Rothley Trust

The Rothley Trust is a grant-making charity established in 1959 to deliver small grants advancing charitable work among disadvantaged communities in the North East of England, with a founding mission to address social needs through targeted support for children, young people, people with disabilities, and local community initiatives. Core values emphasize tangible, measurable impact on local lives, prioritizing projects that alleviate disadvantage, foster community development, and empower grassroots organizations. Their philosophy centers on community-led solutions driving equity and resilience, believing sustainable change arises from practical investments in equipment, infrastructure, and capacity that enable direct service delivery and prevent escalation of poverty, isolation, and health challenges.

They prioritize funding for children and young people in disadvantage through after-school clubs, youth work, mentoring, skills training, and employability programs tackling youth unemployment, educational exclusion, and family poverty; disability support including respite care, day services, therapeutic activities, peer support groups, and inclusive sports or creative arts for people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, and complex health needs; community development initiatives addressing social isolation, food insecurity, and economic hardship via community centres, outreach, and befriending schemes; elderly care services combating isolation through befriending, day services, and holistic wellbeing activities; poverty relief and health advancement via preventative interventions like energy-efficient equipment, IT tools for counselling or helplines, and premises refurbishment enabling person-centred, trauma-informed, and community-led service models; and family carer support groups aiding parents and siblings of disabled children to sustain resilience and prevent crisis.

They exclude grants to individuals, general running costs, and non-local initiatives, focusing instead on grassroots charities serving disadvantaged children aged 5-19, young people facing barriers, families in poverty or caring for disabled members, isolated elderly residents, and people with disabilities in North East communities experiencing entrenched deprivation. Distinctive for longstanding regional commitment to small-scale, high-impact projects, they favor energy-saving, innovative solutions from community-led groups with lived experience, emphasizing direct equipment and infrastructure investments that amplify preventative, inclusive services over broad interventions.