Smith Bradbeer Charitable Trust

The Smith Bradbeer Charitable Trust, established in 1997 by the founding family of Smith Bradbeer & Co Ltd—a longstanding Hampshire-based department and furniture store business—exists to advance the Christian faith worldwide, promote education grounded in Christian principles, and relieve poverty, hardship, distress, age, and sickness, with a special focus on benefiting communities in Hampshire and Dorset. Rooted in an explicitly Christian ethos, the trust prioritizes lasting impact through evangelism, Gospel outreach, and charitable relief offering opportunities for Christian witness and transformation. It values active engagement, local accountability, personal connections to trustees or local churches, and ongoing impact reporting, operating through family trustees with direct oversight of funding from business donations.

The trust funds mission-oriented Christian projects, including grants to churches, missionaries, evangelistic initiatives, Christian youth work (e.g., Scripture Union), Bible translation (e.g., Wycliffe), and faith-based education or poverty relief with explicit evangelism scope. Beneficiaries include local Hampshire/Dorset organizations like Junction Church Eastleigh or Southampton Asian Christian Fellowship, alongside international efforts such as Missionary Aviation Fellowship or Operation Mobilisation, favoring grassroots churches, small faith groups, and individuals in Christian service.

Eligible applicants are primarily Christian organizations or individuals with strong ties to Hampshire/Dorset or trustee networks; no strict entity types or income limits apply, though small to medium-sized groups predominate. Grants are discretionary and relationship-driven, with no unsolicited applications accepted—networking via local churches is essential. Typical awards range £200–£2,000, with over 250 small grants dispersed annually on a rolling basis, no deadlines or formal processes.

Distinctively faith-exclusive, the trust rejects secular social action, core costs, or unrestricted funds lacking central Christian messaging, differentiating itself through selective, low-value dispersal emphasizing personal links, regional roots, and transformative evangelism over broad philanthropy.