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What is the Florence Nightingale Foundation?
The Florence Nightingale Foundation is a UK nursing and midwifery leadership charity. Its stated purpose is to develop nurse and midwife leaders so they can "stay, thrive, lead and transform health and care," building on Florence Nightingale's legacy. Rather than providing clinical training or frontline staffing, it focuses on leadership development, scholarships, policy influence, membership and support for the professions.
What it actually does
The site organises its work into four areas:
- Leadership – development opportunities, membership and support for nurses and midwives.
- Impact – reporting on how its work affects the professions and health and care more broadly.
- Policy and influence – a Think Tank intended to bring the nursing and midwifery voice into health and care issues.
- Support us – fundraising and donations to extend its reach.
It also publishes news and blogs, including an annual impact report and first-person accounts from participants, and runs a newsletter.
Who it is for
The primary audience is nurses and midwives at any career stage who want to lead, influence policy or take on bigger roles — particularly those who feel their voice is not heard in decision-making. It is also relevant to employers, educators and policymakers who want a route into nursing and midwifery leadership thinking, and to donors or legacy givers who want to fund that work.
How it differs from neighbouring organisations
| If you want… | Look at |
|---|---|
| Leadership programmes, scholarships and policy voice for nurses and midwives | Florence Nightingale Foundation Florence Nightingale Foundation |
| Professional standards, registration and regulation | Nursing and Midwifery Council |
| Union representation, pay and conditions | Royal College of Nursing |
| General nursing and midwifery professional membership | Royal College of Midwives |
The key trade-off: FNF is a charity, not a regulator or a union. It cannot resolve registration, pay or employment disputes, and its programmes are selective rather than open to everyone at all times. If your need is regulatory or contractual, a different body is the right first stop.
A practical next step
If you are a nurse or midwife considering leadership development, start with the Leadership section to see current programmes and membership, then check the latest impact report to judge whether the outcomes match your goals. If you are an employer or commissioner, the Policy and Influence pages show where FNF is already contributing to national conversations.
How can nurses and midwives apply for FNF leadership programmes or scholarships?
Applications run through the Florence Nightingale Foundation itself: you choose a programme or scholarship, check that you meet its eligibility criteria, and submit an application during its advertised window. The foundation describes its work as developing nurse and midwife leaders through programmes, scholarships, policy influence, membership and support across the UK, so the practical route is to start on its leadership pages rather than with a general enquiry.
A workable application path
- Identify the right opportunity. FNF groups its offer under leadership development, membership and support. Decide whether you are looking for a structured leadership programme, a scholarship, or ongoing member support, since each has its own criteria.
- Check eligibility before writing anything. Requirements typically relate to your profession (nurse or midwife), registration, career stage and employer or region. Read the specific programme page rather than relying on the general description.
- Prepare your case. Expect to explain your leadership experience, what you want to change in your service, and how the opportunity fits your development. Line-manager or employer backing is commonly needed, so speak to them early.
- Watch the dates. Programmes and scholarships open and close in cycles. The foundation's news and blog section is a reasonable place to spot announcements, and its newsletter sign-up is the simplest way to hear about new rounds.
- Use the impact material. FNF publishes stories from participants and an impact report; reading these helps you judge which programme matches your ambitions and how to frame your application.
Choosing between a programme and a scholarship
| Option | Best suited to | What to weigh |
|---|---|---|
| Leadership programme | Nurses and midwives wanting structured development, peer networks and influence skills | Time commitment and whether your employer will release you |
| Scholarship | Those with a specific project, study or improvement goal | Whether your proposal is distinct enough to stand out |
| Membership and support | Anyone wanting ongoing connection and updates | Whether you need development now or a longer-term base |
For related leadership development outside FNF, Royal College of Nursing and Nursing and Midwifery Council publish their own professional development and standards information, which can help you judge whether a particular programme fits your registration and career plans.
The clearest next step is to open the FNF leadership section, pick one named opportunity, and read its criteria and deadline in full before drafting anything. If nothing currently fits, join the newsletter list and revisit when the next round is announced.
What does FNF membership include and who is eligible to join?
FNF membership is designed for nurses and midwives who want structured leadership development rather than a passive association. The foundation describes its offer as leadership development opportunities, membership and support, with the wider aim of helping nurses and midwives "stay, thrive, lead and transform health and care." In practice, that means the value of joining lies less in a benefits list and more in access to programmes, a professional community, and routes into policy and influence work.
What membership typically covers
- Leadership development — programmes and opportunities to build confidence, influence and leadership capability.
- Membership and support — an ongoing relationship with the foundation and its network, not just a one-off course.
- Policy and influence — connection with the Think Tank, which brings the nursing and midwifery voice to health and care issues.
- Community and profile — news, blogs and stories from members and leaders, which can help you see how others have used the network.
Who it is for
The foundation's language is consistently aimed at registered nurses and midwives, and it works across the UK and globally. If you are a student, newly qualified, or an experienced practitioner, the relevant question is not "Am I allowed?" but "Which programme or membership tier fits my stage?" Early-career members usually get the most from structured development and peer networks; senior members often join for the policy, influence and cross-organisation connections.
How to decide
Use the foundation's own four routes as your filter: Leadership, Impact, Policy & Influence, and Support Us. If you want a development programme, start with Leadership. If you want to shape health policy, look at the Think Tank. If you mainly want to give back, the support route is the relevant one. Because eligibility and programme requirements vary by opportunity, check the specific programme page rather than assuming a single membership definition covers everything.
A useful next step is to read the foundation's own overview and then the individual programme pages: Florence Nightingale Foundation. For comparison, the Nursing and Midwifery Council covers registration and regulation, while the Royal College of Nursing covers trade union and professional representation — FNF is neither of those; it is a leadership charity.
How does FNF's Think Tank influence UK health and care policy?
FNF’s Think Tank is the policy and influence arm of the charity: it exists to bring nursing and midwifery perspectives into UK health and care debates. Rather than running services directly, it works by convening nurses and midwives, developing their policy confidence, and connecting their frontline experience with decision-makers. The foundation frames this as part of a wider mission to help nurses and midwives “stay, thrive, lead and transform health and care,” so the Think Tank is best understood as a leadership-to-policy pathway rather than a separate research institute.
What that means in practice
For a nurse or midwife with a service-improvement idea, the Think Tank route typically involves:
- Developing a policy voice. FNF’s leadership programmes and membership support are designed to build influential, confident leaders; the Think Tank gives that leadership a policy outlet.
- Bringing frontline evidence into debate. The value nurses and midwives add is practical, operational knowledge — what actually happens at the bedside, in the community, and in understaffed or under-resourced services.
- Convening and connecting. A think tank model usually means roundtables, briefings, papers and relationships with policymakers, rather than mass campaigning.
- Working across the UK. FNF describes itself as working across the UK and globally, so its policy work is not limited to England’s NHS structures.
The practical influence is therefore indirect but cumulative: it shapes how nursing and midwifery evidence is framed, who gets heard, and which workforce and care issues stay on the policy agenda.
How to judge whether it is relevant to you
If you want to influence policy as an individual clinician, the Think Tank is most useful as a route to skills, networks and credibility — not as a lobbying service you can instruct. If you are a manager, educator or commissioner, it is more useful as a source of nursing and midwifery-led framing on workforce, leadership and care quality.
A useful next step is to look at FNF’s leadership and membership pages alongside its policy and influence material, then decide which fits your goal: building your own policy capability, or finding nursing and midwifery evidence to inform a decision. For comparison, the Royal College of Nursing is a professional body and union with formal policy and campaigning functions, while Nursing and Midwifery Council is the regulator — different roles from a leadership charity’s think tank.
How can I donate, fundraise or leave a legacy gift to support FNF?
The Florence Nightingale Foundation is a UK nursing and midwifery leadership charity, so giving to it supports leadership development, scholarships and policy work rather than direct patient services. Its homepage points to a "Support us" route for people who want to help more nurses and midwives improve care, and mentions a legacy giving theme in its news ("Remember A Charity Week: What Will You Be Remembered For?"). That suggests three main ways to give: a one-off or regular donation, fundraising in your own name or through an event, and leaving a gift in your will.
Ways to support FNF
- Donate. Look for a "Support us" or "Donate" section on the charity's site. This is the simplest route for a one-off gift, a monthly donation, or giving in memory of someone. If you are a UK taxpayer, check whether Gift Aid can be added, since it increases the value of a donation at no extra cost to you.
- Fundraise. The homepage news shows the FNF chief executive running a half marathon for the charity, which is a good model for supporters: choose an event, set up a fundraising page, and ask friends and colleagues to sponsor you. Workplace fundraising, a bake sale or a departmental challenge can work well if you are a nurse, midwife or NHS team wanting to support the profession.
- Leave a legacy gift. A gift in your will can be a fixed sum, a specific item, or a share of your estate. The charity's "Remember A Charity Week" content is aimed at exactly this kind of thinking. Legacy gifts are often used to fund scholarships or leadership programmes that outlast the donor.
Practical next step
Before committing, decide what you want your money to do. If you want to see impact quickly, a donation or sponsored event is straightforward. If you want to support nurses and midwives over the long term, a legacy gift or a regular monthly donation is more suitable. For legacy wording, ask the charity for its suggested clause and its registered charity number so your solicitor can draft it correctly.
For context on the wider UK nursing charity landscape, you can compare approaches at RCN Foundation and The Queen's Nursing Institute, both of which support nurses and nursing practice.
What impact has FNF had on nursing and midwifery leadership, as shown in its impact reports?
The Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF) frames its impact around helping nurses and midwives "stay, thrive, lead and transform health and care." Its impact reporting is not a set of clinical outcome statistics; it is a leadership-development story. FNF's own "Leadership in Action – FNF's Impact Report 2025-26" is the main place it sets out that story, alongside individual testimonies such as "Finding My Voice Through the FNF Journey" and the CEO's own fundraising activity for the charity.
What the impact material shows
- Leadership development as the core outcome. FNF describes its work as developing nurse and midwife leaders through programmes, scholarships, membership and support. The impact claim is therefore about capability and confidence: nurses and midwives becoming "strong, influential and confident leaders."
- A route to influence, not just training. FNF links leadership development to its Think Tank and policy work, positioning the impact as bringing the nursing and midwifery voice into health and care issues. That is a different kind of impact from measuring patient outcomes directly.
- Retention and thriving. The phrase "stay, thrive, lead" signals that FNF sees leadership support as connected to keeping experienced staff in the professions, not only promoting individuals.
- Personal testimony as evidence. First-person accounts, such as the "Finding My Voice" blog, illustrate how participants describe their own development. These are useful for understanding the experience of a programme, but they are individual reflections rather than aggregate proof.
- Institutional legacy. FNF explicitly builds on Florence Nightingale's legacy, and its CEO, Professor Greta Westwood, frames the mission in terms of continuing that legacy across health and care.
How to read the impact claims
The strongest use of FNF's impact reports is for understanding how the charity describes leadership change and who it says benefits: nurses and midwives across the UK and globally, their teams, and ultimately patients and people using services. The reports are less suited to answering questions like "how many additional nurses stayed in post" unless FNF publishes that specific measure.
If you are evaluating the charity—for a funding decision, a partnership, or your own application—start with the most recent "Leadership in Action" impact report and look for the specific measures it reports, such as numbers of programme participants, scholarships awarded, or alumni in leadership roles. Compare those numbers with the outcomes FNF claims, and treat personal blogs as illustrative colour rather than as the headline evidence.
For context on the wider leadership-development landscape, the NHS Leadership Academy NHS Leadership Academy and the Nursing and Midwifery Council Nursing and Midwifery Council publish their own frameworks and data, which can help you judge where FNF's contribution sits.
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