GrantRadarApplications closed on 9 October 2026.
Many funders run the same grant every year, so check the funder’s site for a new round. The details below are what the funder published when it was open.
The Cole Charitable Trust
Cole Charitable Trust Grants
Modest one-off grants, typically £1,000 to £2,000, from a small family trust for small, local registered charities with annual income below £1.5 million in Greater Birmingham, Cambridgeshire, and Kent and Medway. It funds social welfare, housing and homelessness, community and environmental development, opportunities for young people and personal or community empowerment, including core costs. Applications are a short form, a one-page covering letter and accounts, sent by email; trustees meet twice a year.
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- You could get
- £1,000 – £2,000
- Deadline
- Closed
- the deadline has passed
- Effort
- Light
- short form, little evidence needed
Who can apply
- Small and local charities (as opposed to regional or national ones), or local branches of national charities that hold their own accounts, that are registered with the Charity Commission or exempt from registration, have annual income below £1.5 million, and have safeguarding policies in place as per Charity Commission guidelines
- They must work in: Greater Birmingham (Birmingham City, Coventry City, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, Wolverhampton), Cambridgeshire, or Kent and Medway (excluding London boroughs)
- The FAQs say applicants must be registered charities and payments are made only to registered charities
- New charities without audited accounts can send whatever financial records they have, preferably with an endorsement from a charity known to the Trust
- Trustees occasionally give outside these criteria, but only to organisations in which they have a personal interest
What it funds
- Small and local charities working in social welfare (all age groups), housing and homelessness, community and environmental development, opportunities for young people, promotion of improved quality of life, and personal or community empowerment
- Grants are typically £1,000 to £2,000 (occasionally outside this range) and normally one-off
- Core costs such as equipment can be funded
- Grants can fund existing work, the development of existing work or a new project, and should be spent within a year
What it will not fund
- Large building appeals
- Animal charities
- Research or further education
- Evangelical projects
- Individuals
- Organisations that are not registered charities (payments can be made only to registered charities)
- Charities with annual income of £1.5 million or more
- Regional or national charities (local branches of national charities that hold their own accounts can apply)
- Charities without safeguarding policies in line with Charity Commission guidelines
- Charities working outside Greater Birmingham, Cambridgeshire, or Kent and Medway (except where trustees have a personal interest)
- More than one application from the same charity at a time, or a new application within a year of the previous one
How to apply
- Check the eligibility requirements on the website (the form asks you to confirm you have read them)
- Download the application form (version 2.15, Word or PDF) and complete it without changing the style or font colour, keeping it to no more than three sides
- Write a short covering letter on headed paper (one page; trustees see only the first page) explaining the project and how the grant would help, without repeating the form
- Email the form, letter and latest accounts (if not on the Charity Commission website) to thecoletrust@gmail.com, ideally up to six weeks before the next trustees' meeting
- The Trust acknowledges all applications; trustees consider requests at meetings in April/May and October/November
- All applicants are told the outcome, normally within six weeks of the meeting
If you cannot email, post to Lise Jackson, Administrator, PO Box 955, Haslingfield, Cambridge CB23 1WX; the Trust says the post is unreliable.
The Trust will not give reasons for declines or enter into correspondence. No application should be made within a year of the previous one.
Have ready
- Completed application form (version 2.15, maximum three sides), including income and expenditure analysis from your latest accounts
- Short covering letter on headed paper (one page)
- Latest annual accounts, unless they are already on the Charity Commission website
New charities without audited accounts should send whatever financial records they have, preferably with an endorsement from a charity known to the Trust. Other supporting material may be sent, but trustees may see only the letter and form.