Peacock Charitable Trust

Charity Number: CUSTOM_829B763C

Annual Expenditure: £1.4M
Geographic Focus: Merton

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: £1,417,682 (2024)
  • Total Endowment: £49.186 million (2024)
  • Decision Time: Not applicable (trustee discretion)
  • Grant Range: Not publicly disclosed
  • Geographic Focus: Primarily Merton, London, but operates UK-wide
  • Application Process: No public applications accepted

Contact Details

Address: PO Box 79878, London SW19 9RQ

Phone: 07751 564417

Email: info@peacockct.org

Website: peacockct.org

Charity Number: 257655

Overview

The Peacock Charitable Trust is a private grant-making charity established on 10 January 1969. With a substantial endowment of £49.186 million as of April 2024, the trust distributed £1,417,682 in charitable grants during the same year. Operating primarily through trustee discretion, the trust focuses on advancing education for disadvantaged children and relieving poverty, hardship, suffering, and distress. The trust is part of a network of related charitable entities, with its trustees also managing The Epigoni Trust, The Dorus Trust, and Cleopatra Trust. Despite spending only 2.9% of their fund in the most recent year, the trust maintains significant investment income (£936,655 in 2024) and continues to actively support charitable causes aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals including No Poverty, Quality Education, Reduced Inequalities, and Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The Peacock Charitable Trust operates through trustee discretion rather than formal grant programs. Grants are awarded across two primary areas:

  • Education Support: Paying fees at recognized schools or educational establishments in the UK or elsewhere for poor and deserving boys and girls
  • Poverty Relief: Supporting initiatives that relieve poverty, hardship, suffering, and distress

The trust also has broad powers to augment the income or capital of other charitable organizations “in such manner in all respects as the trustees in their absolute discretion think fit.”

Priority Areas

  • Education for disadvantaged children and young people
  • Fee support for recognized educational institutions
  • Poverty alleviation initiatives
  • Relief of hardship, suffering, and distress
  • Support for the “general public/mankind” through charitable means
  • Organizations operating primarily in or serving Merton, London

What They Don't Fund

Specific exclusions are not publicly documented, but the trust's focus areas suggest they prioritize:

  • Direct educational access and poverty relief over other charitable purposes
  • Organizations aligned with their established focus on education and poverty
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Governance and Leadership

Trustees

The trust is governed by three trustees who exercise unanimous consent for major decisions:

  • Charles Hugh Peacock (appointed 1991) - Longest-serving trustee
  • Bettine Bond (appointed 2006)
  • Dr. Clare Sellors (appointed 2006)

The trustee board is gender-balanced (66% female, 33% male). All three trustees also serve on the boards of related family trusts: The Epigoni Trust, The Dorus Trust, and Cleopatra Trust. No trustees receive remuneration, payments, or benefits from the charity.

Governance Structure

The trust's charitable objects grant significant discretion to trustees, requiring unanimous consent by deed for certain decisions. This structure indicates a conservative, relationship-based approach to grant-making where trustees personally evaluate and approve all funding decisions.

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

The Peacock Charitable Trust does not have a public application process. The trust operates exclusively through trustee discretion and is not currently accepting unsolicited applications for funding. According to available information, they concentrate on existing relationships rather than seeking new applicants.

Grants are made “in such manner as the trustees in their absolute discretion think fit,” meaning the trustees identify and select beneficiaries through their own networks and research rather than through an open application system.

Organizations seeking support from this trust cannot submit standard grant applications.

Decision Timeline

Not applicable. Grant decisions are made at the discretion of trustees based on their own timeline and priorities.

Success Rates

Not applicable for unsolicited applications. The trust does not accept applications from organizations outside their existing relationships.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable. Organizations cannot apply or reapply to this trust.

Application Success Factors

Given that the Peacock Charitable Trust does not accept unsolicited applications, traditional application success factors do not apply. However, understanding what the trust values may be useful for organizations hoping to align with their mission:

  • Focus on education access: The trust's founding purpose centers on paying educational fees for “poor and deserving boys and girls,” indicating a preference for interventions that directly enable educational access for disadvantaged young people
  • Poverty relief with tangible impact: The trust prioritizes relief of “poverty, hardship, suffering and distress,” suggesting they value direct, practical interventions
  • Conservative financial management: With only 2.9% of their fund spent last year, the trustees appear to take a cautious, selective approach to grant-making
  • Long-term relationships: The trust focuses on “existing relationships,” indicating they value sustained partnerships over one-time grants
  • UN SDG alignment: The trust aligns with specific Sustainable Development Goals (No Poverty, Quality Education, Reduced Inequalities, Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions)
  • Connection to Merton: While the trust can operate UK-wide, it has particular interest in Merton, London

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • No public applications accepted: This trust is not accessible through standard application processes
  • Trustee discretion model: All grants are awarded based on trustee research and existing relationships
  • Significant resources: With nearly £50 million in endowment and over £1.4 million distributed annually, this is a substantial funder
  • Education and poverty focus: The trust has a clear mission around educational access and poverty relief
  • Conservative approach: Low spend rate (2.9%) suggests highly selective grant-making
  • Family trust network: Part of a group of related trusts with overlapping governance
  • Contact possible but unlikely to succeed: While contact details are available, the trust explicitly states they focus on existing relationships only

Organizations seeking funding should look elsewhere for accessible grant opportunities, as the Peacock Charitable Trust does not offer a realistic pathway for new applicants.

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