John Macleod Charitable Trust

The John Macleod Charitable Trust, established by deed in January 2020 and registered with the Charity Commission later that year, is a family-led philanthropic entity chaired by John James MacLeod. Its core mission is to relieve need among vulnerable people due to youth, age, ill-health, disability, or financial hardship, prioritizing humanitarian relief, health interventions, and social welfare for those facing acute disadvantage, exclusion, or crisis. With a pragmatic, impact-driven ethos, the Trust emphasizes frontline, life-saving work by well-governed charities, guided by trustee discretion to maximize public benefit through flexible, responsive funding.

It supports initiatives addressing refugees and displaced people, children with life-limiting illnesses, emergency healthcare, and social hardship, as seen in grants to Médecins Sans Frontières, Refugee Council, and Alice's Arc. Funding covers core costs, multi-year programs, specific projects, rapid-response relief, and occasionally direct individual aid, with a focus on high-need gaps in UK and international contexts.

Eligible applicants are primarily UK-registered charities, with a preference for medium to large organizations demonstrating strong governance and impact; there are no strict income thresholds, geographic restrictions (England/Wales-based but funding worldwide), or religious limits. Unsolicited applications are not accepted—approaches are invite-only via trustee networks. Grants typically range from £20,000 to £100,000, awarded ad hoc without fixed deadlines or meetings.

Distinctively, the Trust avoids narrow themes or open calls, differentiating through substantial, agile support for urgent crises and pragmatic stewardship that enables quick, multi-year commitments to proven frontline responders, setting it apart from rigid or small-scale funders.