Steel Charitable Trust

Background

The Steel Charitable Trust, a grant-making trust supporting general charitable purposes, was established in 1976 by Mr Walter Reginald Steel and Mrs Marjorie Steel.

Objectives of Fund

The funding is intended for projects that make a real impact in the areas of arts and heritage; education; environment; health; and social or economic disadvantage.

Value Notes

The minimum grant size is £10,000. Awards of more than £25,000 are rare.

The Trust awards between 100 and 150 grants per year but receives many more applications than it has funds to support. In recent years, approximately 10 to 12% of applications received were successful (since the COVID-19 outbreak the success rate has dropped to under 4%).

Charitable organisations from, or operating in, Luton and Bedfordshire that seek a grant of less than £10,000 should check the Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation website.

Who Can Apply

Applications are accepted from:

• Charities, including CIOs, registered in any part of the UK.
• Exempt charities as defined in schedule 3 of the Charities Act 2011 and their equivalent in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
• Municipally-funded museums not included in schedule 3 of the Charities Act 2011.

Organisations may have more than one structure, ie be a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee. As long as it is a registered charity, it is eligible to apply.

All applicants must have an annual turnover of over £50,000 (defined as 100% of charitable income plus proceeds from any trading income).

Most grants are awarded to organisations whose beneficiaries are inside the UK, regardless of nationality, culture or ethnic origin. Trustees will consider applications for grants that benefit people living outside the UK but only if the charity that applies is registered in the UK.

Eligible Expenditure

The Trust awards funding in the following five core categories:

• Arts and Heritage.
• Education.
• Environment.
• Health.
• Social or Economic Disadvantage.

The funding can support:

• Core costs.
• Capital works.
• Specific projects.

There are no focus areas within the categories of Arts and Heritage, Education.

Applications for the Environment category may include measures that improve the applicant organisation’s carbon footprint. However, the applicant organisation’s main business must still be connected to one of the five funding categories listed above. ‘Traditional’ environmental applications, such as to improve habitats and conserve species, remain welcome.

Applications made from 21 October 2021 until 20 October 2023, for the Health category, should have a focus on one of the following:

• Programmes and activities that aim to support, maintain and improve mental health in any demographic.
• Health care for older people.

Applications made from 21 October 2021 until 20 October 2023, for the Social or Economic Disadvantage category, should have a focus on one of the following:

• Disadvantaged children.
• Housing and homeless people.

How To Apply

There are four funding rounds each year.

The deadlines for applications are:

• 15 January for consideration in March
• 15 April for consideration in June
• 15 July for consideration in September
• 11 October (noon) for consideration in December.

Applications must be made using the Trust's online application form.

Contact the Steel Charitable Trust for further information.