Jean Sainsbury Animal Welfare Trust

The Jean Sainsbury Animal Welfare Trust makes donations, usually of £1,000 to a normal maximum of £10,000, to UK-registered animal welfare charities that rescue, rehabilitate, rehome or release animals, protect endangered species, or help owners in financial hardship with vet and neutering costs. It explicitly encourages applications from smaller charities, funds general running costs, and supports UK charities working overseas as well as in the UK. There are three deadlines a year (1 December, 1 April and 1 August), and repeat applications are encouraged after a 12-month gap.

Apply on the funder’s site

You could get: £1,000 – £10,000
Deadline: 44 days left; 1 December
Effort: Moderate; full application with documents

Who can apply

Charities registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator or the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland for at least 12 months at the time of application, whatever their income, working for animal welfare (rescue, rehabilitation, rehoming, release, wildlife conservation, feral animal neutering, or help with owners' vet costs)
Every applicant must provide 12 months of independently verified accounts
UK-registered charities working overseas may apply under the overseas guidelines; charities importing animals into the UK must meet all of the Trust's additional criteria (support in the country of origin, legal import under DEFRA rules, UK vet examination, permanent UK premises, at least 3 weeks of UK behaviour assessment, neutering, a face-to-face meeting with adopters, and a return-to-charity option)
Sanctuaries must strive to rehome, foster or release animals and all applicants need a humane destruction policy
Charities holding cash or investments above one year's expenditure (unless held for a specific purpose) do not qualify
The Trust encourages applications from smaller charities, and repeat applications are welcome after 12 months

What it funds

Donations to UK-registered charities whose purposes include benefiting or protecting animals, relieving animals from suffering, conserving wildlife or encouraging understanding of animals. Specifically:

General running costs associated with the rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming or release of domestic, wild and exotic animals
Costs associated with the direct protection of endangered species
Feeding, capture, neutering and release of feral cats and dogs
Help with vets' fees and neutering costs for animals owned by people facing financial hardship

The application form also covers vet fees, equipment or vehicles, building work and specific projects.

Purchase or improvement of property or fixed buildings is only considered if the property is owned by the charity, at least 10 years remain on the lease, or the landowner confirms in writing that the charity will be reimbursed for improvements (otherwise only improvements that do not increase the property's saleable value).

Donations usually range from £1,000 to a normal maximum of £10,000; larger donations may be considered case by case.

UK charities working overseas can apply under separate guidelines.

What it will not fund

Applications from individuals
Charities not registered in the UK
Charities registered with a UK charity regulator for less than 12 months
Applications received within 12 months of any previous application to the Trust
Sanctuaries that do not strive to rehome, foster or (for wildlife) release animals, unless doing so would endanger the animal
Charities that bring animals into the UK from overseas unless they meet all the Trust's additional criteria for importing animals
Charities without a humane destruction policy for animals that cannot be given a reasonable quality of life
Charities with cash and/or investments worth more than one year's expenditure, unless reserves are held for a specific purpose
Charities that spend more than a reasonable proportion of income on administration or cannot justify their costs per animal or species helped
Property or building improvements where the charity does not own the property, has under 10 years left on its lease and has no landowner reimbursement letter (unless the work does not increase the property's saleable value)
Overseas work: projects that put more than 15% of total project cost into UK administration, projects that cannot start within six months of a grant offer, and charities raising funds for other charities or NGOs with substantial cash reserves

How to apply

Read the guidelines for UK charities working in the UK, or for UK charities working overseas, and the additional criteria if you bring animals into the UK from overseas
Complete the online application form for your category (charity and vet details, type of work, animals handled over 12 months, finances, staff and volunteers, property, and what you are applying for); you can save a partly completed form and return to it
Upload your accounts and independent examiner's report, plus quotes or supporting documents if applying for equipment, a vehicle or building work
Submit by 1 December (Spring meeting), 1 April (Summer meeting) or 1 August (Winter/Autumn meeting)
Check for the automated confirmation email (including spam folders); if none arrives, contact office@jeansainsburyanimalwelfare.org.uk as the application may not have been received
Applications are checked by the Admin team against the criteria, then scrutinised by one or two Trustees or the full board depending on complexity
If successful, email the Trust to confirm receipt of the donation and return the Grant Monitoring Form within six months of using the grant

Charities that bring animals into the UK from overseas must also complete the supplementary questionnaire for charities rescuing overseas.

The 12-month re-application rule is counted from the application deadline used for your previous application.

The FAQs say the Trust asks for hard copies of application forms and accounts, but the current guidelines point to online forms with file uploads; follow the instructions in the automated email you receive after submitting.

Trustees may visit charities in their area to view the work of applicants and monitor donations.

Have ready

Completed online application form
Accounts for a 12-month period and the independent examiner's report
Quotes and further information for equipment or vehicle requests
Supporting documents for building work (for larger projects, plans, planning permission and builders' quotes)
Supplementary questionnaire for charities rescuing animals from overseas (if applicable)

Bank statements should not be sent. Charities with property improvements on land they do not own may need a letter from the landowner about reimbursement.