Zurich Community Trust (UK) Limited

Zurich Community Trust (UK) Limited, established in 1973 as the independent charitable arm of Zurich Insurance UK, enriches communities and improves lives of vulnerable people through employee-led partnerships, grants, and capacity building—one of the UK's longest-standing corporate trusts. Its mission centers on fostering inclusive, resilient societies by supporting charities that shift beneficiaries from dependence to independence, emphasizing core costs, long-term sustainability, and overlooked social challenges. Distinctive values include genuine staff engagement, transparency, multi-year collaborations, and a "More than Money" programme offering apprenticeships, training, volunteering, and sector resources alongside financial aid.

The Trust funds mental health, youth empowerment, employment for adults with disabilities, food poverty, dementia care, poverty alleviation, frontline health, and capacity building, plus SDG-aligned projects in clean energy, equality, health, and sustainability (e.g., carbon reduction, food waste prevention). Grants support core costs, projects, emergency relief, and capital for pre-selected partners like Dementia UK, Magic Breakfast, Barnardo's, and regional groups aiding 130,000 disadvantaged people annually.

Eligible applicants are UK-registered charities, mainly medium-to-large with incomes in hundreds of thousands to millions, operating UK-wide but prioritizing Zurich hubs (Birmingham, Fareham, Farnborough, Gloucestershire, Glasgow, Leeds, Swindon, 15-mile radii). No unsolicited applications; all major grants invite-only via employee nominations or existing partnerships. The 2025 Sustainability Fund (up to £100,000) opens to current partners on 1 December 2024. Typical grants: £5,000–£25,000 regional, £50,000–£200,000 core/national, multi-year.

Exclusions include unsolicited proposals and small grassroots without intermediaries; it uniquely avoids transactional funding, prioritizing employee-driven, resilience-focused partnerships over one-offs, funding "unpopular" issues and core sustainability shunned by others.