About Us

Established in 2012, the Global Fund for Forgotten People embodies the Order of Malta’s ethos of caring for those who need it most, whoever and wherever they are.

Who are the Forgotten People?

One person is forcefully displaced from their home every two seconds.

15% of the world’s population lives with a disability.

More than one billion people worldwide are affected by neglected tropical diseases like leprosy and sleeping sickness.

Our projects care for the people who need it most: the persecuted, the elderly, the homeless, abandoned and disabled children, refugees, people with diseases that most of us think have been cured long ago. These people do not grab the headlines, and may not be priorities for government institutions. They have no recourse, no support network, and no resources. They are the Forgotten.

Many of these people face a host of challenges by nature of their circumstances, and can be left lonely, isolated and hopeless. We work to restore their dignity and alleviate suffering wherever it exists, with a particular focus on the following groups:

People with Neglected Diseases

The Elderly

Prisoners and their Families

Children and Adults with Disabilities

The Homeless

Displaced People

Mothers and New-Borns without Healthcare

Marginalised Communities

What does the Global Fund for Forgotten People do?

The Fund raises money from private donors and charitable foundations, and uses these funds to support projects that benefit the most disadvantaged in society. To date we have made over 500 grants in support of Forgotten People. Find out more about the projects we fund.

The Fund promotes best practice and knowledge-sharing between Order of Malta projects around the world, and raises awareness of the challenges facing poor and marginalised communities. We provide funding to develop new projects, and we support existing projects to increase their scale and access other sources of funding.

In order to do all of this, a percentage of donations goes towards the Fund’s own activities. We strive to keep costs as low as possible, and currently that figure stands at 10%.

The Fund operates as two separate and independent legal entities. In England and Wales it is a registered charity (1148427) and in the US it has 501(c)(3) status.

What is the Order of Malta?

The Order of Malta is a unique institution. A religious lay order of the Catholic Church, it is also a sovereign subject of international law, with its own head of state. It maintains bilateral diplomatic relations with more than 100 countries, and has permanent observer missions to the United Nations and numerous UN agencies and other international bodies. Its sovereignty and diplomatic network are vital to the success of its humanitarian mission.

The Order carries out works in 120 countries worldwide, caring for those who need it most. It provides emergency humanitarian relief in disaster zones, essential services such as ambulances and care homes in partnership with national governments, and projects that respond to specific local needs for those who would otherwise be forgotten.

You can learn more about the Order on its official website here.

Our Team

Title	Name	Email Address
Member in Charge / Chief Executive (Voluntary Position)	Justin Simpson	[email protected]
Chief Financial Officer	Thomas Acland	[email protected]
Grants Manager	Ruth Stanley	[email protected]
Finance and Operations Assistant	Laura Steinhoffel	[email protected]