Shakespeare Temperance Trust CIO

The Trust funds projects that enhance personal and community health, wellbeing, and engagement across Durham City and its immediate environs. Supported activities include health promotion, healthy living education, social welfare, and inclusive recreation opportunities. Beneficiaries span children and young people, older people, individuals with disabilities, other charities, and the wider general public. The Trust also supports use of its temperance hall for charitable purposes, reflecting its heritage. Its hyper-local focus means grants are directed at work that directly serves residents of Durham City, with a preference for grassroots initiatives that strengthen social cohesion and wellbeing.

Applicants must be UK-registered charities or community groups, with the Trust’s preference for small to medium-sized or grassroots organisations serving Durham City and its immediate environs. There are no strict income thresholds, but a strong local connection is essential. The Trust is open to organisations of any faith or none, though projects must align with its health-community remit. Priority beneficiaries include children and young people, older people, people with disabilities, and the general public, and applications should demonstrate how the work will benefit these groups within Durham City.

National, religious, political, or non-local activities are excluded, as is anything falling outside the Trust’s temperance-health-community remit. Projects that are not centred on Durham City or that primarily serve a wider regional or national audience are not supported. Activities with a religious or political character also fall outside its scope, along with initiatives that lack a clear connection to health, welfare, or community cohesion.

The Trust provides modest, project-focused grants rather than capital expenditure, unrestricted funds, or emergency aid. It welcomes unsolicited applications and prioritises initiatives that demonstrate clear local impact and sustainable stewardship of resources. Its place-based, conservative approach ensures funding is directed toward long-term benefit for the Durham City community, consistent with its founding ethos.