Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust
Could Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust fund your project? Check fit free. Draft if yes — or shortlist better matches.
- Typical grants
- Up to £5,000
- Applications
- Accepted
- How to apply
- Online form
- Decisions
- Once per year
Works for Registered charities, CIOs, CICs and community groups.
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leverhulme-trade.org.ukAbout Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust
The Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust, established in 1925 by the 1st Viscount Leverhulme, is a UK-wide grant-maker with a distinctive focus on advancing education and alleviating financial hardship for individuals connected to the grocery, pharmacy, or commercial travelling trades. Its mission is to promote social mobility through targeted bursaries, prioritising opportunity and fairness for families in these specific sectors. The Trust offers several educational programmes supporting undergraduate, postgraduate, vocational, and pharmacy students. Beneficiaries are individuals, not organisations, and funding is available across the UK. The Trust's narrow, lineage-driven focus makes it a rare and bespoke funder of educational bursaries for these communities.
What Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust funds
The Trust funds educational advancement through bursaries for undergraduate, postgraduate, vocational, and pharmacy school students. Grants support training, equipment, and transport costs, helping individuals overcome practical barriers to study. The Pharmacy School Essentials Grant is directed at children and young people facing poverty or hardship. All programmes operate across the UK, with no regional restriction. The Trust prioritises students from lower-income households, and its postgraduate and undergraduate awards are multi-year commitments. A strong emphasis is placed on enabling students connected to the grocery, pharmacy, or commercial travelling trades to access and complete education at all levels.
Who can apply
Applications are open to individuals only, not organisations. Students must be based in the UK and connected to the grocery, pharmacy, or commercial travelling trades, either through their own work or family lineage. The Trust prioritises applicants from lower-income households, with household income thresholds described in the programme guidance; the highest-income households are not considered. The Vocational Bursary is aimed at students from more modest income backgrounds. There is no religious restriction, and support is intended for individuals at various educational stages, from school-age children to postgraduate students.
What Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust doesn't fund
The Trust does not fund charities, organisations, or core costs. Capital projects and unrelated sectors are outside its remit. Distance learning courses are excluded from the Vocational Bursary. Applications from students on the highest household incomes will not be considered under the bursary programmes. The Trust's funding is strictly limited to individuals in its target trades, so those without a relevant connection are not eligible.
How they like to fund
The Trust provides bursaries directly to individuals, with multi-year funding available for undergraduate and postgraduate study. Its programmes are designed to cover training, equipment, and transport costs rather than institutional overheads. The Trust welcomes unsolicited applications from eligible students, and no match funding is required for its undergraduate and postgraduate awards.
How much does Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust give?
Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust runs 4 grant programmes. Every figure below is sourced from their published guidance.
Last verified 8 August 2026 · 57 sourced facts
- Online application form
- Single-year grants
- Online application form
- 1 rounds a year
- Decisions in ~5 weeks
- Multi-year funding
- Online application form
- 1 rounds a year
- Decisions in ~5 weeks
- Multi-year funding
- Online application form
- 1 rounds a year
- Decisions in ~6 weeks
Those are the published figures. What your charity could realistically get — and whether you'd clear their rules on income, location and legal structure — is what the free fit check answers.
What Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust funds — and what they won't
We prioritise students whose household income is below £50,000 and we will not consider applications from students who have a household income over £90,000.
The full exclusions list (1)
- We do not fund distance learning courses.
Good to know
How to apply to Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust
Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust takes applications via online form.
- Published programme route: online application form.
- Decisions are typically once per year.
- Check whether your charity is in scope before you spend time on a full bid.
What Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust's application asks
We hold the question from Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust's application form, word for word — so you know exactly what you're signing up to answer.
“explain their financial need, items they require funding for and an explanation as to how the funds would help them”
How it works
- 1Describe your project. Once — used for this funder and others.
- 2See if this could be a fit. Honest check on cause, place, size, and rules.
- 3Draft if yes. From your real data — or move on if not.
See if Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust could be a fit. Draft if yes.
Frequently asked questions
How much funding does Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust provide?
Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust runs 4 grant programmes — Pharmacy School Essentials Grant: £150 – £450 · Postgraduate Bursary: Up to £5,000 · Undergraduate Bursary: Up to £3,000.
Where does Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust fund charities?
Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust funds charities operating in UK.
Does Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust accept unsolicited applications?
Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust accepts unsolicited applications from eligible organisations. Current programme status is on this page — do not assume a round is open.
What does Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust not fund?
Their published exclusions include: We do not fund distance learning courses.. The full exclusions list is further up this page.
How do I apply for funding from Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust?
Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust takes applications via online form. Published programme route: online application form.
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Could Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust be a fit?
Check free. Draft if yes, or shortlist better matches.