The Pilgrim Trust makes grants to other UK charities and public bodies in the fields of preservation and scholarship and social welfare. It works within the priorities that are set by the Trustees and funds specific programmes that are outlined on its website. Each year, the Trust awards up to £3 million in grants for projects throughout the UK with the following aims:
- Improving the life chances of the most vulnerable in society, and
- Preserving the best of the UK’s past for the benefit of the public.
The Pilgrim Trust’s grant-making objectives are:
Conserving cultural heritage and increasing access to conservation expertise: the conservation of works of art, books, manuscripts, photographs, documents and museum objects and well as distinctive historic architectural features valued for their contribution to the landscape or townscape. The Trust requires that the best conservation practices are adopted and that accredited conservators are used. It receives applications directly as well as working with its strategic partners, the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust, the Association of Independent Museums and the Church Buildings Council.
Supporting conservation work to historic buildings to help secure their long-term future: special consideration is given to significant historic buildings at risk. The Trust also gives priority to small community-led organisations who are custodians of historic buildings, often for the first time, to help with key structural repairs or to develop projects to a stage where they can apply for funding from others and help find long-term sustainable futures for the building. The Trust takes a holistic approach and provides support where its grant award will have the most impact. Increasingly, the Trust finds that this is through early development support in the form of specialist surveys, exploratory work, technical feasibility studies and other development costs. It also works with its strategic partners the Theatres Trust, Architectural Heritage Fund and the National Churches Trust in delivering this objective.
Young Women in Mind (certain regions only): improving access to high quality mental health services for young women aged 16-25. This was a 5-year programme (2021-2025) that has continued into 2026. Young Women in Mind, has a grant budget of £5m to help improve the mental health of young women in the UK through increasing their access to high quality mental health services. The programme is underpinned by four key principles that the support provided should be (1) gender informed; (2) age appropriate; (3) promoting substantive equality, and (4) integrated into wider support services. The programme operates in Northern Ireland and the English regions of the North-West, North-East, Yorkshire and Humber. Grantees form a facilitated peer learning cohort, with the Centre for Mental Health commissioned to carry out the evaluation of the programme.
Research, advocacy and development - the Trust has a small Research, Advocacy and Development Fund through which it can consider external proposals for small research projects that meet the Trust’s priority themes or reflect the ethos of its founder’s vision and provide tangible outputs in either policy or practical terms.
For further information about the Trust’s grant programmes and how to apply, please visit its website.
Applications for preserving and conserving significant historic buildings, structures, objects, works of art, collections and records, and applications for supporting research, advocacy and development work may be made at any time.