The Army Rugby Union (ARU) Trust

Registered charity 1149105 · since 2012armyrugbyunion.org.uk·England, Wales·Updated 30 October 2026

At a glance

£8,806

Annual giving, year to 31 August 2025

From filed accounts

A small fraction of the prior year (£310k in year to 31 August 2023).

Key takeaways

The trust's registered objects centre on grants to charities that benefit serving and former members of the forces, their dependants, and people involved in rugby union, so your request will fit best if your work serves one of those groups.
Its annual report gives annual giving of £8,806, so the pot is small and a modest request is the realistic size.
No application process is published, so start by using the contact shown for getting in touch to ask whether the trust is open to a request and what it needs, before you write a full application.
Its stated priority is England and Wales, so check with the trust first if your work is based elsewhere.
The sources say nothing about timing or how many organisations apply, so a short enquiry is the best way to learn those things.

Overview

The Army Rugby Union (ARU) Trust is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1149105).

The Army Rugby Union (ARU) Trust was set up to provide an infrastructure for rugby union within the British Army. Its aim is to promote and foster the game in the Army and its civilian and military communities. It makes grants to charities for the benefit of past and present members of Her Majesty's Forces, their dependants, and people involved in rugby union. Its annual report gives annual giving of £8,806.

What they fund

Priority Areas

The Army Rugby Union Trust's aim is to promote and foster rugby union in the Army and its civilian and military communities. Its registered objects provide for grants to charities for the benefit of serving and former members of the forces, their dependants, and people involved in rugby union. In its wider work, it seeks to provide an infrastructure so that no potential participant is denied the opportunity to play, coach or referee at the highest level possible. Its rugby activity includes representative teams at senior men’s, senior women’s, A, academy and masters levels, and community competitions for Army clubs in the UK and overseas. It also maintains coaching structures and the Army Rugby Union Referees Society to develop coaches and referees.

Themes

Army rugby

Geographic Focus

Priority: England; Wales.

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.

Where they fund

Where it says it funds

Similar funders

Funders supporting work similar to The Army Rugby Union (ARU) Trust.

The Rifles Regimental TrustInvitation onlyGave £247k The Royal Yorkshire Regiment Charitable TrustNo public processGave £77,546 Headley Court CharityNo public process The Nuffield Trust for the Forces of the CrownInvitation onlyGave £4.3M Beryl Doreen Thomas Charitable Trust Queen Mary's Roehampton TrustRollingGave £462k England and Wales Cricket TrustNo public processGave £9.4M PWRR Benevolent FundNo public processGave £150k Wasps Legends Charitable FoundationMixed deadlinesGave £109k The Army Dependants’ TrustInvitation onlyGave £917k

Five years of accounts

Financial year	Income	Expenditure	Grants paid	Accounts document
year to 31 August 2021	£127,682	£198,399	—	Accounts for year to 31 August 2021
year to 31 August 2022	£1,128,008	£795,825	£214,833	Accounts for year to 31 August 2022
year to 31 August 2023	£1,135,240	£993,890	£310,492	Accounts for year to 31 August 2023
year to 31 August 2024	£1,010,291	£941,236	—	Accounts for year to 31 August 2024
year to 31 August 2025	£885,312	£864,751	£8,806	Accounts for year to 31 August 2025

Income vs grants paid

IncomeGrants paid

Total value each financial year

YE 2022

£215k grants

YE 2023

£310k grants

YE 2025

£8,806 grants

Grants paid stayed within income across the 3 years shown.

Grants paid, year to 31 August 2022; year to 31 August 2023: grants to institutions, as reported on the charity register (Part B).
Grants paid, year to 31 August 2025: the accounts do not say whether this is grants awarded or paid.

— No grants figure for that year.

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.