Trust Fundraising 101: Understanding the UK Funding Landscape
What is trust fundraising?
Trust fundraising is the process of applying to trusts and foundations, which are independent grant-making bodies that distribute funds to charities and community organisations aligned with their priorities. The UK has thousands of active trusts, ranging from small family foundations to large national funders. Understanding how they work, what they fund, and how to approach them strategically is the foundation of a successful trust programme.
Trust Fundraising can feel like a maze when you’re first starting out. With thousands of trusts out there – each with their own priorities, processes, and quirks – knowing where to begin can be overwhelming.
That’s exactly why we created Trust Fundraising 101: Understanding the Trust Fundraising Landscape – a free, bite-sized webinar designed to help you navigate this world with confidence. In this session, I explore the different types of trusts, the key players in the sector, and how the funding landscape has evolved over time.
Whether you’re brand new to Trust Fundraising or looking to sharpen your approach, this webinar will give you a solid foundation to build from.
How the trust fundraising landscape has changed
Competition for grants is at an all-time high. It started to grow in 2010 when local government grants were slashed and smaller organisations were encouraged to use their statutory-grant-applying skills to apply for grants from trusts and foundations. Covid saw another surge in applications and that has not stopped growing.
At the same time, the amount of money that trusts and foundations have available to disburse as grants has not matched this growth in demand.
Some funders have closed temporarily whilst they consider how best to react to these substantial changes in demand and others have closed permanently. Some have moved to pro-active grant making rather than accepting applications whilst others have tightened their criteria.
4 Key Tips for Navigating the Trust Fundraising Landscape
To be successful in Trust Fundraising, you need more than just a great project – you need the right strategy. Here are four essential tips from the webinar:
1. Do Your Research
Before applying to a funder, take the time to understand their priorities, funding history, and values. The more you know, the stronger your application will be.
2. Tailor Your Approach
One-size-fits-all applications rarely work. Align your project with each funder’s criteria and make it clear why your charity is the perfect fit for their funding.
3. Be Realistic About Where To Start
If you’re new to Trust Fundraising, start small, local and family trusts are often more accessible than larger national funders and can help you build confidence and credibility.
4. Stay Informed About Funder Priorities
The Trust Fundraising landscape is always changing. Keep an eye on sector news, trends, and funder priorities to stay ahead of the curve.
Go deeper with our free Trust 101 guide
Our Trust 101 resource gives you a comprehensive introduction to trust fundraising — covering everything in this post and much more. Free to access.