Bristol Charities

Registered charity 1109141 · since 2005bristolcharities.org.uk·North Somerset, South Gloucestershire·Updated 30 October 2026

At a glance

£48,823

Annual giving, year to 31 March 2025

From filed accounts

Key takeaways

Bristol Charities' four funding areas (relief in need, sickness and disability, carers, and education) suit people facing hardship, ill health or disability, carers with limited means, and young people who need educational opportunities, and it also funds charitable independent schools in Bristol and backs charities working alongside it.
Its stated geographic focus is the City of Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, and its annual report shows £48,823 awarded in its latest reported year, though no grant range is published, so keeping any request modest is sensible.
No application process is published, so start with the contact shown for getting in touch; the individuals' grants list 9 November as the date from which applications are accepted, with no closing month stated, and applicants who have received funding from Bristol Charities in the last 3 years cannot apply for them.
Applications for clothing, gas cookers, food, household bills, rent arrears or debt, property repairs, tumble dryers or dishwashers, televisions or computers, and medical equipment are not funded under the individuals' grants, and the foundation does not usually award grants to people in emergency or temporary accommodation, or to those without a right to reside in the UK or with no recourse to public funds.

Overview

Bristol Charities is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1109141).

Bristol Charities exists to provide opportunities and support for people and communities to improve lives through grants, housing and charitable projects. For over six centuries it has supported communities through almshouse accommodation, targeted grants, community infrastructure and charitable workspace. It runs four main areas of charitable funding: Relief in Need (including Community Chest Funds), Relief in Sickness and Disability, Relief of Carers, and Educational Funds for the Advancement of Education.

What they fund

Priority Areas

Bristol Charities makes grants under four charitable funding areas: relief in need, including Community Chest Funds; relief in sickness and disability; relief of carers; and educational funds for the advancement of education. It supports people and households facing poverty, hardship, ill health or disability, as well as carers with limited means and young people needing access to educational opportunities. It also provides grants to charitable independent schools engaged in secondary education in Bristol and backs charities working alongside it. For people facing hardship, its grants can provide essential household items such as beds, cookers and flooring. Alongside grant-making, it describes its wider mission as helping people and communities improve lives through housing, community hubs and charitable projects.

Themes

Relief in need
Sickness and disability
Carer support
Education

Geographic Focus

City of Bristol; North Somerset; South Gloucestershire.

What they don't fund

Grants for Individuals only:
- Clothing
- Gas cookers
- Food costs or household bills
- Housing clearances, cleaning fees, decorating costs or moving costs
- Repairs or adaptations to properties
- Rent arrears, Debt Relief Orders or any kind of debt
- Tumble dryers or dishwashers
- Televisions, computers, or audio equipment
- Medical equipment or treatments
- Applicants living in emergency or temporary accommodation (the foundation does not usually award grants to them)
- Applicants who do not have a right to reside in the UK and/or no recourse to public funds (the foundation does not usually award grants to them)

How to apply

No application process is published in the charity's annual report, its register entry or its website. The contact shown is for getting in touch.

Application windows:

Grants for Individuals: Next accepts applications from 9 November; no closing month is stated.

Applying again: Grants for Individuals: Applicants must not have received funding from Bristol Charities in the last 3 years.

Where they fund

Where it says it funds

Similar funders

Funders supporting work similar to Bristol Charities.

The Society of Merchant Venturers CharityFixed deadlinesGave £278k Bristol & Weston Hospitals CharityInvitation onlyGave £1.9M The Portishead Nautical TrustRollingGave £67,973 Bristol PrideFixed deadlinesGave £5,733 Quartet Community FoundationMixed deadlinesGave £5.2M The National Benevolent CharityFixed deadlinesGave £537k Bristol Ecclesiastical CharityRollingGave £462k John James Bristol FoundationRollingGave £2.4M Grateful SocietyMixed deadlinesGave £137k J and M Britton Charitable TrustNo public processGave £151k

Five years of accounts

Financial year	Income	Expenditure	Grants paid	Accounts document
year to 31 March 2021	£1,945,637	£1,966,468	£124,600	Accounts for year to 31 March 2021
year to 31 March 2022	£2,100,717	£2,318,496	£90,374	Accounts for year to 31 March 2022
year to 31 March 2023	£2,332,627	£2,419,326	£89,649	Accounts for year to 31 March 2023
year to 31 March 2024	£3,465,393	£2,483,733	£65,330	Accounts for year to 31 March 2024
year to 31 March 2025	£2,891,093	£2,934,036	£48,823	Accounts for year to 31 March 2025

Income vs grants paid

IncomeGrants paid

Total value each financial year

YE 2021

£125k grants

YE 2022

£90,374 grants

YE 2023

£89,649 grants

YE 2024

£65,330 grants

YE 2025

£48,823 awarded

Grants paid stayed within income across the 5 years shown.

Grants paid, year to 31 March 2021; year to 31 March 2022; year to 31 March 2023; year to 31 March 2024: grants to institutions, as reported on the charity register (Part B).
Grants paid, year to 31 March 2025: grants awarded in the year, as reported in the accounts.

Figures from the charity’s filed accounts and its register entry. The document icon links to the charity’s entry on the Charity Commission register, where its filed accounts can be found.