Oxus Foundation

The Oxus Foundation is a UK-registered charity and company limited by guarantee, incorporated in March 2022 and granted charitable status in April 2023, with its base in Canterbury, Kent. Governed by four trustees led by Dr Sheila Mary Sweetinburgh, it advances a broad range of charitable purposes under English and Welsh law at trustees' discretion, including general public benefit, education, training, and research initiatives for individuals, organisations, or mankind globally. As a generalist grant-maker, it emphasises public benefit, impartiality, transparency, and compliance with governance standards, with no trustee remuneration and a modest scale—£137,581 income against £72,873 expenditure in its latest year—enabling flexible, targeted support for evolving needs.

It funds diverse activities such as project costs, volunteer expenses (e.g., catering for Tenterden Museum meetings), research sponsorship (e.g., Professor Rachel Koopmans' study of Canterbury Cathedral's Becket Miracle 'Kent Window'), educational efforts, and community facilitation, prioritising outcomes that advance knowledge, culture, and public welfare without rigid thematic restrictions.

Eligible applicants include UK-registered charities, community groups, and academic institutions of any size or income, with no geographic limits per its constitution, though recent grants focus on England, especially Kent and the South East. Unsolicited applications are not accepted; funding is invite-only via trustee-identified opportunities.

Grants typically range from £2,000 to £15,000, awarded ad hoc through discretionary trustee meetings with no fixed deadlines or formal process. Distinctively flexible and non-prescriptive, it stands out for backing grassroots volunteers, historical research, and small-scale public benefit projects, excluding only non-charitable activities under UK law, making it ideal for selective, high-impact endorsements.