Wilfrid and Constance Cave Foundation

The Wilfrid and Constance Cave Foundation, an unincorporated trust and registered UK charity established in 1965 by farmer-philanthropist Wilfrid Cave and his wife Constance, upholds a familial board of trustees committed to the founders' discreet philanthropic legacy. Its core mission supports registered charities in education, arts, culture, heritage, science, health, disadvantage, community development, conservation, welfare, and animal welfare, reflecting values of humility, continuity, stewardship, and quiet impact—recipients are discouraged from publicizing grants, emphasizing tradition over fanfare.

The foundation prioritizes projects aiding children, medical hardship cases, vulnerable groups, local communities, and environmental causes, with grants funding core costs, running costs, research, capital, and one-off initiatives. Examples include support for children's hospitals, air ambulances, school pastors, colleges, rivers trusts, and moorland conservation, showing a generalist yet concentrated focus on traditional charitable efforts aligned with trustees' personal and regional affinities.

Eligible applicants must be UK-registered charities, primarily small to medium-sized grassroots organizations in England and Wales, with strong preference for those in the South West and adjoining counties (Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Warwickshire); national charities occasionally qualify. Unsolicited applications are not accepted—funding relies solely on trustee nominations via personal networks. Trustees meet biannually (spring and autumn) to award typical grants of £1,000–£7,000 from an annual £160,000 budget across ~35 charities, occasionally £500–£10,000.

Distinctively invite-only with no deadlines, forms, or matched funding requirements, it excludes individuals and favors discreet, place-based partners resonating with Cave family values, differentiating it through regional loyalty, familial governance, and aversion to publicity.