Lempriere Pringle 2015

Quick Stats

• Annual Giving: £23,190,917 (2023/24 expenditure on charitable activities)
• Success Rate: Not applicable (no open application process)
• Decision Time: Not applicable (trustee-initiated only)
• Grant Range: £1,000,000 - £5,300,000+ (based on known grants)
• Geographic Focus: England, particularly County Durham and Bishop Auckland
• Application Method: No public application process

Contact Details

Registered Charity Number: 1161516

Note: This charity does not maintain a public-facing website or accept unsolicited applications. Grants are made at the discretion of trustees.

Overview

Lempriere Pringle 2015, established in 2015, is the successor to The Lempriere Pringle Trust founded by philanthropist Jonathan Ruffer in 1992. The charity serves as Ruffer's primary grant-making vehicle, with total income of £24.9 million and charitable expenditure of £23.2 million in the year ending March 2024. The charity's mission centers on supporting community needs through Christian ministries in England, with a particular concentration on the regeneration of Bishop Auckland and surrounding areas through its sister charities: Auckland Castle Trust, Zurbarán Trust, and Eleven Arches. Ruffer practices “transformational philanthropy,” whereby the philanthropist seeks to make fundamental differences to the lives of many people. By 2025, he had given at least £200 million to the Auckland Project to develop Bishop Auckland as “a wonderful place socially, economically, morally, spiritually.”

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Lempriere Pringle 2015 does not operate formal grant programs with application cycles. Instead, grants are made at the trustees' suggestion to support specific causes aligned with the charity's objectives.

Major Grants Made (2016/17 reference period):

• Seedbed Christian Communities Trust: £5,300,000
• County Durham Community Foundation: £1,000,000 (to help people back into employment, raising aspirations and fulfilling potential)
• Additional Christian charities: Part of £6.5 million+ distributed to Christian organizations

The charity's sister organizations receive ongoing support:

• Auckland Castle Trust: Transformation of Auckland Castle into a faith, art, and heritage destination
• Eleven Arches: £35 million investment for Kynren, an epic outdoor historical spectacular
• Zurbarán Trust: Preservation of Jacob and His Twelve Sons painting series

Priority Areas

1. Regional Regeneration: Social and economic revitalization of Bishop Auckland and surrounding County Durham areas
2. Christian Religion: Advancing the Christian faith through grants to Christian ministries and communities
3. Community Development: Employment support, aspiration-building, and potential-fulfilling initiatives
4. Arts, Faith and Heritage: Cultural preservation and development with faith-based themes

What They Don't Fund

The charity explicitly states it “does not solicit applications for grants” and does not invite unsolicited applications. All funding decisions are made proactively by trustees. They do not appear to fund causes outside their core focus areas of Christian ministry and Bishop Auckland regeneration.

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Governance and Leadership

Chair: Jonathan Garnier Ruffer (born 17 August 1951), British investor, art collector, and philanthropist. He founded Ruffer Investment Management Limited in 1994 and credits William Rathbone VI as inspiration for his philanthropy. Ruffer has stated he believes “nobody needs more than £20 million.”

Trustees: 7 trustees oversee the charity; none receive remuneration or payments. One or more trustees serve as directors of subsidiary organizations.

Philosophical Approach: Ruffer's vision emphasizes transformational change rather than incremental support. He stated: “I want to see Bishop Auckland as a wonderful place socially, economically, morally, spiritually.” His approach involves substantial, long-term commitments to specific causes rather than distributed small grants.

How to Apply to Lempriere Pringle 2015

How to Apply

This funder does not have a public application process. Lempriere Pringle 2015 explicitly states that it “does not solicit applications for grants” and operates “at the suggestion of the Trustees, rather than inviting unsolicited applications.”

All grants are initiated by the trustees based on their identification of causes that align with the charity's objectives. The charity's governing document describes its objectives broadly as advancing “such charitable purposes … as the trustees see fit.”

Decision Timeline

Not applicable - grants are trustee-initiated rather than application-based.

Success Rates

Not applicable - no open application process exists.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable - the charity does not accept applications.

Application Success Factors

Since Lempriere Pringle 2015 does not accept applications, traditional success factors do not apply. However, analyzing the pattern of grants provides insight into what attracts funding:

Alignment with Core Mission: Beneficiaries align closely with either:

• Christian ministry and the advancement of Christian religion
• Regional regeneration in Bishop Auckland and County Durham
• Combination of faith, heritage, and community development

Scale and Transformation: Known grants are substantial (£1 million to £5.3 million), suggesting the charity favors transformational rather than incremental projects. Ruffer's philosophy emphasizes making “a fundamental difference to the lives of many people.”

Long-term Relationships: The charity works extensively with “sister charities” (Auckland Castle Trust, Zurbarán Trust, Eleven Arches), indicating preference for sustained partnerships over one-off grants.

Clear Impact Pathways: Funded projects like County Durham Community Foundation's employment initiative have well-defined outcomes: “help people back into employment, raising aspirations and fulfilling potential.”

Christian Values: With £6.5 million+ directed to Christian charities in 2016/17, alignment with Christian faith and values appears central to funding decisions.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

• No public application process exists - this charity cannot be approached with unsolicited proposals
• Trustee-driven decision-making - all funding decisions originate with trustees, not applicant organizations
• Focus on transformational scale - known grants range from £1 million to £5.3 million, suggesting major investment rather than small grants
• Geographic concentration - significant focus on Bishop Auckland and County Durham regeneration through sister charities
• Christian ministry priority - advancement of Christian religion is a core objective with multi-million pound commitments
• Long-term partnership model - works extensively with sister organizations rather than diverse portfolio of grantees
• Strategic alignment essential - beneficiaries closely match the charity's mission of community regeneration and Christian ministry

Organizations already working in Bishop Auckland regeneration or Christian community development in County Durham might indirectly benefit if their work comes to trustees' attention, but there is no formal pathway to request funding.

Similar Funders

These funders have a similar focus and geographic reach:

• The Liz And Terry Bramall Foundation
• Lancaster Foundation
• The Maurice And Hilda Laing Charitable Trust
• Hinchley Charitable Trust
• The Bishop Radford Trust
• The Bowland Charitable Trust
• Grace Charitable Trust
• Forest Hill Charitable Trust
• The Deo Gloria Trust
• Duke Of Devonshire's Charitable Trust

References

• Charity Commission Register of Charities, LEMPRIERE PRINGLE 2015 - Charity 1161516.. https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=1161516&subId=0
• OpenCharities, “LEMPRIERE PRINGLE 2015.”. http://opencharities.org/charities/1161516
• Find that Charity, “GB-CHC-1161516 | Lempriere Pringle 2015.”. https://findthatcharity.uk/orgid/GB-CHC-1161516
• Wikipedia, “Jonathan Ruffer.”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Ruffer
• The Auckland Project, “The Story of the Auckland Project.”. https://aucklandproject.org/about-us/the-story-of-the-auckland-project/
• Northumbria University, “Honour for North East philanthropist Jonathan Ruffer,” July 2018. https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/about-us/news-events/news/2018/07/honour-for-north-east-philanthropist-jonathan-ruffer/