A mother and baby in the Fergana valley, Uzbekistan

Suspension of pre-application process:

The Sigrid Rausing Trust is currently conducting a strategic review. We will not be considering or responding to letters of interest until January 2009. All letters of interest received prior to March 2008 will be considered in due course. Thank you for your patience!

How to Apply

The trustees consider applications only from those that they have invited to apply. There is, however, an open pre-application process. Please check the guidelines: if you are confident that your work falls clearly within them, and you wish to be considered for an invitation, you should write a one-page letter, on headed paper, with the following information:

• The purpose and goals of your organisation.
• The project for which funding is requested.
• The amount being asked for.
• The total income of your group in the last complete financial year, and the income of the project for which you would like support.
• Some biographical details of your leadership.

The Trust does not give grants to individuals. It only funds projects or groups that are charitable under English law. The vast majority of the work it funds is internationally based. It is interested in rights based advocacy and not the delivery of services.

The Trust's address is Eardley House, 4 Uxbridge Street, London, W8 7SY, UK.

Based on the information provided in your letter, the trustees will decide which groups to invite to apply for funding. Applications pass through a careful vetting process. Even if your organisation falls within the guidelines this is not a guarantee that it will be invited to apply. If your organisation does receive an invitation, it is up to the trustees to decide if a grant should be made.

The Trust considers grants to cover core costs, and project work. It also considers advancement grants to help groups extend their reach and operating abilities, but only for those organisations with which it has an established relationship.

All those who receive an invitation to apply for a grant, or who have received a grant, need to be aware that the trustees take the application process and the meeting of their deadlines seriously. Sending an incomplete application can count against a group. Failing to submit reports on how the grant was spent by the requested deadline will also be taken into account. A late application usually results in a delay until the next meeting of the trustees. If that deadline is not met then the invitation to apply is deemed to have been withdrawn.