Breakthrough Foundation
UK grant-making charity of the Milner family funding science prizes and Israel-related grants
| Breakthrough Foundation
| |
|---|---|
| Logo |  The Jewish Agency emblem, King George Street, Jerusalem (2009). The foundation granted $5,000,000 to the Jewish Agency for Israel in 2025 (and in 2024) |
| Type | Charitable company |
| Founded | 2015-07-06 (registered) |
| Registration ID | Registered charity 1162536; company 09335387 |
| Headquarters | TULLOCH & CO, 4 Hill Street, London, W1J 5NE |
| Area served | City Of London, Israel, United States |
| Key people | Svetlana Pavlova (chair) |
Breakthrough Foundation (formerly the Milner Foundation) is a charitable company registered in England and Wales. Its objects centre on advancing knowledge through prizes and grants; the register lists areas of operation as the City of London, Israel and the United States.[1] Latest accounts (figures in US dollars) show large grants to US Breakthrough Prize foundations and to Israeli and Jewish organisations.[2]
Objects and activities
The charity's registered objects read: "1. FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT, TO ADVANCE KNOWLEDGE AND LEARNING IN RESEARCH OF USEFUL SUBJECTS OF STUDY BY:• GRANTING AWARDS FOR UNDERTAKING RESEARCH AND DISSEMINATING THE USEFUL RESULTS TO THE PUBLIC; AND• RECOGNISING OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS IN RESEARCH TO ACT AS AN INCENTIVE TO OTHERS.2. TO PROMOTE SUCH OTHER PURPOSES AS ARE CHARITABLE ACCORDING TO THE LAW OF ENGLAND AND WALES."[1]
The register describes its activities as: "The provision of grants to the US charities, Breakthrough Prize Foundation and Breakthrough Prize in Life Science Foundation, having primarily scientific and educational objects, in the USA, UK and Israel."[1]
Register classifications: Other Charitable Purposes.[1]
Areas of operation recorded on the register: City Of London, Israel, United States.[1]
Trustees
Current trustees, with other charities on which the same register trustee ID appears:[1]
| Trustee | Appointed | Chair | Other trusteeships |
|---|---|---|---|
| Svetlana Pavlova | 2014-12-01 | Yes | — |
| Richard James Bonney | 2022-08-24 | — | |
| Esq. James Alexander Hutchinson | 2022-08-24 | — | |
| Chun Fung Jonathan Chan | 2022-08-24 | — |
Historical trustees (UK Government Web Archive)
| Capture date | Trustees listed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-01-06 | Svetlana Pavlova (chair) (from 01 December 2014) – also trustee of The Russian Orthodox Parish of St Nicholas the Wonderworker; Bruce Graham James Gripton (from 01 December 2014) | [3] |
| 2021-07-03 | Denise Forsdick (from 22 April 2021); Bruce Graham James Gripton (from 01 December 2014); Svetlana Pavlova (chair) (from 01 December 2014) – also trustee of THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX PARISH OF ST NICHOLAS THE WONDERWORKER Overdue by 3 | [4] |
Companies House officers
Companies House lists 9 current and former officers of the charitable company (09335387), 5 of them active.[5] Officers recorded as resident outside the UK: James Alexander Hutchinson (United States, active).[5]
Finances
| Financial year end | Income | Expenditure |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-12-31 | £49,017,229 | £46,054,003 |
| 2022-12-31 | £51,969,213 | £46,295,963 |
| 2023-12-31 | £85,418,138 | £89,858,295 |
| 2024-12-31 | £50,048,344 | £51,620,336 |
| 2025-12-31 | £39,954,131 | £38,946,713 |
Source: register annual-return history.[1]
Archived accounts
Accounts no longer on the live register were found in the UK Government Web Archive:
Funding in Israel
- FY2025 grants (USD, note 6): Jewish Agency for Israel $5,000,000 (also $5,000,000 in 2024); Friends of Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre $1,000,000 (2025); American Friends of Tel Aviv University $150,000 and American Technion Society $150,000 (2024); main flows to US Breakthrough Prize foundations.[2]
Israeli partners
Principal Israeli / Jewish partners named in the accounts: Jewish Agency for Israel; Friends of Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre; American Friends of Tel Aviv University; American Technion Society.[2]
Activity beyond the Green Line and support for the IDF
Findings are graded by confidence. "Partner" findings concern the Israeli recipient organisation, not proven use of UK funds.
| Finding | Confidence |
|---|---|
| No grants expressly to West Bank settlements were identified in the accounts reviewed. | none |
Support for the IDF: No IDF or military equipment funding is stated in the accounts. Grants include Blue Square Alliance Against Hate ($5m), Friends of Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre ($1m, 2025), American Friends of Tel Aviv University and American Technion Society ($150,000 each, 2024).[2][2]
Controversies and regulatory action
- No Charity Commission inquiry, Official Warning or Gazette insolvency notice concerning Breakthrough Foundation was found.
- Jewish Agency donation (press). The Jerusalem Post reported on 13 October 2023 that "Breakthrough Foundations established by … Julia and Yuri Milner" gave $5 million to the Jewish Agency's Fund for Victims of Terror.[8] The UK charity's FY2025 accounts (note 6) record a $5,000,000 grant to the Jewish Agency for Israel in both 2025 and 2024; it has not been independently established that the press report refers to this UK entity rather than a US Breakthrough foundation.[2]
Other registers and records
Scotland and Northern Ireland
No entry was found on the Scottish Charity Register for this charity (full register download of 14 October 2026 searched by name).[9] No entry was found on the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland register (API name searches returned zero results).[10]
The Gazette
Searches of The Gazette notice feeds (all notices, insolvency and company) for the charity's name found no insolvency, winding-up or strike-off notice; results were limited to Companies House filing lists.[11]
Grants recorded by 360Giving
No grants received or made by this charity are recorded in 360Giving data.[12]
Sanctions screening
The names of current and archived trustees and Companies House officers were screened against the UK Sanctions List and the OFSI Consolidated List. No match on full name was found; only coincidental surname matches. Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor (UK sanctions ID RUS1127) does not appear among this charity's trustees or officers.[13]
Land and property
The register records that the charity does not own or lease land or property.[1] No title registers were purchased; the HM Land Registry interactive search blocked automated access.[14]
US counterparts (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer)
| Organisation | EIN | Latest filing year | Revenue (US$) | Expenses (US$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breakthrough Prize Foundation[15] | 460677985 | 2023 | 98,745,658 | 91,429,307 |
| Breakthrough Prize In Life Sciences Foundation[16] | 462026488 | 2023 | 14,846,831 | 13,751,137 |
These US organisations share the name or beneficiary of the UK charity; no financial flows between them and the UK charity were established.
Parliament
A search of Hansard for 'Breakthrough Foundation' returned 0 contributions in total.[17]
Web archive
The UK Government Web Archive holds 2 archived Charity Commission register pages used in this profile (cited in the sections above). The 2021 archived full print showed the status "Charity reporting is up to date" and "Other regulators: No information available".[3]
See also
External links
- No current official website.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Charity Commission for England and Wales, Register of Charities public extract (tables charity, charity_trustee, charity_annual_return_history, charity_area_of_operation, charity_classification), extract dated 14 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Charity Commission, Breakthrough Foundation (1162536): accounts and annual returns Register of Charities; latest accounts downloaded 14 October 2026 ("PDF p." = page of the PDF file).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Register entry 1162536, full print (capture of 20210106) UK Government Web Archive.
- ↑ Register entry 1162536, full print (capture of 20210703) UK Government Web Archive.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Company 09335387: officers Companies House, viewed 14 October 2026.
- ↑ Breakthrough Foundation accounts, year ended 2017-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200703).
- ↑ Breakthrough Foundation accounts, year ended 2018-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200703).
- ↑ The Jerusalem Post, Breakthrough Foundations established by Julia and Yuri Milner donate $5m to Jewish Agency Fund for Victims of Terror Jerusalem Post, 13 October 2023.
- ↑ Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, Scottish Charity Register download OSCR, CharityExport-14-Oct-2026.csv, downloaded 14 October 2026; keyword search of charity names for the batch found no matching Scottish registration (the only hit for "breakthrough" was Breakthrough Breast Cancer SC039058, unrelated).
- ↑ Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, Register of charities search API CCNI, searched 14 October 2026 (keyword searches for each batch charity name returned zero results).
- ↑ The Gazette: notices matching 'Breakthrough Foundation' The Gazette, searched 14 October 2026.
- ↑ 360Giving API: grants received by GB-CHC-1162536 360Giving, queried 14 October 2026.
- ↑ Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK Sanctions List (CSV, version of 12 October 2026); Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets (ConList.csv, last updated 3 June 2026). Screening of 405 names (current and archived trustees and Companies House officers of the 25 batch-1 charities) carried out 14 October 2026.
- ↑ HM Land Registry, Search for land and property information GOV.UK – the service returned HTTP 403 (bot protection) to automated access on 14 October 2026; no titles were looked up or purchased. Candidate title numbers below come from the free CCOD / OCOD datasets (October 2026 release), not from paid title registers.
- ↑ Breakthrough Prize Foundation – Nonprofit Explorer ProPublica, viewed 14 October 2026.
- ↑ Breakthrough Prize In Life Sciences Foundation – Nonprofit Explorer ProPublica, viewed 14 October 2026.
- ↑ UK Parliament, Hansard search API: contributions matching 'Breakthrough Foundation' Hansard, queried 14 October 2026 (Spoken and Written endpoints).