D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust

Objectives of Fund

The funding is for charitable work in the UK that addresses the objectives of the Trust, which are:

• The advancement of the arts.
• Health and medical welfare.
• Environmental protection or improvement.

Value Notes

Grants generally range from £500 to £6,000.

The majority of grants are one-off grants for one year.

Who Can Apply

Applications are accepted from UK registered charities working within the UK for the benefit of UK residents. Only Registered, Exempt or Excepted charities will be considered.

To be eligible, an organisation's annual returns to the Charity Commission, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator or the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland must be up to date.

Location

UK

Restrictions

Funding is not available for:

• Capital projects and routine maintenance.
• Community transport organisations or services, air ambulances, requests for vehicles.
• Conferences, exhibitions, seminars, expeditions.
• Counselling and psychotherapy services.
• Drug abuse or alcoholism rehabilitation.
• Feasibility studies.
• General and round-robin appeals.
• Hospitals and individual hospices.
• Individuals.
• Large well-funded national charities.
• Mainstream schools (and projects linked to the national curriculum).
• Medical research.
• Nurseries and playgroups (other than those for special needs children).
• Organisations that are not registered charities (or accepted as exempt charities).
• Projects taking place or providing benefit outside the UK.
• Recordings and commissioning of new works.
• Retrospective funding.
• Religious causes and activities.
• Sport.
• Universities.

Applicants who have been unsuccessful with an application to the Trust may not reapply for a period of two years.

The Trustees seldom join in major fundraising campaigns or capital projects, preferring to direct their donations to those charities where their contribution will make a major difference.

Eligible Expenditure

The funding is to be used for core costs and projects. The Trustees favour small-scale, locally based initiatives.

Projects that fall within the following fields of interest are eligible for support:

The Arts

• Access and participation in the arts for those who have least access to them with emphasis on choirs and singing to build community and bring people together.
• Performance development opportunities in the performing arts for those in the early stages of their careers.
• Support for charities seeking to engage with young people on the fringes of society through music and drama projects to improve their employability and diminish the risk of social exclusion.

Medical Welfare

• Music and art therapy and non-clinical interventions that use singing, drama and musical techniques to aid recovery from illness and improve quality of life and mental wellbeing.
• Support for charities concerned with alleviating the suffering of adults and children with medical conditions who have difficulty finding support through traditional sources.
• The welfare of those who care for others through the provision of breaks for carers, with an emphasis on projects and schemes assisting young carers.

The Environment

• Active involvement in hands-on conservation activities, particularly those that bring about positive changes in the lives of young people living at the margins of society to improve their skills, build their confidence and break down barriers to their employment.
• Rural crafts and skills in heritage conservation, with emphasis on increasingly rare skills that would otherwise be lost.
• Social and therapeutic horticulture projects that embrace nature as a tool for mental wellbeing by using gardening or other environmental activities to bring about positive changes in the lives of those who are living with disabilities or ill-health.

How To Apply

The Trustees usually consider applications three times a year in March, July and November.

The next deadline for applications is 3 June 2025 (23:59) for consideration at the 8 July 2025 meeting.

Application forms are available to complete online at the Trust's website. Applicants should read the guidelines before starting the application form.

Applicants are encouraged to apply well ahead of the deadline if possible as the Trust is always overwhelmed with applications, with many submitted on the closing date, which means the Trust may not be able to fully assess all last-minute applications ahead of the meeting.

Project applications should have a start date of at least three months after the meeting date as grants awarded will be paid up to a month after the meeting, or longer if conditions apply.

The application process can take between three and six months depending on when the application is submitted.

Contact the D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust for further information.