The Will Charitable Trust provides grants for project costs to UK registered working in the areas of:

o The care of and services for blind people, and the prevention and cure of blindness.
o The care of people with learning disabilities in a way that provides lifelong commitment, a family environment, and the maximum choice of activities and lifestyle, and
o The care of and services for people suffering from cancer and their families.

In general, applicants are expected to evidence that they have a proven track record of successful work in their field of operation or, in the case of newer charities, convincing evidence of ability. Applications from smaller charities are prioritised for funding. 

Grants are normally up to £30,000.  The average award was for £13,425 (2021: slightly under £10,000). The Trust categorised its awards as follows:

o 17 grants were awarded in the blind field totalling £233,500.
o 17 grants in the cancer field totalling £256,500, while
o 12 grants in the learning disabled field £141,000.

The Trust’s annual report comments that (page 4) “the chances of success were high with a roughly 50% chance of success which is mainly a result of the reduced number of applicants. By far the most common reason for applications failing was because the charity had what we considered were excess reserves, particularly where they were applying for an unrestricted donation to help with core costs. There were a few that failed because they sent in mail-shots or had made little effort to follow our guidelines".

Funding is not available for:

o Academic research projects.
o Applications for less than £3,000.
o Campaigning or lobbying projects.
o Charities that do not yet have a track record of service delivery (or other convincing evidence of ability).
o Charities with a turnover of less than £50,000.
o Charities with free reserves covering more than 18 months’ expenditure unless they can clearly demonstrate that they are in financial need.
o General appeals or letters/mail-shots requesting donations.
o Grant-making organisations seeking funding for the purpose of awarding grants to others.
o Individuals or charities applying on their behalf.
o Items of equipment intended for use by the NHS.
o Minibuses.
o Ongoing running (including salaries) and core costs, ongoing projects or services (although the Trust will support an extension to existing provision if additional cost is incurred), unless there is an exceptional reason to do so.
o Organisations that are not registered charities (or properly exempt).
o Projects which are complete (for instance, retrospective funding).
o Projects which benefit people outside the UK, except in the blind field, or
o Work that is usually considered a statutory responsibility.

Further information, guidance and details about how to apply is available on the Trust’s website.

The Trust operates the following two application deadlines each year::

1. Blind people and Learning disabilities - applications should be submitted from November and by 31 JANUARY at the latest. Decisions are made in the following April and successful applicants notified by the end of April.

2. Cancer care - applications should be submitted from June and by 31 AUGUST at the latest. Decisions are made in the following November and successful applicants will be notified by the end of November.

Please note that all applications must be made by email, addressed to: grantsoffice(at)willcharitabletrust.org.uk.

Contact details for the Trust are:

The Will Charitable Trust
Bridge House
11 Creek Road
East Molesey
KT8 9BE
Tel: 020 8941 0450
Email: admin(at)willcharitabletrust.org.uk