Bacon Charitable Trust

The Bacon Charitable Trust is a UK-registered charity established on 29 February 1988, governed by three trustees who hold absolute discretion over grant distribution in line with its founding instrument. Its core mission is straightforward: to make donations to charitable institutions at times and in manners deemed fit by the trustees, embodying a generalist philosophy without articulated thematic priorities, strategic plans, founder ethos, or guiding principles beyond compliance with charity law. This trustee-led, flexible approach distinguishes it as a legacy funder focused on institutional support for established charities demonstrating public benefit.

With no specified causes, beneficiaries, or programmes, the Trust funds a broad spectrum of UK charitable institutions through discretionary grants, potentially covering project or core costs without commitments to capital, seed, emergency, or capacity-building efforts. It supports organisations UK-wide, showing no geographic, sectoral, or religious restrictions, though patterns suggest awards to registered charities rather than grassroots groups.

Eligible applicants are strictly UK-registered charities, but the Trust does not accept unsolicited applications—recipients are selected solely by trustees with no public process, forms, criteria, or expressions of interest. Decisions occur ad hoc without deadlines or disclosed timelines. Typical grants range from £5,000 to £25,000, with annual expenditure balanced to income and no exclusions noted beyond its invite-only model. Uniquely, its lack of prescriptive guidance or themes sets it apart for charities relying on trustee judgement rather than alignment pitches, prioritising diligence over sector-specific fit.