Ancaster Trust

The Ancaster Trust is a longstanding grant-making charity registered in England and Wales, established in 1976 and chaired by Baroness Jane Willoughby de Eresby since 1975. Governed by a board of trustees with meticulous compliance and annual reporting, it embodies traditional charitable principles through flexible, discretionary funding for general purposes where trustees identify greatest need. Its ethos prioritizes trustee judgment, independence, and broad support for wellbeing over rigid missions, with no organizational website to emphasize direct, personal engagement.

The Trust funds a wide array of causes, including advancement of health, saving lives, disability support, overseas aid, famine relief, arts, culture, heritage, and science, while showing practical preferences for community action, social welfare, medical projects, aid for disadvantaged or deprived groups, and occasional environmental initiatives. Grants benefit the general public and mankind, often via UK-registered charities delivering local impact, including some international work, with a historic nod to Lincolnshire projects.

Eligible applicants are solely UK-registered charities, favoring small, grassroots organizations with incomes under £250,000 and under-resourced community efforts; no strict income caps apply, but patterns highlight local, high-need groups. Typical micro-grants range from £100 to £500 (often £250–£500), supporting projects, core costs, or running expenses without match funding requirements. Applications are unsolicited via simple cover letters or short proposals sent by post or email to the registered address, on a rolling basis with no deadlines or forms—trustee meetings occur ad hoc several times yearly, with decisions typically in 8–12 weeks.

Distinctive for its low-barrier access, unrestricted micro-funding transformative for small charities, and rare support for capital/large projects, the Trust stands out as a family-linked, generalist funder responsive to direct appeals from overlooked grassroots causes.