The A B Charitable Trust

A B Charitable Trust Open Programme

The A B Charitable Trust's only open grant programme, giving mostly unrestricted, usually multi-year grants (generally £10,000 to £40,000 a year for one to four years) to small and medium-sized UK registered charities with income between £150,000 and £1.5 million. Applicants must work solely or mainly in one of four priority areas: the human rights framework, access to justice, the criminal legal system and penal reform, or migrants and refugees. The Trust promotes human dignity and a rights-based approach, and planned to give £9.4 million across all its programmes in 2025/26.

Apply on the funder’s site

You could get: £10,000 – £40,000
Closes in: 5 days left; 23 October
Effort: Heavy; budgets, references, often several stages

Who can apply

Charities registered in the UK with the Charity Commission (England and Wales), OSCR (Scotland) or the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, delivering work in the UK, whose mission, aims and objectives are aligned with one of the four priority areas as their sole focus or the majority of their work (broader organisations should contact the Trust before applying)
Annual income must be between £150,000 and £1.5 million, applied to the most recent signed accounts and the two subsequent financial years (including draft figures and forecasts); charities slightly under on one year can contact the team
Applicants must have operated for at least a year and have a full year's audited or independently examined accounts, a governing document and a safeguarding policy
Projects within larger parent charities are considered case by case but are rarely prioritised
Only one Open Programme grant can be held at a time

What it funds

Mostly unrestricted core funding (project funding is also possible, with a project budget) for charities whose mission is solely or mainly in one of four priorities:

The Human Rights Framework: advocacy, campaigning, litigation and public understanding covering the UK human rights framework as a whole (not single-issue or single-group work)
Access to Justice: specialist legal advice and representation (end-to-end casework, not one-off interventions) and systemic work on the justice system and rule of law
The Criminal Legal System and Penal Reform: support for people (and families) in contact with, or at imminent risk of contact with, the criminal legal system at any stage and after release, particularly harm prevention, racialised communities, the sharpest end of sentencing (joint enterprise, IPP) and state injustice
Migrants and Refugees: services, policy and advocacy, campaigning, narrative change and community organising for people who migrate to the UK, refugees and people seeking asylum, including destitution and accommodation, trafficking and exploitation, and immigration detention

Grants run for one to four years; the Trust aims for 75-100% of Open Programme grants to be multi-year, typically three years.

What it will not fund

Individuals
The promotion of religion (including organisations with the promotion or advancement of religion in their constitution)
Capital appeals
Academic research
Charities working outside the UK
Organisations that are not registered charities (Charity Commission, OSCR or Charity Commission for Northern Ireland)
Charities with income below £150,000 or above £1.5 million in the most recent accounts and the two following years
Charities that have operated for less than a year or cannot provide a full year's audited or independently examined accounts
Organisations with a broader remit where the priority area is not the sole or majority focus (contact the Trust first)
Human Rights Framework applications for single-issue or single-right campaigning, or human rights work focused on particular groups
Projects or legal clinics within universities (invitation only)
Organisations already holding an Open Programme grant
Reapplication within 12 months of a declined application

How to apply

Choose the one priority area to apply under on the Apply page and work through its four-step guide (eligibility, what we fund, statistics, making the application)
Optionally download the PDF of the online form questions to prepare in advance
Complete the online application form on Formstack (a four-page form about your organisation, finances and request); you do not state a grant amount
Upload a 2 to 2.5 page document about your work, financial information, governing document and safeguarding policy in your final session, then submit by the deadline (next: 23 October 2026)
Staff check eligibility, then run a two-stage longlisting; longlisted applications go to a shortlisting meeting with two Board members
Shortlisted applicants have a phone call or meeting before the Grants Committee decides

Other deadlines for 2026/27 are 29 January 2027 (decisions April 2027) and 30 April 2027 (decisions July 2027).

Saved forms must be resumed within 30 days and attachments are not saved between sessions. It is sometimes possible to apply by email if the online form is a problem; the Trust is happy to discuss applications by phone (020 7243 9486) or email.

Special Initiatives and the Anchor Programme are by invitation only.

Have ready

Online application form (organisation, finances and funding request)
A Word or PDF document of 2 to 2.5 pages about your work (background, aims, activities, achievements, who you work with, values and approach); existing material can be reused
Project description and project budget, only if applying for restricted/project funding
Most recent audited or independently examined accounts
Current financial year figures (management accounts if the audited accounts are more than a year old, and an income and expenditure budget for the year you are applying in)
Forecast income and expenditure budget, if your financial year ends within the next few months
Governing document or constitution
Safeguarding policy

The Apply page says a projection is needed if your year ends within 4 months; the FAQ says within six months. Further information may be requested during assessment.

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