J.K. Rowling founded Lumos in 2005 to fight poverty and social inequality affecting children.
The organisation was originally established as the Children’s High Level Group, with Rowling as president and co-founder alongside politician Emma Nicholson. It later adopted the name Lumos, inspired by the light-producing spell in the Harry Potter stories. Lumos campaigns against institutionalisation and promotes family-based care for children.
Lumos is sometimes confused with general children’s charities in the United Kingdom, but its distinctive focus is transforming systems that separate children from families. Its work has included advocacy, research and support for reforms in several countries.
The charity’s name is a reference to light, while its mission concerns practical social change. Rowling has also supported other causes through charitable giving, but Lumos is the organisation most directly founded by her to address children’s institutional care and related inequality.