GrantRadar

The Steel Charitable Trust

Luton Matters Programme

The Steel Charitable Trust's Luton Matters Programme funds charities and other not-for-profit organisations, based anywhere, for work delivered wholly or mainly within the Luton town boundary for the benefit of the town and its residents. Grants are at least £10,000 a year and unlikely to be more than £50,000 a year, can be restricted or unrestricted, and may be one-off or multi-year (usually up to three years). It is not aimed at any particular cohort or issue, but applicants must show how their work aligns with Luton's 2040 vision. Applications are two-stage: a short Expression of Interest, accepted only between 1 and 23 October 2026, then a full application by invitation.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
£10,000 – £50,000
Closes in
5 days left
23 October
Effort
Heavy
budgets, references, often several stages

Who can apply

  • UK-registered charities (including CIOs), Exempt Charities under the Charities Act 2011 or equivalents in Scotland and Northern Ireland, Community Interest Companies, or other formally structured not-for-profit organisations
  • Organisations can be based in Luton or elsewhere, but the work must be wholly or mainly delivered within the Luton town boundary for the benefit of the town and its residents
  • Applicants must have had a minimum income of £50,000 in the previous financial year and be able to produce at least one full year of accounts confirming it, and must seek at least £10,000 a year
  • Individuals, political parties and recently registered charities without a year's accounts cannot apply
  • Only one application in any 12-month period unless invited
  • Full applicants must supply accounts, a funding plan and budget, safeguarding and privacy policies, and (except registered charities) a governing document

What it funds

  • Work on the ground in Luton that improves services in the town and provides positive outcomes and quality of life benefits for its residents; the programme is not aimed at a particular cohort or issue, but applicants must briefly describe how the work broadly aligns with Luton Council's 2040 objectives
  • Grants may be unrestricted (the organisation chooses how to allocate it) or restricted to stated running or capital costs, such as:
  • A contribution to a salary for a named role
  • Detailed IT upgrades
  • A building renovation
  • New project costs
  • Contributions to ongoing projects or programmes

Trustees expect to award a mix of one-off and multi-year grants; multi-year grants are unlikely to exceed three years.

The annual grant is a minimum of £10,000 and unlikely to be more than £50,000, and it is unlikely any grant will exceed 20% of the applicant's previous year's income per year.

What it will not fund

  • Work where religious practice, worship or proselytising is overt or the main objective
  • Work that is overtly connected to political parties
  • Work that has already taken place
  • Work not delivered wholly or mainly within the Luton town boundary
  • Requests below £10,000 a year (Luton applicants seeking smaller grants are directed to the Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation)
  • Organisations with income below £50,000 in the previous financial year
  • Recently registered charities that do not yet have a full year's accounts
  • Individuals
  • Political parties
  • A second application within 12 months, whether successful or not, unless invited

How to apply

  1. Read the Luton Matters Guidance Notes and Application Process pages (the guidance changes from time to time) and the privacy policy, and preview the Expression of Interest questions
  2. Register on the Trust's grants portal (BenefactorCloud) via the Apply page; you can save a partly completed form and return to it
  3. Submit the Stage 1 Expression of Interest between noon on Thursday 1 October 2026 and 23:59 on Friday 23 October 2026: organisation purpose, total income and expenditure, whether you have made a Luton 2040 pledge, how long you have operated in Luton, a funding request title, purpose of the grant (up to 600 words), fit with the Luton 2040 vision (up to 100 words), and total cost and number of years
  4. All applicants receive an acknowledgement email; EOIs are assessed in December and Trustees either decline, invite a full application for the next meeting, or hold the EOI for further consideration within the next six months
  5. If invited (Stage 2), attend a virtual meeting with one Trustee and usually the Director, then complete the full application form with supporting documents by the deadline given
  6. Outcomes are sent through the grants portal soon after the Trustees' meeting; successful applicants digitally accept the grant terms and are paid by bank transfer

Applications are only accepted through the online portal; generic emailed applications and unsolicited post are not accepted. The Trust does not pre-screen ideas or offer advice, calls or meetings before an EOI is submitted.

Supporting documents are not needed at the EOI stage. Information given in the EOI is carried over to the full application form.

A report is required for all grants, between 10 and 18 months after the award; multi-year instalments are released only after Trustees approve a report. Individual feedback is not normally given.

In 2025-26, 5 of 60 eligible EOIs led to awards. The Trust's other programme, the UK Under-26 Programme (outside Luton), is by invitation only in…

Have ready

  • Expression of Interest form (online)
  • Most recent accounts (full application only)
  • Grant funding plan and budget (full application only; an existing similar document is acceptable)
  • Safeguarding policy or policies (full application only)
  • Privacy policy (full application only)
  • Governing document (full application only; not needed for registered charities)

No supporting documents are required at the EOI stage; the listed documents are requested only from applicants invited to Stage 2.

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