GrantRadar

Sir Halley Stewart Trust

Main Grants Programme

The Sir Halley Stewart Trust's larger grants, for innovative research or pioneering development projects that aim to prevent human suffering, in social, medical or religious fields, where the Trust is the sole or major funder. Grants are £5,001-£60,000 in total (up to £80,000 in rare cases), spread over up to three years at no more than £30,000 a year, usually as a salary contribution or to fund a whole project. The Trust favours under-funded causes, often acting as a 'first funder', and supports around 1 in 10 applications.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
£5,001 – £60,000
Deadline
129 days left
26 February
Effort
Heavy
budgets, references, often several stages

Who can apply

  • Grants are paid only to or through UK charitable organisations, primarily UK registered charities; other UK charitable forms are considered case by case
  • Projects can run in the UK or abroad, but the applicant must be UK-based
  • CICs can apply only if the project is delivered in partnership with a UK charity (a CIC that is not a registered charity must submit a Memorandum of Understanding, and funds are paid via the charity)
  • Social grants: only service-delivery charitable organisations (partnerships, including with academic organisations, are allowed) with annual income up to £3,000,000
  • Medical grants: only researchers at UK medical institutions or university departments may apply directly; work needing ethics approval must have it
  • The applicant must be the lead person responsible for the project, not a dedicated fundraiser
  • Large, well-funded charities are not funded

What it funds

Projects focused on the prevention (rather than the alleviation) of human suffering, in one or more of three priority areas, with education a central theme across all grants:

  • Social: practical projects or research that help prevent and resolve conflict, promote reconciliation and reconnect family members; help people move beyond disadvantage; or help people who are vulnerable or have been exploited (a small number of international development projects run by UK charities are also funded)
  • Medical: practical medical projects capable of clinical application within five to ten years, for example improving quality of life for older people with physical or psychological disorders, preventing disease and disability in children, tropical infectious and parasitic diseases, health care innovations, and medical innovations for disadvantaged groups
  • Religious: ground-breaking, practical Christian and multi-faith projects, for example encouraging dialogue between Christian faith and contemporary issues, closer working between denominations, inter-faith understanding (particularly Christian-Muslim), and innovative education and communication of Christianity

every grant must be either an innovative research project or a pioneering development project, with strong dissemination and evaluation plans. Trustees welcome projects that span more than one priority area.

What it will not fund

  • Continuation funding or running costs of established organisations
  • Retrospective funding
  • Scale-up of a proven model (innovative implementation is more likely to be funded)
  • Conference attendance
  • Projects proposed through umbrella organisations
  • Projects from large, well-funded charities
  • Personal education or taught-course fees (except senior researchers funding post-graduate research)
  • Completing projects or PhDs started by other bodies
  • Educational or gap-year projects for young people
  • Projects where the Trust would not be a major funder (normally at least 50% of costs)
  • Grants to individuals
  • Donations to general appeals
  • Buildings or other capital costs
  • University overheads
  • Work involving animal experimentation (medical grants)

How to apply

  1. Complete the online Eligibility Test
  2. If you pass, submit an Expression of Interest form (the link is sent once you pass)
  3. If the Trust invites you, submit the full online Application form
  4. About a month before the trustee meeting you are told whether your proposal goes to the full Board

Main Grants are decided at trustee meetings in February, June and October. The February 2027 meeting is full; the June 2027 round closes on 26 February 2027 and the October 2027 round on 25 June 2027, or earlier once a meeting reaches capacity, without warning.

Have ready

  • Safeguarding policy, reflected in your project plan
  • Evidence of independent ethical review and the name of the person responsible for ethical conduct (research involving human participants)
  • Details of the research Sponsor (research projects, before the study begins)
  • Memorandum of Understanding with the partner charity (CICs that are not registered charities)

the application form questions and the 2026 Application Guidelines can be downloaded from the Applicant FAQs page.

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