A&O Shearman: pioneering corporate leadership in global emergency response

That’s why the Allen Overy Shearman Sterling Foundation has set up an emergency response partnership with UK for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency’s national charity partner for the UK.

UNHCR is one of our foundation’s largest grant partners with the foundation giving more than GBP520,000 since 2017 to support the agency’s work. Our new partnership with them, which is worth a further GBP500,000 over five years, scales up and formalises that relationship and contributes to the firm’s focus on helping forcibly displaced people.

Kate Cavelle, global head of social impact at A&O Shearman, says: “The new partnership will give income certainty to UNHCR. It will also give consistency to our emergency giving, helping us to get the money to where it is needed quickly.”

Since 2013, the majority of UNHCR’s funding has been earmarked for specific situations. Through this new partnership, the foundation’s global grants committee will distribute a reactive Emergency Fund in response to global emergencies and provide core funding for immediate access by UNHCR, to be directed where the need is most pressing. 

Emma Cherniavsky, chief executive of UK for UNHCR, says: “At this time of unprecedented and increasing forced displacement, a new approach is needed – that’s why we launched an Emergency Fund to raise flexible funding.

“The Foundation’s support will help to ensure that we are ready and present on the ground during future humanitarian crises, providing aid to those who need it most. And as one of the founding members of the Emergency Fund, the Foundation is leading the way and inspiring others to join too.”

The foundation is an independent charity, funded by A&O Shearman partners worldwide. It distributes 25% of partners’ contributions via a global grants programme to charities, social enterprises and community interest companies covering access to justice, education and employment.

Charities, supported by a champion from A&O Shearman, can apply for grants of up to GBP50,000 per year for three years through the annual open grants round. In FY2024, the foundation awarded five such grants to successful applicants – Action on Poverty, Christian Action Centre for Refugees, Consortium for Street Children, Equal Education Law Centre, and Planète Enfants & Développement – as well as providing them with professional and pro bono support. It also awarded four emergency grants and donated to our global charity partner Women for Women International – for example, through matched giving.

The remaining 75% of partners’ contributions go to support our offices’ social impact activities in their communities. In FY2024, we supported more than 250 community partners across 57 countries through the donations made by partners globally, including via the foundation.