PrincipalThe Rory and Elizabeth Brooks Foundation
ory and his wife, Elizabeth, established their family philanthropic foundation in 2005 with a focus on social disadvantage, education, and arts. Rory was chair of the philanthropic board of the University of Manchester for ten years (honorary doctorate 2010), hosted poverty summits in South Africa, and has served as trustee and/or chair of The Centre for Social Justice, IntoUniversity and Quintessentially Foundation.
In 2005 Rory and Elizabeth’s foundation donated £1.3 million to the University of Manchester to establish the Brooks World Poverty Institute. In 2016, the institute joined with the Institute for Development Policy and Management to form the Global Development Institute - the largest development focused on teaching and research institute in Europe.
Among other government appointments, Rory was the donor member of the Pearce Review into philanthropy in Higher Education (2012) and was awarded a CBE in 2015. In 2023, Rory was appointed to the Charity Commission board with th