Sandra Charitable Trust

Sandra Charitable Trust, established in 1987 as an unincorporated charity under a Trust Deed, supports vulnerable groups across health, welfare, and social challenges, with core priorities including nurses and professional welfare, animal welfare organisations, medical and scientific research, environmental protection, poverty relief, and youth development. Rooted in a mission to deliver tangible improvements for underserved communities, the Trust emphasises frontline services, capacity-building, and systemic change—such as funding organisational upgrades for disabled children’s services at KIDS or leadership programmes for nurses—while upholding strong governance through robust investment policies, reserves management, and risk oversight to ensure sustainable impact from its £1m+ annual income primarily derived from investments.

It funds a broad array of projects, including core costs, unrestricted grants, bereavement care, health improvement, social inclusion, and infrastructure development for charities addressing children, youth, poverty, and animals, with beneficiaries spanning individuals and organisations of all sizes working to enhance service quality and enduring change.

Eligible applicants must be UK-registered charities operating exclusively in England and Wales, with no income thresholds or religious restrictions; however, funding is strictly invitation-only, requiring initial phone enquiries rather than unsolicited applications. Trustee decisions occur ad hoc at periodic meetings, with no public deadlines or online portals—organisations are typically identified via the Trust's networks.

Grants vary widely from several thousand to tens of thousands of pounds, reflecting a generalist yet targeted approach that prioritises measurable, transformative outcomes over routine activities, distinguishing it as a discreet, high-stewardship funder focused on deep-impact philanthropy without exclusions for specific project types beyond its thematic scope.