GrantRadar

The D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust

D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Grants

Grants of £500 to £8,000 for UK registered charities, for work that widens access to the arts, creative health and heritage crafts for communities facing barriers to opportunity. Grants can fund defined projects or organisational costs, and charities with income under £250,000 can ask for unrestricted funding. The next round opens the week of 23 November 2026 and closes at 5pm on 22 January 2027 (charities with income over £5m have a first-stage deadline of 8 January 2027); decisions are made on 9 March 2027.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
£500 – £8,000
Deadline
96 days left
22 January
Effort
Moderate
full application with documents

Who can apply

  • UK-registered or regulated exempt charities asking for £500 to £8,000
  • Work must begin at least two months after the decision unless at least 75% of the funds are already secured
  • Applicants need appropriate safeguarding policies, appropriately examined annual accounts for the most recent year, a project or organisational budget, a senior colleague to co-sign the application, and a bank account in the organisation's name
  • The Trust looks for evidence that beneficiaries face identifiable barriers to opportunity, and checks financial management: accounts audited or independently examined, free reserves in line with policy and not above target (or 12 months' operating costs), and the last three filings with the Charity Commission, CCNI or OSCR made on time
  • Successful applicants wait 12 months before reapplying, unsuccessful ones two years; charities with three grants in five financial years wait three years; anyone with overdue monitoring reports cannot apply

What it funds

Projects that increase access for communities that face barriers to opportunities in the arts, creative health and heritage & crafts:

  • Performing Arts: amateur community music-making and singing
  • Performing Arts: performing arts engagement for underserved communities, particularly young people
  • Performing Arts: charities that provide early-stage career development to improve social mobility in the performing arts
  • Creative Health: non-clinical interventions that improve physical, emotional and mental health, including arts-based interventions (particularly art, music and dance therapies often accessed through referral)
  • Creative Health: short breaks for young carers
  • Creative Health: animal-assisted therapy and horticulture
  • Heritage Crafts: protection of rare or endangered heritage craft skills
  • Heritage Crafts: projects linking heritage skills to employment and training, particularly for young people

grants may support defined projects or contribute to organisational costs; project budgets may include proportionate core costs; charities with annual income under £250,000 may apply for unrestricted funding.

What it will not fund

  • Capital projects and routine maintenance
  • General and round-robin appeals
  • Individuals
  • Medical research
  • Mainstream education across all key stages (e.g. nurseries, playgroups, primary/secondary schools, post-16 institutions)
  • Projects taking place or providing benefits outside the UK
  • Retrospective funding
  • Sport
  • Universities
  • Direct to hospices (funded indirectly via Hospice UK)
  • Regional branches of national organisations
  • Term Grants (multi-year support), which are identified proactively and not open for direct application

How to apply

  1. Read the Funding Guidelines
  2. From the week commencing 23 November 2026, open the application form via the Trust's website and create a Plinth account (unless you already have one)
  3. Complete the eligibility quiz, which directs you to the Small Charity form (income £5m and below) or the Large Charity form (income above £5m)
  4. Small charities: submit the application by 5pm on 22 January 2027
  5. Large charities: submit the first-stage application by 5pm on 8 January 2027; if invited, submit the second-stage application by 5pm on 22 January 2027
  6. Trustees decide on 9 March 2027 and applicants are told by end of March 2027

please do not contact the Trust for an update before then. Later 2027 trustee meetings are 14 July and 16 November. Successful applicants complete a short monitoring and impact report at the end of the grant.

Have ready

  • Project or organisational budget, as appropriate
  • Appropriately examined annual accounts for your most recent financial year
  • Safeguarding policies appropriate to your work
  • Bank details in the name of the applying organisation
  • Co-signature from a senior-level colleague confirming suitability

More like this

Other grants open to organisations like yours.