Kathleen Hannay Memorial Charity

The Kathleen Hannay Memorial Charity, established in 1988 by Reverend Robert Fleming Hannay, is a discreet, trustee-led grant-making trust dedicated to advancing general charitable purposes across the UK and occasionally internationally through UK-registered charities. Guided by a broad trust deed, its mission emphasizes alleviating disadvantage and promoting societal welfare via support for education, health, the arts, culture, science, environmental protection, religion, and relief from poverty, ill-health, disability, or hardship. Distinctively proactive and relational, trustees select recipients themselves based on due diligence, sector relationships, and proven impact, eschewing public transparency like a website or open calls.

The charity funds a diverse array of generalist causes without sectoral dominance, backing initiatives in bereavement care, play provision for children, counselling and training, respite for young carers, hospice services, and community radio education. Beneficiaries span children, older people, patients, and those facing social disadvantage, with examples including grants to St Christopher’s Hospice, Sheffield Out of School Network, Carers Trust, and Pitsmoor Adventure Playground. Support encompasses unrestricted, project, core, capital, and revenue funding for established organizations demonstrating tangible public benefit.

Eligible applicants are exclusively UK-registered charities with a track record of impact; individuals and grassroots startups are ineligible, and there are no strict income thresholds though preference leans toward medium and larger entities. Typical grants range from £15,000 to £25,000, with some recurring or exceptional awards up to £85,000, awarded on a rolling basis without deadlines or application processes—unsolicited proposals are not accepted. This private, selective approach differentiates it from competitive funders, ideal for proven charities potentially known to trustees.