Ada Hillard Charitable Trust

The Ada Hillard Charitable Trust, established by trust deed on 6 March 2003, is a UK-based grant-making charity dedicated to advancing charitable causes through discretionary funding, rooted in its founder's vision of supporting medical research—particularly into rare cancers like bone sarcomas and Ewing's sarcoma—and welfare for specific groups. Its ethos emphasizes enduring partnerships with major national institutions, prioritizing impact via established charities over broad or grassroots efforts, with flexibility to allocate from income and capital to aligned purposes.

It funds core activities, ongoing programs, and research through key beneficiaries including Cancer Research UK (for sarcoma studies), Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), British Heart Foundation, Disabled Living Foundation, Northern Police Convalescent Home, and National Trust. Support targets disabilities, sight loss, heart disease, police welfare, and RAF personnel, delivering unrestricted revenue for national-scale operations rather than isolated projects.

Eligible applicants are exclusively UK-registered charities, with a strong preference for large, established national organizations; small, local, or grassroots groups receive no funding. Unsolicited applications from new partners are not accepted—grants go only to pre-selected allies via trustee discretion.

Typical grants range from £36,000 to £48,000 per beneficiary, with annual spend of £255,000–£335,000 distributed UK-wide. There is no open application process, public deadlines, or forms; decisions occur annually around the 4 December financial year-end by the trustee (historically Ludlow Trust Company). Distinctively, it avoids emergency relief, seed funding, or non-legacy causes, standing out as a legacy-focused institutional funder committed to its founding priorities.