Wo Street Charitable Foundation

The Wo Street Charitable Foundation, established on 5 December 1973 by William Openshaw Street, is a longstanding UK grant-maker dedicated to advancing education, relieving poverty, and promoting family and social welfare, with a particular focus on those facing financial and personal hardship. Rooted in Lancashire's historic boundaries, it extends support to Merseyside, Jersey, and UK-wide projects via regional partnerships. Its core values of generosity, empowerment, and community resilience drive transformative funding that enables vulnerable groups—especially children and young people unable to afford education or basics, older and disabled individuals, and the blind or visually impaired lacking care resources—to overcome barriers and build lasting capacity.

The foundation prioritises educational outreach, poverty relief, essential care access, and social welfare initiatives, including project funding, capacity building, core costs, and occasional capital grants for aligned causes. It supports grassroots efforts like Youth Leads UK's educational programmes and local community groups in Greater Manchester and Merseyside through matched Grassroots Grants, emphasising interventions with measurable, enduring community impact.

Eligible applicants include UK-registered charities, CICs limited by guarantee, and constituted community groups with at least three unrelated trustees/directors, primarily small to medium-sized organisations operating in priority areas (historic Lancashire, Merseyside, Jersey) or nationally via partnerships. No strict income limits apply, though preference favours modest-resource entities. Applications are unsolicited via online forms through partner community foundations (Community Foundation for Lancashire/Merseyside; Jersey Community Foundation) or directly to administrators ZEDRA UK Trusts; rolling basis in England (3+ months processing), fixed rounds in Jersey (e.g., 2 Nov 2025). Typical grants range £2,000–£5,000 regionally.

It excludes unconstituted or for-profit organisations, with no religious restrictions. Distinctively, its flexible, partnership-driven model and decades-long regional equity focus set it apart for charities delivering education and care to the most disadvantaged.