Harebell Centenary Fund

The Harebell Centenary Fund is a grant-making charitable trust registered in England and Wales since 1991, dedicated to supporting charitable purposes at the absolute discretion of its trustees. Established to address broad social needs, it embodies core values of opportunity, health advancement, and compassion for people and animals, strategically funding initiatives that advance education, promote neurological and neurosurgical research, and relieve sickness and suffering—particularly among animals—while maintaining flexibility to adapt to evolving priorities through sound governance and risk management.

It prioritises educational support for disadvantaged children and young people, health advancements via specialist medical research (e.g., encephalitis, Batten disease), and animal welfare interventions. Recent grantees include The Amber Trust (music for blind children), Encephalitis International, Carers Trust, BDFA, Kinship, and AbilityNet, funding scholarships, research projects, therapeutic programmes, awareness campaigns, core costs, and practical welfare for beneficiaries like youth with disabilities, the elderly, carers, and animals, blending direct services with niche research for public benefit.

Eligible applicants are strictly UK-registered charities operating in England and Wales, with no income thresholds or size restrictions—spanning small local groups to national organisations—but the fund does not accept unsolicited applications. Trustees proactively research and select charities, making ad hoc decisions periodically without deadlines or open calls.

Typical grants range from £5,000 to £25,000 annually, often unrestricted for aligned projects, with amounts scaled to need. Distinctives include its high trustee discretion, thematic focus on neurological research, education, and animal welfare within a generalist frame, exclusion of individuals and non-charities, and absence of religious restrictions, positioning it as a responsive, quietly impactful funder for under-resourced causes.