Gough Charitable Trust

The Gough Charitable Trust, established by Lord and Lady Gough via a trust deed in 1970 and registered in 1971, is a family-endowed grant-making charity dedicated to supporting UK-registered charities and voluntary bodies through discretionary distributions from its investment income. Rooted in a philanthropic ethos of public benefit and responsible stewardship, it operates with significant trustee autonomy, lacking published thematic priorities, values statements, or strategic frameworks. Its generalist approach emphasizes flexible, relationship-driven grantmaking, reflecting the personal knowledge, networks, and judgment of its family-based trustees, who prioritize broad charitable purposes without fixed sectoral or beneficiary focus.

The trust funds a wide array of charitable activities, including core costs, projects, and occasional unrestricted support, directed to organizations across England, Wales, and Scotland. No specific causes, programmes, or beneficiary groups are prioritized, and grant patterns remain unpublished, allowing trustees to adapt to emerging needs or trusted recommendations while ensuring compliance with public benefit requirements.

Eligible applicants are strictly UK-registered charities with no specified income thresholds, though support favors those known to trustees or introduced via networks; grassroots and medium-sized groups are commonly funded. Typical grants range from £1,000 to £5,000 annually, with rare larger or repeat awards subject to yearly review—no multi-year commitments are offered.

Distinctively private and non-competitive, the trust rejects unsolicited applications, relying solely on trustee-led decisions at annual meetings without forms, deadlines, or open processes. This high-discretion model sets it apart, rewarding existing connections over strategic alignment, while maintaining modest scale and minimal publicity.