Additional Guidance to Potential Applicants

These notes give further information about the preferred focus of the CCT trustees in the three main sectors referred to in our main grant-making guidelines. These extra details should be read in conjunction with the main guidelines, particularly in relation to charitable status, geographical location and work we do not fund.

The ArtS

The CCT trustees favour applications from charities which aim to increase accessibility to the cultural arts and our national heritage.

We prefer projects aimed at groups who don't normally have the opportunity to participate in music, drama, dance or other areas of the arts.

In many of the projects we support arts organisations such as theatres in reaching out to schools, including special needs schools.

We also support programmes which use the arts, especially music, to help improve mental wellbeing, for example for dementia sufferers.

We support a limited number of community arts festivals.

Wellbeing

The CCT trustees favour applications for Wellbeing projects which target future improvements in physical and mental health, for example through education, research projects or programmes which counteract adverse trends in wellbeing.

Specific examples are:

  • projects which may enhance physical and mental wellbeing at the same time, for example sports activities

  • research into narrow medical conditions which may not receive mainstream charity funding

  • community programmes aimed at enhancing wellbeing

  • the future mental health of young people

  • charities helping deprived or affected sections of the community, such as disabled children, refugees new to the UK, ex-offenders and dementia sufferers

We do also make grants where the object is the continuing care of the disadvantaged, the old or the sick but the proportion of new grants in that area is low.

Nature conservation and our natural environment

The CCT Trustees favour applications for projects which aim to conserve and protect wildlife species and habitats, through:

  • direct management of sites

  • research, particularly into causes of decline and potential solutions

We also support projects which seek to reduce human impacts on biodiversity and natural systems, particularly through reducing waste and reducing use of fossil fuels. Applications for projects under this heading which engage local communities or children or provide benefits to disadvantaged groups are also encouraged.