Bouttell Bequest

The trust funds a wide range of interventions including bereavement counselling for children, respite care and emotional wellbeing programmes for young carers aged 5-19, therapies and specialist equipment for people with physical disabilities, visual impairments, multiple sclerosis, spina bifida, and learning disabilities, as well as assistance dogs. They also support hospice and palliative care, food banks, community mental health day services, Citizens Advice outreach, air ambulance services, and inclusive community initiatives such as arts projects and play schemes. The Bouttell Bequest is distinctive for its hyper-local focus on Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire communities, favouring specialist regional charities over large national bodies.

Registered charities and community groups operating in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire are eligible. The trust prioritises organisations that support vulnerable individuals including disadvantaged children, young carers, people with physical and learning disabilities, terminally ill residents, and low-income households. Applicants should have a strong local presence and a track record of delivering direct, person-centred services. The trust does not fund individuals directly.

The trust does not fund large-scale infrastructure projects, national generalist organisations, or research-only projects. It favours specialist regional charities over broad national bodies, meaning that organisations with a wide geographic remit or those focused on capital works rather than frontline services are unlikely to receive support. Grants are not made to individuals, and the trustees avoid funding activities that fall outside their hyper-local focus on Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Grants are made entirely at the trustees' discretion, with no public application process. The trust supports both core costs and project costs, and its funding is characterised by a flexible, responsive approach to the needs of frontline charities in its geographic focus area.