Seed funding grants of between £1,000 and £5,000 are available to UK registered charities, social enterprises and public bodies for innovative ideas in the UK or overseas that offer the potential to bring about a more peaceful, just and sustainable world.
The Edith M Ellis 1985 Charitable Trust operates a modest grant programme that supports:
- Quaker work and witness, particularly on work relating to peace.
- Peace-building and conflict resolution.
- Interfaith and ecumenical understanding, and
- Peace work connected with climate breakdown.
The Trust values applications that fulfil more than one of the above criteria. Applicants will be expected to demonstrate the following:
- How their ideas will bring about change
- Why they think the approach they are proposing is new and original
- Who will benefit and how, and
- What the expected outcomes of the proposal are.
The Trust’s funding priorities previously focused on supporting a small number of UK registered charities and not-for-profit organisations that have innovative proposals to bring about a more peaceful, just and sustainable world. Organisations that found it difficult to attract funding from other sources tended to be favoured.
Grants have previously been awarded against the following categories:
- Climate change mitigation.
- Interfaith and ecumenical understanding.
- Peace-building and conflict resolution.
- Quaker work and witness, and
- Work with forced migrants, including internally displaced people
Further information, guidance and an online application form is available on the Trust’s website.
Please note that the grant-making policy of the Trust is under review and this round of applications will be the last of its kind. The deadline is Saturday 31 May 2025 but early application is advised.