Carnegie United Kingdom Trust is a charitable foundation based in the United Kingdom, established by Scottish-born American steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie on the model of his U.S. foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Carnegie United Kingdom Trust was founded in 1913 with an endowment of $10 million and formally incorporated by Royal Charter on 19 May 1917. It is a registered charity under Scottish law and in 2007–08 had a gross income of £2,875,562.[1]
It has its headquarters at Dunfermline, Fife, the hometown of Andrew Carnegie, in Andrew Carnegie House, a new building[2] opened in 2008[3] on the edge of Pittencrieff Park. This also houses the head offices of the Dunfermline Carnegie Trust,[4] the Carnegie Hero Fund Trust,[5] and the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland.[6]
In its early years the Trust focused on the building of Carnegie libraries, then in the 1920s moved into the promotion of adult education, funding the Workers' Educational Association, Carnegie College in Leeds, (now part of Leeds Metropolitan University), Coleg Harlech in Wales and Newbattle Abbey college in Scotland.
After World War II the Trust established a number of independent national Carnegie Commissions of Inquiry and was instrumental in promoting the concept of a Welfare State.
In 2001 it was a founding partner in establishing the Carnegie Medals of Philanthropy which are awarded every two years to one or more individuals who "have dedicated their private wealth to public good and who have a sustained an impressive career as a philanthropist."[7]
In 2003 the Trust abandoned its grant-making policies and redefined itself as a social foundation and think tank and is now involved in "areas of public concern to influence policy and practice, in the interest of democracy, civil society and social justice."