Smallwood Trust

Smallwood Trust, established in 1886 as a pioneer in addressing women's poverty, is a specialist UK funder dedicated to enabling women’s financial resilience by tackling gendered poverty's root causes and consequences. Rooted in equity, diversity, inclusion, and centring women’s voices—including lived experience—its participatory, relational approach devolves decision-making to communities via models like Community Grant Partnerships, amplifying minoritised-led organisations (over 25% Black, Asian, or minority-ethnic-led). It acts as both funder and sector convener, paying overheads, providing toolkits, and influencing systemic change through advocacy and collaborations like the Women Thrive Fund with Rosa.

The Trust funds women-led or women-focused third-sector organisations delivering frontline services for women at risk of or experiencing poverty, with intersectional focus on ethnicity, disability, migration, caring roles, and more. Priorities span immediate relief (hardship grants for rent, food, essentials), longer-term empowerment (skills, employability, confidence), and systemic work addressing domestic abuse, housing insecurity, mental health, employment barriers. Programmes support core costs, projects, capacity building, partnerships, and policy amplification, with examples including multi-year grants to grassroots groups in 'left behind' areas like Teesside, Merseyside, and Stoke-on-Trent.

Eligible applicants are UK-registered charities, primarily small-to-medium (income under £1m), women-led or with strong women-support track records, operating mainly in England’s disadvantaged urban/rural areas (e.g., Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester). Typical grants range £15,000–£60,000 (up to three years; partnerships to £500,000), via two-stage process: Expression of Interest (EOI) then full application during announced rounds—no rolling deadlines, check https://www.smallwoodtrust.org.uk for dates (e.g., past rounds closed June 2024). Exclusions: non-women/gendered poverty causes; no capital grants. Distinctive for power-shifting, unrestricted flexible funding, and organisational sustainability support.