mother, Lady Helen Delves Broughton.