Merriman Charitable Foundation

Merriman Charitable Foundation Grants

A small family foundation, run by its trustees with no paid staff, funding three areas: young people's employability in London and North Yorkshire, international development overseas, and environment and conservation in the UK and overseas. It gives small grants of up to £5,000 a year and a limited number of larger grants, usually up to £20,000 a year, and will consider multi-year grants, core costs and match funding. Trustees meet in March, June, September and December; the deadline is the 15th of the month before, so the next is 15 November 2026.

Apply on the funder’s site

You could get: Up to £20,000
Deadline: 28 days left; 15 November
Effort: Light; short form, little evidence needed

Who can apply

UK-registered charities with less than £10 million annual income
For small grants (up to £5,000) only, constituted community groups and Community Interest Companies with a bank account and clear alignment to the priorities can also apply
Work under the young people and employability priority must be in London or North Yorkshire; international development work is overseas; environment and conservation work can be in the UK or overseas
The Foundation looks for organisations rooted in communities, co-designing and delivering work with the people they serve, investing for the long term, clearly articulating their social and environmental impact, and committed to learning, collaboration and innovation

What it funds

Young people & employability (London & N. Yorkshire): organisations helping young people in London and North Yorkshire to improve their employability and future prospects, especially young people who are not engaged in employment, education or training (NEET), or at risk of becoming disengaged
Initiatives that expand educational experience for young people
International development (overseas): overseas projects tackling poverty and sustainable development, especially empowering women and young people, expanding access to quality education, and supporting environmentally and socially beneficial enterprises
Environment & conservation (UK & overseas): underfunded and overlooked conservation projects; in the UK, particularly community-led projects that deliver social and environmental impact, for example community energy projects with a social impact, repair and reuse schemes that build local skills, and initiatives reducing food waste while building community food skills
Core costs as well as project costs

the Foundation will consider multi-year grants and is open to match funding, pooled funds and other approaches.

What it will not fund

Charities that focus on animals outside of a broader conservation programme
Organisations with an annual income of £10 million or more
Speculative applications from work that does not clearly align with the three priorities

How to apply

Check your work clearly fits one of the three priorities
Complete the online application form (a Google Form linked from the website): organisation details, income and expenditure for the last two financial years, where you work, which theme fits, the amount requested and short answers (300 to 800 characters) on the change you seek, your activities and impact, who you support, long-term impact, learning and why your organisation
Submit by the 15th of the month before a trustees' meeting (meetings are in March, June, September and December)
Hear back by the end of the month after the meeting

late applications are considered at the following meeting. No bespoke reporting is required for grants: send your existing annual or impact reports.

Have ready

Note: the form asks for no attachments; income and expenditure for the last two financial years is entered as text.

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