The Southall Trust Grants

Overview

About the Trust

The Trust is a charity that generates its income from an endowment, which is invested and managed according to a defined set of ethical criteria. The interest and dividends that arise from this endowment are awarded to charities. In recent years the Trust has awarded around £350,000 in grants per year.

The Trust is founded upon the Quaker principles of love and respect for one's neighbour, recognising that there is something of God in everyone. It is committed to creating a more just, peaceful and collaborative society.

About the Scheme

The Trust awards grants to charities that are registered in the UK. Typically, these charities will be working in at least one of the following four fields:

1. Quaker Work & Witness

The Southall family’s links to the Quakers (also known as the Religious Society of Friends) can be traced to the 1600s, around the time of the movement’s beginnings. Please visit their history page for further information.

Unlike their other categories, they support Quaker causes with small grants, as well as much larger ones. This is due to their long association and shared values with particular Quaker causes.

• They welcome applications from all Quaker causes, so long as they hold charitable status in the UK. 
• They will consider appeals for the refurbishment of meeting houses, so long as there is a clearly defined local benefit for the work. In this instance, please bear in mind that they are most interested in supporting people and current needs, rather than buildings and history.

For examples of recently awarded grants in this category, click link above.

2. Environmental Action & Sustainability

Wilfred Southall was passionate about the natural world and he is remembered for his love of long walks and for cycling practically everywhere until his old age. However, this Environmental Action & Sustainability category was not a main focus area for the Trust until 2000, when it amalgamated with the Kenneth & Phyllis Southall Trust - a separate family trust which had a strong emphasis upon this subject.

• Within this category, they are keen to hear from charities that meet their general requirements and are focussed upon actions and activities that have a positive impact upon the natural environment. 
• They are particularly keen to hear from charities that are looking to make good use of renewable energy and/or those tackling pollution, over-exploitation, climate change and things that pose a threat to the world's ecosystems, biodiversity and ecological integrity.

Please note that within this category they are looking for applications from charities that are clearly engaged with the natural world and seeking to improve it. They receive a lot of applications from charities looking to install renewable energy systems. While this is commendable, these sorts of projects in isolation are unlikely to receive their support.

For examples of recently awarded grants in this category, click link above.

3. Peace & Reconciliation

As a devout Quaker and a follower of the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, Wilfred Southall was a pacifist, believing that war and violence should be avoided at all costs and that there should be a relentless pursuit to settle disputes by peaceful means. The Trust maintains this position.

Each year, they award grants to organisations that promote peace and reconciliation. 

For examples of recently awarded grants in this category, click link above.

4. Social Action

This broad category heading is sub-divided into five focus areas. Successful projects will fit within at least one of these areas:

1. Poverty-related disadvantage
   1. Applications within this sub-category should be from organisations that are tackling the underlying causes of financial poverty. 
      1. Examples might include projects that provide financial and vocational training, employment, long-term secure and stable housing, and/or projects that tackle social injustices and inequality.

Please note that they rarely give grants to organisations that are focussed upon emergency relief (e.g. foodbanks, fuelbanks and emergency accommodation). Also, they rarely fund charities that provide statutory services (e.g. adult social care, children’s services and general education) and they do not provide replacement funding where statutory support has been withdrawn. 

2. Human rights and equality
   1. Within this sub-category they are currently most interested in receiving applications from causes that are helping refugees and asylum seekers to integrate within UK communities
3. The rehabilitation of offenders
4. Freedom from addiction and substance abuse
5. Building community
   1. Within this sub-category they are looking for applications that can demonstrate the bringing together of disparate and otherwise disconnected groups to form peaceful communities. 
   2. More specifically, successful applications will be from those who are bringing together people from different faith groups, people from different ethnic groups and backgrounds, people from different socio-economic backgrounds and/or people with differing political views. 
      1. Applications that focus on just one demographic (e.g. youth clubs) and that do not explain the benefit of the project within the wider community are often unsuccessful. 
   3. Typically, they favour causes that are community-focused, make good use of volunteers, meet a tangible need and are well-connected and well-regarded within their locality.

For examples of recently awarded grants in this category, click link above.

Funding Levels 

• Most of their grants are between £1,000 and £5,000 per year and the average grant is around £3,000.
• The majority of their grants are for one year.
• They will consider multi-year funding (up to three years), but this is typically reserved for charities that they have supported in the past.
• Organisations that they have supported before may apply for more than £5,000 per year. However, please bear in mind that the processing time for these requests can be significantly longer, because they must first be assessed by a sub-group of trustees and then - if the sub-group wishes to support the request for more than £5,000 - the application must be considered at a full trustee meeting (which are held roughly every four months).
• They will consider appeals for an organisation's core/revenue/running and capital costs.

What they like to support

They look most favourably upon the following:

• Projects that encourage wider support of the categories listed above
• Projects where grants of up to £5,000 will make a quantifiable difference (they prefer to support smaller grassroots charities with 'seed corn' funding)
• Organisations that have shown creativity and innovation in their work
• Organisations that promote social justice, inclusion and diversity
• Organisations that challenge structural inequalities and injustice
• Organisations that can demonstrate clear support from the communities in which they are based and/or operate (e.g. by attracting local volunteers and/or local financial support)
• Organisations that are engaged with the communities around them (e.g. through local partnership working)