The British Asian Trust grants: what they fund and how to apply
The British Asian Trust is a UK-registered charity that tackles poverty and hardship in South Asia. It does not run open grant rounds for UK charities. Instead, it raises funds and delivers its own programmes through delivery partners and social finance in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
What the Trust funds
The Trust funds and runs programmes across South Asia. Its main themes are education, livelihoods and women’s economic empowerment, mental health, child protection and anti-trafficking, and conservation. It says it has reached over 18.8 million people since it was founded in 2007. Named programmes include the Quality Education India Development Impact Bond, LiftEd, the KAWACH child protection fund, and women’s economic empowerment work in Pakistan.
How it funds
The British Asian Trust is not a grant-maker that publishes award sizes for open applicants. It raises money in the UK — from individuals, companies, and trusts and foundations — and puts that money into its own programmes delivered by partners in South Asia. It is also a pioneer of social finance, using tools such as development impact bonds that pay for measured outcomes rather than activity. Because of this model, there is no published minimum or maximum grant for external applicants.
Who it works with
The Trust works with delivery partners across the South Asian development sector, with corporate and philanthropic funders, and with government bodies. It works with British Asian communities in the UK mainly as supporters, ambassadors and donors. It is not set up to give open grants to UK-based charitable projects.
Deadlines and rounds
There are no published grant rounds or deadlines, because the Trust does not run an open application scheme. Partnerships are developed directly with the Trust rather than through a call for applications.
How to apply
There is no open application form. If your organisation wants to explore a partnership, or you are a trust or foundation that wants to fund the Trust’s programmes, the Trust asks you to get in touch at info@britishasiantrust.org or through its contact page. If you are a small UK charity looking for grants you can apply for, this is not the right funder — use the tips below.
Tips
- If your work is in the UK and not linked to South Asia, look elsewhere — this Trust’s programme funding goes to South Asia.
- If you deliver work in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka in one of its themes, approach as a delivery partner, not as a grant applicant.
- Read the Trust’s social finance pages before you make contact, so your pitch fits an outcomes-based model.
Official source and last updated
Last updated: July 2026. Source: britishasiantrust.org. Registered charity number 1127366.
Recent grants
[Recent grants placeholder — theme renders from 360Giving. Do not hand-write.]
Similar funders
- The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation UK — another UK-registered charity funding international development work
Check if your charity is eligible for funders like this — CharityIQ’s free Grant Finder matches your charity to real, published UK funders and cites the source for each. → /grant-finder/
Frequently asked questions
No. The British Asian Trust does not run an open grants scheme for UK charities. It raises money and delivers its own programmes in South Asia, working with chosen delivery partners and social finance tools. Organisations interested in partnering can contact the Trust at info@britishasiantrust.org, but there is no open application form.
It is a UK-registered charity that tackles poverty, inequality and injustice in South Asia. It funds and delivers programmes in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka across education, livelihoods and women's economic empowerment, mental health, child protection, anti-trafficking and conservation. It says its work has reached over 18.8 million people since 2007.
It was founded in 2007 by His Majesty King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and a group of British Asian business leaders. The King remains Royal Founding Patron. The Trust is a diaspora-led international development organisation working across South Asia.
It raises money in the UK from individuals, companies, and trusts and foundations, then delivers programmes through partners in South Asia. It is also a pioneer of social finance, including development impact bonds such as the Quality Education India Development Impact Bond and LiftEd.
It is registered in the UK and works with British Asian communities here, but its programme funding goes to work in South Asia. It is not a general grant-maker for UK-based charitable projects. Small UK charities looking for open grant funding should use CharityIQ's Grant Finder to find funders that accept applications.