The Michael Marks Charitable Trust is an established grant-making charity with its offices in London. Michael Marks was a Jewish refugee from Poland who established Marks & Spencer with Thomas Spence in 1894.

The objectives of the Trust are to apply its capital and income in favour of charitable projects concerned with:

o The Arts (the vast majority of the Trust’s grant-making is for arts-based activities).
o Education, and
o The Environment.

Unsolicited applications are considered.

The amount of funding the Trust allocates each year can vary significantly. During the year ended 31st January 2023, the Trust awarded 12 grants totalling £85,780 (2022: 14 grants totalling £130,875; 2021: 2 grants totalling £27,500; 2020: 32 grants totalling £234,312).  Awards ranged from £2,180 to a regular contribution to the Wordsworth Trust of £25,000.

Awards were categorised as follows:

o Arts: £50,000 (2022: £113,000; 2021: £27,500).
o Environment: £30,000 (2022: £14,895; 2021: £0).
o Education: £5,180 (2022: £3,000; 2021: £0).

Details of all grant recipients for the year ended 31st January 2023 can be viewed on page 13 of the Trust’s annual accounts.

The Trustees meet once a year, usually in June or July, and review all applications that arrive before 31st May.

Successful applications receive a donation before the end of July. In order to keep costs down, the Trustees do not reply to unsuccessful applicants.

When applying, applicants should include:

o A page about their charity.
o Information about the project for which you are requesting support.
o A break-down of the costs involved, and
o A copy of their latest annual accounts.

Charities registered in England and Wales do not need to produce their annual accounts, but should ensure they include their banking details.

Please note that the Trust will only accept emailed applications sent to michaelmarkscharitabletrust(at)hotmail.co.uk.

For more information on the Trust and how to apply please visit the Trust’s website.