The Charis Trust grants: what they fund and how to apply
The Charis Trust is a private family charitable trust, registered as a charity in 2011, that supports the advancement of the Christian faith in the UK and overseas, religious and secular education, and the relief of the poor, needy, sick and aged. In the year to March 2025 (its latest filed accounts) it gave £811,090 in grants to institutions — but it does not accept applications, funding organisations at the trustees' own discretion.
What The Charis Trust funds
The trust’s registered charitable objects are the advancement of the Christian faith, in the UK and overseas; the furtherance of religious and secular education; the relief of the poor and needy; and the help and comfort of the sick and aged. In practice it is a family trust — connected to the Green and Harris families, who make up most of its trustees — that supports evangelical Christian outreach and related educational and anti-poverty work. It is a grant-making trust, so it funds other organisations rather than running its own services. The current charity was registered in 2011 (the charitable company was incorporated in November 2010) and received a transfer of funds in 2013 from a predecessor trust, The Family Trust, which has since been removed from the Charity Commission register.
How much you can apply for
The trust does not publish a grant range or set criteria, because it does not invite applications. What is on the public record varies significantly year to year: in the year to March 2025 (its latest filed accounts) it had income of £591,175 and gave £811,090 in grants to institutions, while the year to March 2024 was unusually large, with £1.76 million in institutional grants. You can see its income and grant-making in its accounts filed with the Charity Commission.
Who can apply
No one can apply in the usual sense. The Charis Trust is a private family trust that makes grants at the trustees’ discretion, choosing organisations and causes they already know that fit the trust’s Christian, educational and anti-poverty purposes. It does not run an open application process, so there is no eligibility route for charities to apply through.
Deadlines and how to apply
There are none. The Charis Trust does not have funding rounds, deadlines or an application form, and it does not accept unsolicited applications. Sending one is very unlikely to lead anywhere, and the trust prefers not to be approached that way. If your work aligns closely with its purposes and you have a genuine existing connection, any contact would be through that relationship — not a cold application.
Not to be confused with Charis Grants
Many people searching for “Charis Trust” actually want Charis Grants, which is a different organisation. Charis Grants administers energy and hardship schemes — such as the Warm Home Discount and help with energy debt — for individuals in financial difficulty, often on behalf of energy suppliers and local authorities. If you are an individual looking for help with bills, that is the one you need, at charisgrants.com. The Charis Trust, covered on this page, is a separate grant-making family trust.
Tips
- Do not spend time applying — this trust does not accept applications, and an unsolicited approach will not succeed.
- If you are an individual needing help with energy bills, you want Charis Grants, not The Charis Trust.
- For Christian, education or anti-poverty work, look instead for trusts that welcome applications; a directory or the Grant Finder will surface those.
Official source and last updated
Source: Charity Commission register entry for The Charis Trust (charity number 1140637) and its filed accounts, checked 10 July 2026. Last updated: July 2026. Confirm the latest figures on the Charity Commission register.
Recent grants
[Placeholder — the theme renders recent grants from 360Giving where available; coverage may be limited for a private trust that does not publish grants openly. Its accounts on the Charity Commission register show grant totals.]
Similar funders
[The theme auto-lists similar funders. For Christian and faith-based work that does welcome applications, you may point to funders such as the Jerusalem Trust or the Allchurches/Benefact Trust. Both verified 10 July 2026 as real, active funders that accept applications.]
Looking for funders that actually accept applications for your cause? 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 Charis Trust is a private family charitable trust that does not accept applications. Its trustees choose which organisations and causes to support at their own discretion, based on their direct knowledge, rather than through an open application process. There is no application form, deadline or portal, so there is no way for a charity to apply for its funding.
Its charitable objects, as registered with the Charity Commission, are the advancement of the Christian faith in the UK and overseas, the furtherance of religious and secular education, the relief of the poor and needy, and the help and comfort of the sick and aged. In practice it supports evangelical Christian outreach and related work. It gave £811,090 in grants to institutions in the year to March 2025, at the trustees' discretion.
No — they are different, and it is a common mix-up. Charis Grants (charisgrants.com) administers energy and hardship schemes, such as the Warm Home Discount, to help individuals in financial difficulty. The Charis Trust is a separate private family charitable trust that funds Christian, education and anti-poverty work. If you are an individual looking for help with energy bills, you want Charis Grants, not The Charis Trust.
This varies a lot year to year. In its latest filed accounts (year to March 2025) it had income of £591,175 and gave £811,090 in grants to institutions; the year before (to March 2024) was unusually large, with £1.76 million in institutional grants. It does not publish a set grant range or criteria, because it does not invite applications. Its accounts are filed with the Charity Commission, where you can see its income and the value of grants it has made.
There is little point sending an unsolicited application, as the trust does not consider them and asks not to be approached in that way. Your time is better spent on funders that welcome applications. Use CharityIQ's free Grant Finder, or a funder directory, to find grant-makers that are actually open to new applicants for your cause.