Brook Trust

The Brook Trust is an independent, privately funded grant-making charity (registered with the Charity Commission, no. 1123562) dedicated to tackling hard-to-fund social issues in the UK and beyond. Established to drive sustainable change through compassion, inclusivity, and strategic philanthropy, it prioritizes underserved causes like victims of domestic and sexual abuse, alongside early interventions for children and families to disrupt cycles of poverty, deprivation, and dysfunction. Its distinctive invite-only model identifies promising grantees proactively, favoring relationship-based partnerships with smaller charities over open competitions, ensuring targeted impact with minimal bureaucracy.

The Trust funds crisis response, rehabilitation, and aftercare for victims—especially women and children—of domestic and sexual violence, as well as early years programmes promoting childhood development, parental support, education, and mental health to build resilience in at-risk families and communities. It supports both immediate relief and long-term prevention, often via multi-year or core funding for specialist, innovative interventions in deprived areas.

Eligible applicants are UK-registered charities, with a strong preference for small to medium-sized organizations (no strict income limits) based in the UK, delivering UK-wide or occasionally international projects aligned with its priorities. Unsolicited applications are not accepted; initial email enquiries may lead to invitations, with decisions via rolling trustee meetings and no fixed deadlines. Typical grants range from £10,000 to £75,000 annually.

Unlike generalist funders, the Brook Trust shuns large national charities and mainstream causes, uniquely championing "unpopular" areas like abuse survivor services, with no religious restrictions and a theory of change emphasizing systemic breakthroughs through focused, evidence-based giving.