Dr S S Short Charitable Trust

The Dr S S Short Charitable Trust, established in 1995 from the legacy of its founder Dr S S Short, is a grant-making charity dedicated to advancing the evangelical tenets of the Christian faith, furthering religious and secular education, supporting missionary activities, and providing relief to those in need. Rooted in conservative evangelical values, public benefit, and a commitment to spiritual and material support for the vulnerable, it operates with a stable, faith-driven ethos managed by long-serving trustees without paid staff, emphasizing discretionary grants to aligned churches, individuals, and organizations.

It primarily funds evangelical Christian churches and voluntary bodies in England and Wales, supporting activities like teaching programmes, missionary initiatives, religious education, and targeted hardship relief for individuals consistent with Christian principles. Grants often back core religious aims or projects at grassroots levels, favouring small to medium-sized local groups over large national charities.

Eligible applicants must be UK-registered charities operating in England and Wales with explicit evangelical Christian alignment; non-Christian or unrelated entities are ineligible. The trust is invite-only, accepting no unsolicited applications—grants are awarded at trustees' discretion following annual meetings, with no public process, forms, or deadlines.

Typical grants range from £500 to £5,000, clustered at the lower end, for project or core costs but not capital builds, unrestricted overhead, or broad capacity building. Distinctive for its niche focus on evangelical projects, modest scale, and exclusion of secular or non-faith-aligned causes, it stands out as a specialist, legacy-based funder prioritizing tangible Christian impact.