A charitable trust is a charity whose purpose is to give its money to other organisations whose aims match its own. Trusts are also called foundations or grant-makers. Trust fundraising is how a charity asks them for that money: through written applications and, more and more, through a relationship with the funder before anything is written.
UK trusts and foundations gave £7.4bn in 2024-25, excluding the Wellcome Trust (UKGrantmaking 2026). For most charities, trusts are among the few sources of income that exist to fund work like theirs.
What is a trust or foundation?
A trust or foundation is a charity registered with the charity regulator, and governed in the same way as any other charity. The difference is what it is for. Rather than delivering services itself, it gives grants to organisations whose aims match its own.
In practice, "trust" and "foundation" mean much the same thing. The name usually reflects how the funder was set up, not how it gives.
Where does a trust's money come from?
A trust is usually created by a person, a family or a company. The founder gives a lump sum, in cash or in shares. That sum is invested, and the income from the investments pays for the grants. This is why many trusts can exist in perpetuity, and why their giving rises and falls with their investments.
Once the money is given, the founder cannot take it back.
Some trusts work differently:
some receive regular donations from founders who are still active, particularly corporate foundations
some are set up to spend all their money over a fixed number of years
a few raise money themselves
How do trusts decide who to fund?
Every trust has criteria set out in its governing documents. You can read its objects, recent accounts and trustees on the charity regulator's register. Our free video shows how to find grant-making trusts with the Charity Commission's Advanced Search. Many trusts also publish narrower guidelines and priorities on their own websites, and some have preferences you will only learn by talking to them.
The trustees review each application to see whether it fits within their criteria and, if it does, whether it shows them what they need to see before they give. Every trust has a limited budget, so a good application can still be turned down.
What has changed for charities asking trusts
More trusts are pausing programmes, restructuring and closing to charities they do not already know. Trust fundraising in the UK is increasingly competitive, and a funder who already knows you is far more likely to say yes.
In a survey of 155 fundraisers, warm and repeat applications to trusts succeeded 63% of the time, against 25% for cold applications (Gifted Philanthropy, 2025 Trusts and Foundations Insights Survey).
The application still has to be strong, but it is no longer the whole job. Trust fundraising is increasingly about relationships: knowing which funders want to hear from you before you apply, and talking to them first. With careful planning and consistent effort, it is still possible to raise substantial funds from trusts.
If you want to know which of your funders need a relationship as well as an application, Build your Funder Relationships works through them with your team.
Watch Beth Upton, founder and CEO of Money Tree Fundraising, on the three areas she sees as vital for trust fundraising:
Start with our free Trust 101 guide
Trust 101 gives you a comprehensive, practical introduction to the trust fundraising landscape, free to access and written by people who do this work every day.