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Eastern Counties Educational Trust Limited

Eastern Counties Educational Trust grants

Eastern Counties Educational Trust, a charity founded over a hundred years ago, gives grants for the education, welfare and care of people with special educational needs, particularly those under 25 with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Charities, schools and other institutions can apply for projects, equipment, trips, training or staff posts. Priority goes to organisations or projects in Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire. Trustees meet in May and November; the next deadline is 31 October 2026, and trustees usually visit or phone shortlisted applicants.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
Amount not specified
Closes in
13 days left
31 October
Effort
Moderate
full application with documents

Who can apply

  • Charities and other institutions (including schools) whose work is the education, welfare and care of people with special educational needs, particularly those under 25 with emotional and behavioural difficulties
  • Organisations that are not charities can apply, but must explain their aims, how they are funded, and why they qualify
  • The trust focuses on organisations located in Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire, or projects in that region; the application form calls this a priority rather than a strict limit
  • No income limits are stated

What it funds

  • Projects or purchases that benefit children with special educational needs, including equipment (including computer software or hardware)
  • Also trips organised directly to benefit children with special needs, or for whom a normal trip would be out of the question without help
  • Also specific time-limited projects, such as setting up a social skills training group, and training costs for key workers in the special needs field
  • Funding to employ staff is possible: the applicant (or a third party) must issue the employment contract and cover on-costs, and only one such grant is made to an institution and it is not renewed
  • Past grants include playground equipment and a summerhouse at special schools, outdoor learning provision, and sailing and fishing programmes for young people with special needs
  • Trustees want to see a lasting benefit and a plan for the activity after the grant ends

What it will not fund

  • Purposes that should be funded by central government or a local authority (the trust says it is 'reluctant' to fund these)
  • The cost of covering a trainee's post while they attend training
  • Repeat or renewed grants for employing staff (only one such grant per institution)
  • Increases to a grant once it is agreed

How to apply

  1. Download the printable application form from the Application page
  2. Complete every box. Describe how the money will be used, who will benefit and how it will improve their education or care, and give a realistic breakdown of the amount requested
  3. Send the form and supporting documents to the ECET Secretary, preferably by email, by 30 April (for the May meeting) or 31 October (for the November meeting)
  4. An initial check confirms the application fits the trust's charitable objects and other criteria
  5. Trustees consider eligible applications at their six-monthly meeting; shortlisted applicants are contacted for a visit or phone call with one or more trustees
  6. Trustees write a recommendation report, then the board makes the final decision and informs applicants
  7. If successful, confirm you will use the funding only as described, and later send a brief report on how it was used and what difference it made

Early applications are welcome. The form gives a postal address: The Secretary, ECET, Rowan House, 22 East Street, Coggeshall, Essex, CO6 1SH.

For grants to employ staff, six-monthly reports are expected, and if they are not sent, funds may be suspended.

Have ready

  • Completed ECET grant application form (continuation sheet no more than half a page of A4)
  • Copy of the 'Objects' section of your governing document
  • Most recent annual report and accounts
  • Current year budget (where appropriate)

Organisations that are not charities must also explain their aims and objectives and how they are funded, and send the relevant documents.

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