GrantRadar

The Rhododendron Trust

Rhododendron Trust grants

A small family charitable trust that makes one-off donations of £1,000 to £2,000 to UK registered charities, mainly for humanitarian welfare work in the developing world and the UK, plus some arts and wildlife/nature charities. It favours smaller charities, where a donation makes a significant difference. Applications are by email at any time, and the Trustees make all decisions once a year at their March meeting. The Trust gave £71,500 to 62 charities in 2023-24 and receives hundreds of applications a year.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
£1,000 – £2,000
no fixed round
Deadline
Rolling
apply any time
Effort
Light
short form, little evidence needed

Who can apply

  • UK registered charities only
  • The charity may work in the UK or overseas (typically the developing world) in the Trust's categories: overseas children and education, development, disability and medical, women and justice, nature; UK carers and breaks, disability and mental health, deprivation, prisoners and refugees, arts
  • The Trust favours smaller charities, where £1,000-£2,000 makes a significant contribution
  • It does not support research-funding charities, missionary charities, charities funding work on individual buildings, or individuals

What it funds

Donations to UK registered charities in these categories (reviewed each year). Overseas/developing world:

  • Children and Education
  • Development
  • Disability and Medical
  • Women and Justice
  • Nature

UK: Carers, Breaks and Enrichment/Support; Disability and Mental Health; Deprivation; Prisoners and Refugees; Arts.

For developing-world work the Trust prefers charities helping people disadvantaged by more than poverty alone, e.g. by disability, age, gender or ethnicity, or by poor medical, welfare or educational infrastructure.

Examples are medical aid where doctors are scarce, work with street children or against child labour, education, and legal protection.

It is also interested in welfare projects that help sustain the environment.

Donations can go to a charity's general work or a particular project.

The Trust asks applicants to say what £1,000 would pay for.

The 'Development' (overseas) and 'Deprivation' (UK) categories are very competitive.

What it will not fund

  • Charities that fund medical or academic research
  • Missionary charities (religious charities are not ruled out)
  • Charities funding work on individual buildings (umbrella bodies such as the National Churches Trust have been supported)
  • Individuals, including gap-year projects, even if linked to a charity
  • Organisations that are not UK registered charities

Smaller charities are favoured over those with a large income. There is no guarantee of repeat donations.

How to apply

  1. Check your charity fits one of the Trust's categories (Grants Policy page and the lists of recent grants)
  2. Email your charity's general material, perhaps pointing to a particular project, and state explicitly what a grant of £1,000 could pay for; if it would go into a large project, give the total budget and how many people it might reach
  3. Send it to the category-specific address. Overseas: Children and Education rhodotrust+oschild@gmail.com; Development rhodotrust+osdev@gmail.com; Disability and Medical rhodotrust+osdis@gmail.com; Women and Justice rhodotrust+osjust@gmail.com; Nature rhodotrust+nat@gmail.com. UK: Carers, Breaks and Enrichment/Support rhodotrust+ukbreak@gmail.com; Disability and Mental Health rhodotrust+ukdis@gmail.com; Deprivation rhodotrust+ukdep@gmail.com; Prisoners and Refugees rhodotrust+ukjust@gmail.com; Arts rhodotrust+art@gmail.com
  4. Grants Officers and Trustees shortlist applications; the Trustees decide at their annual meeting in March
  5. All applicants, successful or not, are told the outcome by email soon after the March meeting
  6. If funded, send a report at the end of the year on how the donation was used and what a further donation could do

Applications are accepted by email only. If your work spans several categories, pick the one matching its main aim. Choosing a more specific category rather than 'Development' or 'Deprivation' may help.

Use rhodotrust@gmail.com only for other communications, e.g. inviting the Trust to an open day, not for applications

Have ready

  • Your charity's general material (e.g. existing literature or annual report), perhaps pointing to a particular project
  • A statement of what a £1,000 grant would pay for, plus total project budget and reach if it is part of a large project

The Trust says it does not expect tailored material written specially for it

More like this

Other grants open to organisations like yours.