GRANT CRITERIA

SMALL GRANTS

 

THE GENERAL FUND

GRANT CRITERIA FOR GENERAL CHARITIES

  • We seek to make donations to general charities, which are small enough in size or are applying for support for a modest project such that the charity will benefit substantially from a donation of between £250 and £500.
    We also make grants to charities, which focus on the conservation of wildlife and the environment which are typically between £1,000 to £2,000.
  • We will generally only support charities which are registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), or which are exempt or excepted charities (within the meaning of the Charities Act 2011).
  • We will not generally make a grant to an organisation that the Trust has supported within the previous 24 months.
  • We will not support applications from individuals seeking personal support.
  • Grants may be made towards revenue, capital or project expenditure.
  • Grants are made on a periodic basis and there is no deadline for applications. The grants committee makes Grant decisions every other month.
  • It is important that the charity will be small enough in size or be applying for support for a modest project, such that the grant will have a meaningful impact

How to apply for Grants

 

THE MARTIN WILLS WILDLIFE MAINTENANCE TRUST

GRANT CRITERIA FOR THE CONSERVATION OF WILDLIFE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHARITIES

The focus of our support is the conservation and maintenance for the benefit of the public of the natural environment and its indigenous woodland flora and fauna with particular reference to the conservation and maintenance of the character and amenity of rural areas.

  • Grants are typically between in the £1,000 to £2,000 range, though sometimes up to £5,000.
  • Grants are made only to charities, which focus on the conservation of wildlife and the environment.
  • We will generally only support charities which are registered with the Charity Commission of England and Wales, Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), or which are exempt or excepted charities (within the meaning of the Charities Act 2011).
  • We will not generally make a grant to an organisation that the Trust has supported within the previous 24 months.
  • We will not support applications from individuals seeking personal support.
  • Grants may be made towards revenue, capital or project expenditure.
  • Grants are made on a periodic basis and there is no deadline for applications. The grants committee makes Grant decisions on an ad hoc basis.

How to apply for Grants

 

RECENT EXAMPLES OF SMALL & MONTHLY GRANTS

THE HDH WILLS 1965 CHARITABLE TRUST – GENERAL FUND GRANTS MADE

British Red Cross
Royal Shakespeare Company
Farms for City Children
The Inspire Arts Trust
Peterborough Cathedral Chapter
British Disabled Angling Association
Douglas Bader Foundation
East Bristol Advice & Information Centre
Horatio’s Garden Charitable Trust
Kids for Kids
Meanwood Valley Urban Farm
New Bridge Foundation
Rural Coffee Caravan

Sofa Project Ltd
Witney and West Oxfordshire Food Bank
Prodigal Arts
Bramford Road Methodist Church
COGS Prepares 4 Life CIO
Derby Toc H Children’s Camp
Disability Information Bureau
Lydeard St Lawrence Primary School PTFA
Valley Daffodils
Vee’s Place
Wings for Warriors
Young & Free

LARGE GRANTS

 

These are made by the Trust in a fixed seven-year cycle.

In only two years of that cycle are grants made in response to applications from external charities, and then only to charities for wildlife and environmental causes.

When Large Grants are made for wildlife and environmental causes they are typically in the £5,000 to £50,000 range.

The most recent open years for wildlife and environment grants were 2016 and 2017. The next time applications for Large Grants for wildlife and the environment will be accepted are from January 2023 through to December 2024.

Please note that we will not be looking at any applications for Large Grants until January 2023.

 

THE LARGE GRANT CYCLE

1ST YEAR
Magdalen College, Oxford

2ND YEAR
Rendcomb College, Gloucestershire

3RD & 4TH YEAR
External applications accepted for wildlife and environmental causes.
Charities or organisations dedicated to the conservation and protection of wildlife.
Charities or organisations dedicated to the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment in order to promote the biodiversity of its flora and fauna.
We will next be accepting applications for these wildlife and environmental causes from January 2023 and will accept applications for such causes through until December 2024. Please note: grants aren’t usually paid out until the following January/February ie 2024/5.

5TH YEAR

The Ditchley Foundation

6TH & 7TH YEAR
Suitable charitable causes awarded at the discretion of the Trustees. Grants are awarded at the discretion of the Trustees. No external applications accepted.

 

RECENT GRANTS

These are made in the two years of the cycle when the Trust makes large wildlife and environmental grants.

Tusk Trust – £100,000
Royal Horticultural Society – £20,000
Spey Fisheries – £12,500
Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust – £20,000
Global Canopy Programme – £50,000
The British Beekeepers’ Association – £50,000
European Squirrel Initiative – £25,000
Norfolk Wildlife Trust – £25,000
OXFORD BOTANIC GARDEN – £25,000
BARN OWL TRUST – £20,000
DURRELL WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST – £20,000
GLOUCESTERSHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST – £20,000
SCOTTISH WILDLIFE TRUST – £20,000
WILDFOWL AND WETLANDS TRUST – £20,000
THE WOODLAND TRUST – £20,000
FWAG – £10,000