GrantRadar

The Roughley Trust

Roughley Trust Grants to Organisations

Annual grants, normally £1,000 to £3,000, for local Birmingham registered charities with a turnover under £1 million, working inside the city boundary. Areas include community work, special needs, health and wellbeing, education, arts, heritage and environment. Applications open each year on 1 August and close on 1 October, for a trustees' meeting in late November. The 2026 round has closed: the next opens on 1 August 2027 and closes on 1 October 2027. You email a typed form, a signed letter and two or three photos.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
£1,000 – £3,000
Deadline
348 days left
1 October
Effort
Moderate
full application with documents

Who can apply

  • Registered local Birmingham charities working inside the City boundary, with an annual turnover of less than £1 million
  • Charities just outside the boundary may occasionally be accepted if most of their clients are in Birmingham, but projects in Sandwell, Solihull, Wolverhampton or Walsall, for example, are not normally accepted
  • National charities are excluded unless the Birmingham branch has its own charity number and accounts on the Charity Commission website
  • Trustees tend to prioritise smaller and medium-sized organisations
  • New charities without audited accounts should send the financial records they have, ideally with an endorsement from a charity the Trust knows

What it funds

Work by local Birmingham charities in any of these areas:

  • Area-based community work such as church-based community projects
  • Work with special needs including the following: childhood and youth; old age; death and bereavement; homelessness; disability; prison; addiction; victim support; other special needs
  • Health and well being, including syndrome support groups, counselling, bereavement support, complementary health and mental health initiatives
  • Education
  • Arts and leisure, including theatre in education groups, museums and arts centres
  • Heritage
  • Environment: environmental improvement projects, and green projects generally are particularly welcome

core costs such as equipment can be funded. Grants are not made retrospectively, so an event must fall after the November meeting.

What it will not fund

  • National charities, even with a project or branch in Birmingham, unless the branch has its own charity number and its own accounts on the Charity Commission website
  • Birmingham based medical charities
  • Church fabric appeals
  • Community interest companies
  • Social enterprises
  • Church based projects which are essentially about the teaching of religion
  • Animal charities
  • Projects in neighbouring areas such as Sandwell, Solihull, Wolverhampton or Walsall (not normally accepted)
  • Retrospective grants
  • More than one application per charity
  • Applications received after the 1 October deadline

How to apply

  1. Check your eligibility
  2. Complete the Word application form by typing in the boxes (blue, font size 12; keep it to about 3 sides)
  3. Write a signed letter on your own headed notepaper, addressed to 'Adam Wilkins - Correspondent', explaining clearly and succinctly why the project should be supported, without repeating the form
  4. Choose two or three photos that give a good sense of your project (JPEG)
  5. Between 1 August and 1 October, email the form (as a Word document), the letter (as a PDF) and the photos to Correspondent@roughleytrust.org.uk
  6. The Trust acknowledges receipt, normally within two weeks, and shortlists if it receives more applications than it can consider
  7. Trustees meet in late November; successful applicants are told in November and grants are published on the website about ten days after the meeting

apply well before the deadline, as late applicants may lose out in shortlisting. Only Word, PDF and JPEG attachments are accepted, and there is no phone contact. Accounts figures on the form are checked against the Charity Commission register and referred back if they do not agree. Only successful applicants are contacted.

Have ready

  • Completed application form (Word)
  • Signed letter on headed notepaper (PDF)
  • Two or three photos of the project (JPEG)
  • Latest accounts, only if they are not on the Charity Commission website

other supporting material may be attached 'in moderation'. Successful applicants must give proof of their bank account before payment.

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