Lund Trust

Charity Number: CUSTOM_635CC709

Annual Expenditure: £3.3M

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: £3-4 million (varies by year)
  • Success Rate: N/A (does not accept unsolicited applications)
  • Decision Time: Not applicable (proactive grant-making only)
  • Grant Range: £200 - £12,525,900 (extremely wide range)
  • Geographic Focus: United Kingdom

Contact Details

Website: https://lundtrust.org.uk

Email: info@lundtrust.org.uk

Phone: Not publicly available

Note: Lund Trust does not accept unsolicited applications. They identify grant recipients through internal research and proactive outreach.

Overview

Lund Trust was founded to support work that "greens people's lives in the UK." Named for founder Dr. Lisbet Rausing's home city in south Sweden, the trust has distributed over £107 million since 2002. The trust is funded by family trusts and makes grants from a trust account with Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) and from the Lund Philanthropic Trust, a charitable trust in Liechtenstein. Lund Trust operates with a small London-based team and takes a strategic, proactive approach to grant-making, identifying issues to fund through research conducted by staff and interns. The Donor Board sets strategy and makes all funding decisions. Lund Trust complements its founder's other charitable fund, Arcadia, which works to protect nature, preserve cultural heritage, and promote open access to knowledge.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Lund Trust does not operate traditional open grant programs. Instead, they:

  • Identify funding priorities through internal research
  • Fund specific regional programs such as the High Weald Nature and Community Fund (£500-£100,000 per project)
  • Support multi-year strategic partnerships (e.g., Citizen Zoo received £500,000 over five years)
  • Make large strategic grants (ranging from hundreds to millions of pounds)

Recent Funding:

  • 2025: £2.17 million to 7 organizations
  • 2024: £3.3 million to 14 charities
  • 2023: £4.72 million to 8 charities
  • Since 2017: Funded over 200 conservation projects in the High Weald region

Priority Areas

Environmental Improvement:

  • More and better green spaces in the UK
  • Chemical pollution reduction (pesticides, river pollution)
  • Tree planting and habitat restoration
  • River and wetland restoration
  • Nature conservation

Young People and Nature:

  • Conservation jobs for young people
  • Projects that help young people connect with and champion nature
  • Environmental leadership opportunities

Geographic Focus:

  • Scotland environmental projects
  • High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
  • UK-wide environmental initiatives

Strategic Approach:

The trust is “most interested in work that changes the environment for the better and inspires others.”

What They Don't Fund

While not explicitly stated, Lund Trust:

  • Does not accept unsolicited applications
  • Focuses exclusively on UK environmental work (not international)
  • Does not fund work outside environmental conservation and green space improvement
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Governance and Leadership

Founder: Dr. Lisbet Rausing DBE

  • BA from UC Berkeley, PhD from Harvard University
  • Former lecturer and assistant professor in the history of science at Harvard
  • Trustee of the National Trust and the Ecological Restoration Fund
  • Co-founder of Arcadia Fund
  • Member of Donor Board until October 2025

Director: Andrew Wright

  • Leads Lund Trust's strategy and grant-making
  • Previously worked at Cripplegate Foundation (a charitable trust in North London)
  • MA in Aegean Archaeology
  • MSc in Philanthropy, Grantmaking and Social Investment

Programme Officer: Olivia Dryden

Donor Board Members:

  • Sigrid Koerner
  • George Morris
  • Lisbet Rausing (until October 2025)

Grant Administration Support:

  • Talvik Administration Services (licensed trust company regulated by Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority)
  • Charities Aid Foundation (CAF)

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

IMPORTANT: Lund Trust does NOT accept unsolicited applications.

The trust operates through a proactive grant-making model:

  • Staff and interns research issues and identify potential grant recipients
  • The Donor Board sets strategy and makes all funding decisions
  • Organizations cannot submit applications directly to Lund Trust

Alternative Routes:

  • High Weald Nature and Community Fund (Sussex and Kent)
  • Sussex Lund grants programme
  • These programmes have their own application processes and deadlines
  • Keep the trust informed about your work through newsletters and updates
  • Build long-term relationships within the environmental sector
  • Connect with organizations that have received Lund Trust funding
  • Attend environmental conferences and events where trust staff may be present

Decision Timeline

Not applicable for direct applications. For administered programmes (like High Weald Fund):

  • Initial contact within 2 weeks
  • Annual panel review (typically September)
  • Decisions communicated within 2-3 months

Success Rates

Not applicable - the trust identifies grant recipients through its own research rather than competitive application processes.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable for unsolicited applications.

Application Success Factors

Since Lund Trust does NOT accept unsolicited applications, traditional application success factors do not apply. However, organizations that may be identified for funding should note:

Alignment Factors:

  • Environmental Impact: Projects that demonstrably “change the environment for the better”
  • Inspirational Value: Work that inspires others to take environmental action
  • Innovation: New approaches to environmental challenges
  • Young People Engagement: Projects that help young people connect with and champion nature
  • Strategic Fit: Alignment with current research priorities identified by Lund Trust staff

Recent Funded Projects (Examples):

  • Citizen Zoo: £500,000 over 5 years (helping young people connect with nature)
  • Great Dixter: Renewed support (environmental conservation)
  • Chemical pollution reduction projects
  • Conservation jobs for young people
  • River and wetland restoration
  • Tree planting initiatives
  • Environmental projects in Scotland

Language and Terminology:

The trust uses phrases like:

  • "Greening people's lives"
  • “Changes the environment for the better and inspires others”
  • “More and better green space”
  • “Use and protect green spaces”

What Makes Organizations Stand Out:

  • Demonstrated track record in environmental conservation
  • Clear environmental outcomes
  • Potential to inspire wider change
  • Focus on young people and nature connection
  • Innovative approaches to environmental challenges
  • Strong project sustainability

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  1. No Direct Applications: Lund Trust does not accept unsolicited grant applications. They identify grant recipients through proactive research.
  1. Build Visibility: Focus on making your environmental work visible through publications, conferences, partnerships, and networks where Lund Trust staff may encounter it.
  1. Explore Administered Programmes: Check if Lund Trust funds any regional programmes in your area (like High Weald Fund) that DO accept applications.
  1. Strategic Alignment: Ensure your work demonstrably "greens people's lives," changes the environment for the better, and has inspirational value.
  1. Long-term Relationship Building: Success with Lund Trust likely requires establishing long-term visibility and credibility in the UK environmental sector.
  1. Wide Grant Range: Lund Trust makes grants ranging from very small (£200) to very large (£12+ million), suggesting flexibility in funding different scales of work.
  1. Transparency: Lund Trust publishes all grant data through 360Giving, demonstrating commitment to transparency - review their funded projects to understand current priorities.

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References