J.K. Rowling's charity founded in 2005 to help vulnerable children and families is Lumos. Rowling established the organization as the Children’s High Level Group with politician Emma Nicholson, Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne.
The charity was later renamed Lumos, after the magical light-producing spell in the Harry Potter books. Its work focuses on ending the institutionalization of children and helping them move into family-based or community-based care. The organization works internationally with governments, professionals and local partners.
Lumos argues that large residential institutions can harm children by separating them from families and normal community life. Its programs support reforms intended to keep children with relatives where safe, or place them in foster, kinship or other family-based settings.
The charity’s name can cause confusion with fictional spells because it is directly connected to Rowling’s wizarding vocabulary. Lumos is nevertheless a real nonprofit organization, and its mission concerns child welfare rather than magic or publishing.