We are Shaftesbury:
announcing our new name
We’re excited to open a new chapter in the history of our charity – renaming ourselves as Shaftesbury.
This move is part of the charity’s far-reaching growth and transformation plan.
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180 years of service
Working on plans for growth drew our attention more closely to Livability's valuable heritage and potential to power our future.
In our 180th year, the history and stories of one of our founding organisations – The Shaftesbury Society – revealed a huge potential for growing and engaging our audiences, always motivated by doing better for the people we support. As Shaftesbury, telling the stories of our work over the centuries, in relation to disability and disadvantage, will power our future.
Lord Shaftesbury remains one of history’s most significant agents for social change, pushing through nineteenth-century legislation to make life fairer and safer for tens of thousands of vulnerable children and adults. In 1844, he became president of the Ragged School Union, a body which offered free education and support to destitute children.
Over the decades, the Union retained its focus on children and adults who were disabled or disadvantaged. The organisation was renamed The Shaftesbury Society in 1944 and, later, became Livability.
As Vice-Patron of Livability, I am proud of what the charity continues to achieve for people with disabilities.
The ethos of ensuring that lives are flourishing and pushing for the very best in care and education for the people we support continues to forge the path and principles of my great- (times many!) grandfather.
‘I am grateful to remain very connected to the work that Livability delivers around the clock. As Livability turns to this exciting new chapter, with a new name of Shaftesbury, I look forward to what’s to come, connecting to our heritage in a new way and ultimately increasing support for the people who need it the most.
Nick Ashley-Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury
I’m delighted to share our new name of Shaftesbury with you today. I hope you will be excited by the potential this has for our work and our scope for reaching new audiences.
Why is this name change important? I think we can agree that there is a huge unmet need for quality, affordable social care in the UK. Expanding the reach of our brand means we can provide a greater number of children, young people and adults with the kind of support that adds up to a flourishing life.
I could give you dozens of examples of how our services have transformed lives, but just two would be Lucy, who is supported to work in a job she loves or Claire whose mobility and confidence is improved by gardening at her Shaftesbury home.
As always, this change is motivated by our desire to do better for the people we support. They contributed to the consultation process and they remain at the heart of our decision-making. We believe the change promotes a sustainable future for our charity. We intend to be here for another 180 years.
Sally Chivers, Chief Executive
Frequently Asked Questions:
Our news: renaming to Shaftesbury
Renaming ourselves as Shaftesbury is part of the charity’s far-reaching growth and transformation plan. Growing the charity means we can support more people with disabilities. Many people with disabilities face barriers that make life unlivable. Isolation and lack of employment, housing and education opportunities deeply impact people’s wellbeing and health.
This transformation work drew our attention more closely to our valuable heritage – that of our founder, the seventh Earl of Shaftesbury and his groundbreaking work in social reform. We believe that our Shaftesbury history has the presence, public awareness and stand-out features needed to support our charity and provide a sustainable future.
We consulted widely because we recognise that the people we support, our staff and key stakeholders are the experts when it comes to our brand and charity. Those who took part include: our Changes for the Future forum members (made up of people we support, chosen by their peers); our families, parents and carers; staff representatives; external stakeholders, including our supporters; company law members and staff groups.
By focusing on renaming instead of a full rebrand, we have been able to do much of the work ourselves, keeping the process as cost-efficient as possible.
We're also introducing the new name gradually to make sure everything runs smoothly.
Because the rename is part of our transformation strategy, the charity’s board is confident that this will improve the charity’s potential for growth.
Most importantly, this change lets us tap into our rich heritage and history, helping us become better known. We believe this will attract more supporters like you so that we can reach and support more people living with disabilities.
Our services
No, our name and logo will change but our services, our staff and our executive team remain the same. Our ethos and our charitable objects continue as before and we operate under the name of Shaftesbury.
There is no change to the support we provide or the areas we work in.
Yes, eventually our services will have the word Shaftesbury as a prefix: for example, Shaftesbury Dolphin Court. This process is being managed in conjunction with the regulators in each region we work in.
Our history - our heritage powering our future
In our 180th year, the history and stories of one of our founding charities – The Shaftesbury Society – revealed a huge potential for growing and engaging our audiences, always motivated by doing better for the people we support. This rich heritage provides inspiring stories of our work over the centuries. Drawing on this legacy will enable us to provide excellent care for more people with disabilities.
Lord Shaftesbury remains one of the UK’s most significant social reformers. He pioneered nineteenth-century legislation to make life fairer and safer for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable children and adults. In 1844, he became president of the Ragged School Union, a body which offered free education and support. The Union was built on practical Christian faith and this remains foundational to our work today. Over the decades, the Union shifted its focus to children and adults with disabilities and was renamed The Shaftesbury Society, then Livability when it joined with disability charities John Grooms and (later) Prospects for People with Disabilities. The Shaftesbury family continues to actively support our work: Nick Ashley-Cooper, the twelfth Earl of Shaftesbury, is our current vice-patron.
Business areas: need to know
No, we are the same organisation.
Shaftesbury becomes the operating name of Livability, a registered charity and company limited by guarantee in England and Wales.
Our legal identity remains unchanged in terms of our charity registration information:
Charity No: 1116530 and Company No: 5967087.
We expect there will be a corresponding change in the legal name in the future.
Friday 16 August: our new name for all our services, except our education centres, will launch on this day. This is the date when our website and social media accounts will change to Shaftesbury.
Friday 13 September: our education centres will go live with the new name. This means our school and colleges have time to switch over once the September term is underway. New signage will be phased in across our services, according to a careful, prioritised spend.
The look of the charity
No, you’ll recognise Shaftesbury straight away because our branding – the ‘look’ of the charity - remains the same. We kept our brand because it continues to depict so well what the charity does. Only our name changes.
All together better for disability means working with the people we support, promoting inclusion, independence and opportunity. It also brings together each of our composite charities: The Shaftesbury Society; John Grooms, and Prospects for People with Disabilities.
All together better beautifully describes the co-productive approach which is central to Shaftesbury’s services. We work in partnership and share power with those we support.
All together we are better; it’s why we work to see people take part, contribute and be valued. We do this through our wide range of disability care, special education and rehabilitation services across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Information for supporters
We’ve spoken to the bank about how to manage this change smoothly. You don’t have to change anything for your direct debit.
We’ve spoken to the bank about how to manage this change smoothly. You don’t have to change anything for your standing order. You’ll receive a communication from us explaining more, but your generous gift is still going to the same great cause. Thank you.
To minimise the impact to our donors, we’ve arranged it so the bank can accept cheques made to both our names. You can write your cheques to Livability or Shaftesbury.
Thank you so much for your gift. No, you don’t need to update your Will with our new name as we can still receive income donated to Livability. Your gift will still come to us and be used to support people with disabilities in our care in the future. Thank you.
No. Your fundraising page will automatically update with the new name. We are also able to still receive income donated to Livability. Thank you for your support.
Yes. You will no longer find the charity using the name Livability.
You can use Livability branded materials until 16 August.
We’ll be gradually updating our branded materials. We’ll send you new Shaftesbury items when you need them. Please contact us for details of our environmentally sensitive disposal plan.
Get in touch: supporter enquiries
If you have any other questions, please call 0191 500 9176 or email: supporterservices@shaftesburygroup.org
Read more
Download our launch brochure here
180 years of making a difference
What would Lord Shaftesbury think?