Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust

The Trust focuses on two core areas: charities supporting people in need in Sussex, and wildlife and environmental conservation globally. In Sussex, it prioritises projects that engage the wider community and promote inclusion. Internationally, it supports conservation projects addressing threats to endangered flora and fauna, and reproductive health projects in Africa and Asia with clear environmental impact. It funds a wide range of costs including core costs, project delivery, capital works, equipment, and start-up costs. The Trust supports work across Sussex, the UK, and internationally.

Registered charities with at least one year of filed accounts with the Charity Commission for England and Wales or the Office of the Scottish Charity Register are eligible. The Trust does not fund Community Interest Companies, individuals, or organisations registered less than a year. It prioritises charities working with children, young people, older people, disabled people, homeless people, carers, and the general public. For Sussex-based work, a strong local connection is expected, but charities elsewhere can apply for conservation or reproductive health projects.

The Trust does not fund arts and culture, faith-based activities, animal welfare, medical research, or health charities. It also excludes large national charities with substantial fundraising potential, organisations wholly funded by statutory income, pre-school groups, out-of-school play schemes, campaign organisations, and charities that only raise funds for other charities with large cash reserves. International food security, farming, and agriculture projects are not supported, nor are churches outside Cuckfield and Haywards Heath.

The Trust takes a flexible, relationship-based approach. Medium grants are one-off, while large grants are offered through close, long-standing relationships and can be multi-year. It funds core costs, project delivery, capital, equipment, and start-up costs. Unsolicited applications are welcomed for medium grants, while large grants are by invitation only following a period of trustee engagement.