Luminary Women Case Study
Two Magpies Fund enables breathing room for strategic planning
Luminary Women is a London-based, women-led charity that supports women who have experienced multiple disadvantage, including gender-based violence, homelessness and economic hardship.
Using baking as a practical and therapeutic tool, they guide women through a two-year, trauma-informed programme that combines skills training, work experience, dedicated one-to-one support, access to counselling, and mentoring to build confidence, employability and long-term independence.
Their holistic approach helps women navigate wider challenges such as housing, debt and wellbeing, while creating a safe, empowering community where women can rebuild their lives and shape their own futures.
About the grant
Luminary Women received multi-year, unrestricted funding totalling £80,000 over three years from Two Magpies Fund. The funding has been used to cover core costs, including salaries, office equipment, volunteer costs, external supervision for frontline staff, IT subscriptions, building expenses as well as contributions to frontline team salaries. The unrestricted funding has been critical for Luminary Women, enabling them to run the organisation efficiently, alleviate anxiety about core functions, and giving them confidence in their capacity to deliver their programme with two new intakes per year in North London.
“It's been unrestricted funding, which is amazing, because it means that the charity can put it to where it's needed most.”
The impact story so far
The Two Magpies grant has had a substantial impact for Luminary Women, strengthening both the organisation and the outcomes achieved for the women they support. The funding has enabled the team to invest time in partnership-building and referral relationships; work that is essential for recruiting a full cohort of women for their programme, and to reduce the risk of staff burnout. It has also helped Luminary leverage additional funding due to the credibility gained by being a Two Magpies Fund grantee, and to develop new referral partnerships through our networks.
“Core funding over several years has given us the confidence to invest in capacity to ensure our team can fully support all our clients without risking staff burnout, which is very valuable in improving delivery.”
For beneficiaries, the grant has directly supported Luminary’s ability to deliver strong, measurable outcomes. With stable funding in place, the organisation can run its programme consistently, ensuring women receive the holistic support needed to progress towards independence.
Around 70% of participants finish the programme in some form of employment, education, training or volunteering - a significant achievement given the multiple disadvantages many face.
Looking forward
With core delivery at Luminary Women secure, the organisation has had the breathing room to think beyond day-to-day service provision and focus on its longer-term strategic direction. This has enabled Luminary Women to move ahead with plans to expand into South London through a pilot supporting seven women.
“We want to reach more women. We have had the space to do this bit of strategic thinking and we are looking to expand into South London. We're quite far down the line with that.”
Enabling change through trust
Luminary Women has appreciated the trust and support they have received from Two Magpies Fund, which has enabled them to use the funds as they needed and ultimately to maximise their impact for women.
“It's wonderful to feel that the fund has got that trust in us.”
We are glad to confirm that in July 2026, Two Magpies Fund renewed its funding commitment to Luminary Women.
For more information about Luminary Women and its training and support programmes, visit:
The team at Luminary Women