Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (hart)

Charity Number: 1107341

Annual Expenditure: £0.6M

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Quick Stats

Annual Giving: £609,684 (2024 charitable expenditure)
Success Rate: Not applicable - no public application process
Decision Time: Not applicable - works through established relationships
Grant Range: Not publicly disclosed
Geographic Focus: International (Nigeria, Syria, Sudan, South Sudan, Myanmar, Abyei, Nagorno Karabakh)
Funding Efficiency: 86p of every £1 goes to charitable activities

Contact Details

Address: Unit 1 Number One Bristol, Lewins Mead, Bristol BS1 2NR

Phone: 020 8205 4608

Email: finance@hart-uk.org

Website: www.hart-uk.org

Overview

Founded in 2004 by Baroness Caroline Cox (former Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords), the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART) is a UK-based international development charity with annual income of £774,482 (2024). HART's distinctive mission is providing aid to those suffering from war, conflict, and oppression - specifically targeting “forgotten people in forgotten lands” who are trapped behind closed borders, outside the scope of major aid organizations, or ignored by international media.

According to the UK Charity Commission, HART's main way of carrying out purposes is grant making. The organization operates through a partnership model, providing grants and financial support to trusted local peacebuilders and humanitarian organizations in six countries experiencing active conflict or post-conflict devastation. With 86% of funds going directly to charitable activities, HART emphasizes lean operations and maximum impact through locally-led solutions.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

HART does not operate open grant programs. Instead, they provide ongoing financial support to established local partner organizations in:

Nigeria (Plateau State and Southern Kaduna)
Syria
Sudan (Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan regions)
South Sudan
Myanmar/Burma (Karen, Karenni, Shan and Chin peoples)
Abyei (disputed region)
Nagorno Karabakh/Armenia

Recent funding examples include over £100,000 in emergency relief to families in remote Sudan locations.

Priority Areas

HART funds local partners delivering:

Emergency Relief: Food, water, shelter, medical care
Education and Training: Schools and educational programs in conflict zones
Healthcare: Medical facilities and services in hard-to-reach areas
Livelihoods: Agricultural projects and economic development
Disability Equality: Specialized support and rehabilitation services
Advocacy: Amplifying voices of persecuted communities

What They Don't Fund

HART does not fund:

Organizations outside their established geographic focus areas
Projects in areas accessible to major international aid organizations
Organizations without proven track records in conflict zones
Projects not led by local in-country experts

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Governance and Leadership

Founder and President Emeritus

Baroness Caroline Cox - Founded HART in 2004; former Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords (1985-2005); announced her diagnosis of Alzheimer's in 2025 and stepped down as CEO in 2021 to take honorary position.

Patrons

Lord Alton of Liverpool - Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights
Fiona Bruce - Former UK Special Envoy for Religious Freedom (2020-24)
Dr. Rowan Williams - 104th Archbishop of Canterbury
Lord Singh of Wimbledon CBE - Leader of Britain's Sikh community
Sir Geoffrey Nice KC - Distinguished human rights lawyer
Kathy Mellor MBE - Neonatal specialist

Senior Leadership Team

Sam Mason - Chief Executive Officer (background in parliamentary work and humanitarian advocacy)
Hassan John - Senior Programmes Manager (veteran humanitarian journalist)
Sylvia Bourhill - Head of Finance (Managing Director of an accounting firm)
Beth Stephens - Partnerships Director (focuses on child education, disability equality, and women's empowerment)
David Thomas - Project Logistics (former Navy Chaplain with extensive international NGO experience)
Anaïs Arroyo - Advocacy Coordinator
Pippa Gerhard - HART Ambassador (coordinates HART-US)

Board of Trustees

Colonel David Bates, Laura Parker, Stuart Notholt, Prakash Patel, Steven Turner, Tom Skidmore, Jo Russell

Governance Note: No trustees receive remuneration, payments, or benefits from the charity.

Key Philosophy

HART believes that “in order to truly meet the needs and requirements of the persecuted, oppressed and overlooked, the direction and management of aid must primarily involve the local people it wishes to help. By working through local partners, they ensure that the support provided maintains their dignity, meets the priorities of the communities themselves, avoids upsetting the local economy and celebrates their achievements.”

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

HART does not have a public application process. This is not a traditional grant-making organization where charities can submit applications for funding.

HART works exclusively through established, trusted relationships with local partner organizations in conflict zones. According to their operational model, “partnerships are established through personal relationships made and maintained through regular visits, ensuring mutual trust is founded from the outset.”

The organization identifies and vets partners through:

Direct field visits to conflict zones by HART leadership and staff
Personal relationships built over time
Verification of local expertise and community trust
Assessment of partners' ability to operate in dangerous, hard-to-access areas

Partnership Model

HART's approach to funding partners involves:

Relationship Building: Establishing mutual trust through regular in-person visits to conflict zones
Flexibility: Allowing partners flexibility to adapt to rapidly changing situations and security needs
Capacity Building: Providing external training to help partners develop organizational capacity
Long-term Support: Supporting partners in delivering their own community-driven agendas
Transition to Independence: The goal is to support partners until they can access other donors and operate independently

Example Success Story: HART supported the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) in South Sudan through healthcare and agricultural projects while building organizational capacity, enabling EPC to eventually become donor-independent.

Getting on Their Radar

Note: This section contains funder-specific information about HART's approach to identifying partners.

HART's partner selection is highly specialized and based on their unique access to conflict zones. The following factors are specific to how HART identifies potential partners:

Conflict Zone Presence: HART specifically seeks partners operating “behind closed borders” in areas inaccessible to major aid organizations. They prioritize regions ignored by international media and major humanitarian actors.

Field Visits: Baroness Cox (founder) and senior HART staff make regular visits to active conflict zones. Historically, these field visits have been the primary method through which HART discovers and vets new partners.

Local Peacebuilder Networks: HART identifies partners through networks of local peacebuilders, churches, and community leaders already operating in their geographic focus areas.

Specific Staff Contact: Beth Stephens (Partnerships Director) coordinates HART's relationships with local partners. Her portfolio focuses on child education, disability equality, and women's empowerment projects.

Geographic Targeting: If your organization operates in HART's current focus countries (Nigeria, Syria, Sudan, South Sudan, Myanmar, Abyei, Nagorno Karabakh), you are more likely to come onto their radar than organizations in other regions.

Documented Human Rights Evidence: HART relies on first-hand evidence of human rights violations as a basis for targeted aid work. Organizations that can document systematic persecution or marginalization in their communities align with HART's mission.

Given HART's specialized model, organizations are unlikely to become partners unless they are:

Operating in one of HART's current focus conflict zones
Led by in-country experts with deep community roots
Serving populations genuinely outside the reach of major international aid
Able to operate safely in dangerous, unstable environments

Application Success Factors

Since HART does not accept applications, traditional “success factors” do not apply. However, based on their documented partnership model, HART values:

Partner Characteristics HART Prioritizes

Local Expertise and Leadership: “All of our projects are led by in-country experts who bring sustainable change to their communities.” HART requires that partners be genuinely local, community-rooted organizations, not international NGOs operating in the region.

Ability to Serve the “Forgotten”: HART explicitly targets “people who are trapped behind closed borders, outside the scope of major aid organisations, or ignored by the international media.” Partners must demonstrate they serve populations genuinely unreached by mainstream humanitarian aid.

Cultural and Community Integration: HART emphasizes that “the direction and management of aid must primarily involve the local people it wishes to help” to maintain dignity, meet community priorities, avoid upsetting the local economy, and celebrate local achievements.

Security and Access: Partners must have the capacity to operate in active conflict zones or areas with severe access restrictions where international organizations cannot reach.

Sustainable Development Focus: HART seeks partners who “empower communities to drive their own development, using local knowledge and expertise to ensure solutions are culturally relevant and sustainable.”

Flexibility and Adaptability: Partners need “the flexibility needed to adapt to changing situations and subsequent needs” in volatile conflict environments.

Capacity for Growth: HART supports partners in “building capacity for becoming self-sustainable” with the ultimate goal of partners becoming independent and able to access other funding sources.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

No Public Application Process: HART is not a funder that accepts unsolicited grant applications. Their partnerships are formed through direct field relationships in conflict zones.

Highly Specialized Geographic Focus: Unless your organization operates in Nigeria, Syria, Sudan, South Sudan, Myanmar, Abyei, or Nagorno Karabakh in areas inaccessible to major aid agencies, HART is not a relevant funder.

Local Leadership is Essential: HART only funds organizations led by in-country experts with deep community roots, not international organizations delivering aid.

Relationship-Based Model: Partnerships are “established through personal relationships made and maintained through regular visits” - this is not a funder you can approach through a written proposal alone.

Conflict Zone Specialists: HART's niche is reaching populations “trapped behind closed borders” in active conflict areas - they are not funding mainstream humanitarian work in stable regions.

Long-term Partnership Approach: HART provides sustained support to build partner capacity toward independence, rather than one-off project grants.

Contact the Partnerships Director: If your organization genuinely fits HART's profile (local, conflict-zone-based, serving forgotten populations), Beth Stephens (Partnerships Director) is the key contact. However, be prepared that HART typically identifies partners through field visits rather than responding to external approaches.