The Sir George Martin Trust is an independent grantmaker which aims to improve the well-being of disadvantaged and vulnerable people in West Yorkshire by giving grants to locally-based, registered charities and churches who support their local community.

The Trust generally gives out flexible, one-off grants for running, capital and project costs, ranging from £500 – £5,000, however grants in the region of £2,000 – £3,000 are most common. The trustees will only consider applicants that:

1. Deliver support and/or activities which benefit disadvantaged and vulnerable people living in West Yorkshire.

2. Are a West Yorkshire-based registered charity, CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation) or church.

3. Have less than a £1million income (based on their last financial year’s accounts).

In addition, this year the Sir George Martin Trust is awarding a few multi-year grants to locally registered charities/CIOs with an income of around £100,000 or lower. We will target long-standing charities that feel they are in need of support to get their organisation back on track, as well as newer charities/CIOs which need a boost to make their work more sustainable for the long term. Each recipient of multi-year funding will also receive signposting guidance and support from our Trust Manager. The multi-year funding is currently offered by invitation only.

Charities which do not have their head office or Charity Commission main administration address located in West Yorkshire can no longer apply.

In order to maintain a high grant success rate (around 50% of all enquiries), the Trust currently does not accept applications from any community groups or organisations not registered with the Charity Commission (apart from churches). We do not fund CICs (Community Interest Companies), Community Benefit Societies, Co-operative Societies, schools, nurseries or playgroups.

Our Trust supports a wide range of local communities and issues, and places an emphasis on being approachable, supportive and flexible so that the grant application process is as positive as possible for grant seekers. The trustees aim to continue the legacy of Sir George in an inclusive and generous spirit.

The trustees encourage our Trust Manager, Carla Marshall, to carry out a personalised approach to working with grant seekers and applicants, providing added value through her visits and support. Whenever possible and when appropriate, our Trust Manager will aim to provide other suitable grantmakers to approach, suggest useful organisations and trusted contacts to get advice and support from, as well as giving feedback on the application to the Sir George Martin Trust.

We operate a two-stage application process – Expression of Interest first and then full application form – to save grant seekers time and energy. Our full application form is purposely not available to complete on our website so that our Trust Manager can first get to know your organisation and then provide guidance on how to write a strong application for the Sir George Martin Trust.

The trustees will next meet to discuss grant applications on the 6th October 2025 and in February and June 2026.

From June 2025 we will be using a new grant management system so that all Expressions of Interest (EoI) for a grant and full applications need to be submitted via our SmartyGrants online portal. As the Sir George Martin Trust has always taken a very friendly and simple approach to its grant making process, we want to ensure this does not change for grant seekers and the aim of the new online portal is to modernise our internal systems, improve our data capture and learning, as well as having the ability to send out helpful reminders to grant holders for things such as their End of Grant Report.

So, the first step in applying to the Sir George Martin Trust is to complete the brief Expression of Interest (EoI) form here https://sirgeorgemartintrust.smartygrants.co.uk/SGMTGrantsOct2025 where you tell us about your organisation, its work, your current financial position, when you need a grant and what for. Our Trust Manager continues to welcome emails and phone calls from grant seekers, but after the email or call you will then need to complete the EoI form. You will set up a SmartyGrants account by putting in your email address and your chosen password.

Our Trust Manager will then reply asap and may ask you a couple more questions and then she will tell you right away if she thinks the trustees will consider a full application from your organisation. If you are a new organisation to the Trust she will set up a Teams or in person meeting with you.

For further information visit the Who We Give To and How to Apply pages. Our Trust Manager, Carla Marshall can be contacted at info@sirgeorgemartintrust.org.uk or 01943 605372.

Who we give to

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How To Apply

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