Capital and revenue grants, generally for between £1,000 and £5,000, are available to UK registered charities working in the UK in the areas of Quaker work and witness, peace and reconciliation, environmental action and sustainability, and social action.
The W F Southall Trust is a grant-making charity that was founded almost 90 years ago. The Trust endeavours to support smaller charities where their help is more meaningful and especially when a trustee has detailed knowledge of the charity concerned.
The Trust, which has its roots in the Quaker movement, supports UK registered charities working in the UK in the following fields:
- Quaker Work and Witness
- Peace and Reconciliation
- Environmental Action and Sustainability, and
- Social Action
The Trust is likely to prioritise charities that can demonstrate:
- A challenge of structural inequalities and injustice
- Clear support from the communities in which they are based or operate
- Creativity and innovation in their work
- Projects that encourage wider support of the four areas above
- The promotion of social justice, inclusion and diversity
- They are engaged with their local community through grassroots initiatives and show clear evidence of support from within it (for example, through local giving, volunteering and/or partnerships); and
- Where a grant of up to £5,000 that will make a quantifiable difference. Preference is given to smaller charities with 'seed corn' funding.
The W F Southall Trust makes capital and revenue grants generally for between £1,000 and £5,000, with the occasional higher award. Grants are normally on a one-off basis, although multi-year grants are sometimes awarded. The Trust likes to see that applicants have sought and secured some matched funding towards their proposal.
The next deadline for application is Friday 1 May 2026.
The Trust has a 3-stage application process:
- Applicants are advised to take a good look around the Trust’s website to see what it will support, as well as its responses to frequently asked questions.
- If you think your charity/project may be of interest to the Trust, use the Eligibility Checker, which will confirm whether you meet the basic eligibility criteria. If you meet the criteria, then you will be shown a link to a downloadable application form.
- Complete and submit the application form and any accompanying documents.
All applicants should receive an email receipt following an application. The Trust aims to respond to applications for up to £5,000 within 4 months. However, applications for more than £5,000 per year usually take longer to process (in some cases, up to 8 months) because, at present, these require discussion at full trustee meetings, which are only held every four months.
Wilfred Southall Sustainability Award - for Bath Spa University Students
In addition to its grant-making to organisations, the Trust launched a new venture in 2022/23 called the Wilfred Southall Sustainability Award for students who have demonstrated exceptional work in areas aligned with the Southall Trust's category areas.
The Trust began trialling this award in partnership with Bath Spa University and hopes to extend it to other academic institutions in the years ahead.
The Award is open to taught postgraduate students in Bath School of Art, Film and Media and Bath School of Design. There is no application process – current students will be nominated by lecturers from the schools and selected by an external panel. Students selected for the award will deliver a presentation to peers and staff in the year following their MA qualification.
Awards of £1,000 per category will be given in two instalments: £800 will be paid to the student following an award ceremony at the MA Degree show in September and the balance of £200, when the student has made a presentation on the development of their project to the School of Art, Film and Media and Bath School of Design. Further information is available on the Trust’s website.