Small grants, generally for under £3,000, are available to registered charities. The Trust has a strong preference for supporting charities in the North-East of England.
The author and philanthropist, Dame Catherine Ann Cookson, DBE, 27 June 1906 – 11 June 1998) was a British author. She is in the top 20 of most widely read British novelists with sales topping 100 million, while retaining a relatively low profile in the world of celebrity writers. Her books were inspired by her deprived youth in South Tyneside, North East England, which are often the setting for her novels.
The aim of the Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust, which is funded by royalties from her c.100 novels, is to apply the income and capital to such charities or other charitable causes, cognisant of any wishes expressed by the settlor during her lifetime.
Please note that, because of the large number of applications received by the Trust, its present policy is to support local charities within the North-East of England, or those in which Dame Catherine had had an interest and/or have a local benefit (for example, other charities, particularly those operating at a national level that benefit the North-East of England).
The Trust’s charitable objectives are:
- The relief of poverty.
- The advancement of education.
- The advancement of religion, and
- Any other purpose beneficial to the community.
Grants tend to be awarded for:
- Education and training
- Medical, health and sickness
- Religion
- Animal welfare
- Children and young people
- Disability
- Arts and culture.
Applications may be made at any time via the online application form available on the Trust’s website.