Pom Charitable Trust

Pom Charitable Trust, an independent UK grant-making trust established in 2006, focuses exclusively on relieving disadvantage for children up to age 18 through ill-health, disability, social or financial hardship. Its core mission is to provide enriching residential activity and adventure holidays within the UK, addressing barriers to developmental experiences away from home. Overseen by eight unpaid trustees with no controlling party, the Trust emphasises social mobility, inclusion, wellbeing, and additionality—funding only opportunities otherwise inaccessible—while stewarding a significant endowment for long-term impact.

It supports UK-registered charities delivering high-quality residential outdoor adventures, respite camps, and therapeutic interventions for vulnerable children facing chronic illness, physical/mental disabilities, or deprivation. Grants cover direct costs like accommodation, specialist staffing, travel, and activities, targeting transformative experiences that build confidence, independence, and social skills; non-residential day trips, general youth work, or overseas activities are excluded.

Eligible applicants are UK-based registered charities (typically small to medium-sized, £100,000–£2m income) demonstrating robust safeguarding, accessibility, and direct beneficiary impact across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland—no regional restrictions. Unsolicited applications are welcomed year-round via email or post, with no form required: include cover letter, project details, budget, and evidence of need. Trustees review at regular meetings on a rolling basis, with responses in several months; typical grants range £5,000–£30,000. Distinctively singular in its refusal to fund core costs or diverge from residential adventures, Pom stands out as a specialist funder prioritising measurable, life-enhancing equity for at-risk youth.