The Allan and Nesta Ferguson Charitable Settlement is essentially a funder of educational projects in the UK, particularly through the university system, and in developing countries, with a particular emphasis on:

o The support of education in the UK & overseas.
o The promotion of peace through international friendship and understanding, and
o Supporting further sustainable progress in the developing world.

All grants awarded are project-based and must have an educational aim, element or content.  For overseas projects, the Trust will consider funding aid projects that are essential to enable education or personal development activities to take place, such as (please note that this is not an exclusive list):

o Food.
o Medical supplies.
o The provision of basic facilities, and
o Water, including water treatment facilities.

UK registered charities, UK universities, post-graduate university students and gap year students looking to undertake a year’s work abroad via a recognised travel provider may apply for the following grants:

1. Small and Medium Grants up to £50,000 may be submitted at any time and are considered regularly.
2. Large Grants over £50,000 have annual application deadlines of 28 February and 31 August for consideration at the Charity’s March and September meetings.

Please note that the Charity expects all applicants to have sought and secured matched funding. Applicants that can evidence this are likely to be prioritised for grant support. If an applicant has raised 50% of their budget the Charity will consider awarding matched funding up to a maximum of 50%. However, if the applicant has raised less than 50% of their budget the Charity will only consider awarding a maximum of 30% funding.

Funding is not available for:

o Core funding or organisational running costs.
o Projects or activities that have already started (i.e. the Charity does not provide retrospective funding), or
o The construction of buildings in the UK.

Further information, guidance and an online application form is available on the Charity’s website. Please note that the Charity tends not to enter into a discussion or correspondence about its grant programmes and will direct enquiries to its website, where all relevant information about its grant-making can be found.

Applications for Small and Medium Grants up to £50,000 may be made at any time. The next deadlines for Large Grant applications of over £50,000 are:

o Thursday 31st August 2023 for consideration in September 2023, and
o Wednesday 28th February 2024 for consideration in March 2024.