The Concertina Charitable Trust is an increasingly modest grant-making charity which awards micro-grants to charitable bodies in England and Wales that are involved with the provision of musical entertainment for the elderly.

Activities funded are expected to brighten the lives of older people and also provide a therapeutic benefit to their health and wellbeing. Concertina is keen to support smaller organisations who might find it difficult to find funding from elsewhere. The Trust has previously enabled a number of care homes to provide musical entertainment for their residents.

Nominally, grants of up to £250 are available to small charitable organisations in England and Wales that may otherwise find it difficult to attract funding (grants can be used as matched funding for applications to other funders). However, the Trust’s grant-making has been diminishing in recent years. During the year ended 31st December 2020, its total charitable expenditure was £3,444. For the year ended 31st December 2022, this had reduced to just £318.

Moreover, parts of the Trust’s website appear a little out of date and its annual returns to the Charity Commission for England and Wales are frequently late, indicating an organisation that is perhaps not functioning as well as it might like.

Applications should be made in writing (emailed applications are not accepted) and should include a copy of the applicant’s most recent financial statements or accounts.

The Trust states on its website that “one of the most common mistakes smaller organisations make is not including their accounts or financial statements with the application. This will henceforth result in an automatic refusal to grant funds”.

The Trust has two application deadlines each year. These fall on:

o 30th April (i.e. Tuesday 30th April 2024), and
o 31st October (i.e. Thursday 31st October 2024).

Further information and guidance is available on the Trust’s website.