Our grant-making process

The Trust does not accept unsolicited applications for funding. Instead, we invite applications from organisations which have been proactively identified by the Trust according to our priorities for grant-making.

Grants from the Sigrid Rausing Trust may be earmarked for specific projects or given as unrestricted grants, which may be used in any way the grantee thinks best.

There is no minimum or maximum level for a grant, but the Trust will not normally support more than 30% of the budget of an organisation or a project.

We begin our partnership with grantees with a one-year grant. This may be followed by several cycles of three-year grants. Please note, however, that a first grant is not a guarantee of future funding.

Once you have been invited to apply, our programme officers will explain the application process and help you with any questions you may have.

Trustees’ Small Grants

Trustees may present to the Board small grant applications from organisations they know well. There is no application process for these grants.

Emergency Grants

If one of our grantees is faced with a genuine emergency or unexpected opportunity they can contact their programme officer to ask if an emergency grant can be arranged. Emergency grants are always a response to an urgent and unexpected situation such as the Covid-19 pandemic.