Saintbury Trust

The Saintbury Trust, a medium-sized grant-making charity established in 1985, supports charitable work in a defined West Midlands region—including Warwickshire, Worcestershire, North Gloucestershire, with emphasis on Birmingham and Worcester—through modest grants to registered charities addressing local needs. Its mission centers on enriching cultural, environmental, and social fabric via priorities in arts, heritage, environmental conservation, and support for people with disabilities, guided by trustee expertise, long-term relationships, and absolute discretion in decisions, favoring repeat applicants and those with personal trustee connections.

It funds project-specific initiatives, core costs, capital, and revenue needs aligned to these themes, such as local arts venues, heritage projects, regional conservation efforts, and disability wellbeing programs, reflecting consistent grant patterns without support for unrelated causes except rare trustee-linked exceptions.

Eligible applicants are UK-registered charities with strong governance (minimum 4 trustees, up-to-date unqualified Charity Commission accounts, not newly registered), operating primarily in the specified geography; small to medium-sized established organizations are preferred, with no strict income limits but a focus on proven track records.

Grants typically range from £1,000 to £5,000, awarded biannually after April and October trustee meetings. Unsolicited email applications (using the form, max 3 pages + cover letter, font 12+) are accepted only during windows: 15 January–28 February (spring) or 1–30 September (autumn), sent to admin@thesaintburytrust.co.uk; no postal apps, retrospectives, or successive submissions. Unsuccessful applicants receive email notification without feedback. Distinctively, its trustee-led, relationship-focused approach prioritizes trusted local partnerships over broad openness.